Fresh from the farm

Local gardeners grow idea to allow customers control over their own produce

By Heidi Roman
C & G Staff Writer

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP — As consumers grow more concerned about where the food on their table comes from, two local gardeners are pioneering a new business that allows people to completely control what their family is eating.

Michigan Micro-Farms is leasing gardening plots on a farm on 25 Mile Road in Chesterfield Township where residents can grow their own pesticide-free produce or have someone do it for them. The idea is to de-revolutionize the farming process.

Macomb Township residents Mike Berschback and Jim Wenzel, next-door neighbors who have been competing with each other’s gardens for a few years now, own the business.

“I started gardening on a small scale and doubled it the next year,” said Berschback, who grew up in Grosse Pointe. “We thought other people might want to do it, as well.”

Berschback has been gardening for only a few years, but his business partner has been working in the yard since he was a young boy growing tomatoes as big as his head with his dad, the self-proclaimed “King of Compost.”

The partners both have nine-to-five jobs but are hoping to turn their passion for gardening into a way of earning some extra income. This year will be their first shot at it.

Berschback and Wenzel say they’re blazing the trail on the idea, at least in this area. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has been around for some time, connecting groups of consumers with farmers so they have more control over their produce, but the consumers don’t have much of a choice in what’s grown from them.

“This is a little twist on that,” Wenzel said. 

Customers pick exactly what and how much they want to grow at Michigan Micro-Farms.

They can choose their level of involvement in their garden based on how much time and effort they want to contribute. A green-thumb plan is cheaper and allows the customer to do all of the planting, maintenance and harvesting of the crops — everything except the watering. With a yellow-thumb program, the customer dictates what they’d like planted, and Berschback and Wenzel do the rest of the work. The customer would just come pick the plants once they’re grown.

“You can be as active as you want,” Berschback said. Neither option takes too much experience as long as the person takes an interest in it, he said.

Berschback and Wenzel don’t use any chemicals on their crops, and use only fresh manure combined with coffee grounds and egg shells from Café Muse in Royal Oak to fertilize the soil. That same soil will then be used to grow produce for the Café Muse, since Michigan Micro-Farms will also supply local restaurants with produce this year.

Café Muse owner David Smith and his business partner, Grey Rayner, selected what fruits and vegetables they’d like the farm to grow for them. The café is a big supporter of their efforts.

“Our big thing is locally-grown produce, as long as it’s economical,” Smith said.

Sometimes organic produce is too expensive for a restaurant to commit to, but Smith believes it’s important to trend in the direction of produce grown without pesticides or chemicals.

“It’s the right thing to do for the environment — we’re committed to being as eco-friendly as possible,” he said. “We also want to strengthen the local economy.”

Besides the health benefits of eating local produce, Wenzel said people will feel a connection to the land and their food. It becomes a hobby and a nice way to spend a weekend afternoon outdoors.

“If you have kids, I can see a great thing happening,” Wenzel. “We all used to grow things as kids, put a bean sprout on the windowsill and watch it grow. This is good family fun with no batteries or electricity.”

About 120 plots are still available and can be reserved now. Cold-weather seeds like peas, beets, broccoli, lettuce and carrots could be planted very soon, and warm-weather produce like tomatoes, eggplant or peppers can be started indoors now. Plants can also be purchased from Michigan Micro-Farms.

Prices for the plots vary depending on the size and whether the customer chooses the green thumb or yellow thumb program. The green thumb program costs $75 for the year for 250 square feet, $150 for 1,000 square feet, and up. The yellow thumb program is more expensive at $175 for 250 square feet and $325 for 1,000 square feet.

Berschback and Wenzel can help gardeners plan what to grow in the plot. They’ll also sell unpicked, ripened produce at the New Baltimore and Shelby Township farmers markets.

For more information, call (586) 991-1115 or e-mail michiganmicrofarms@gmail.com. More information and pricing options are available at www.michiganmicrofarms.com.  

You can reach Staff Writer Heidi Roman at hroman@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5006.