Fresh From the Farm - Home Cooking on Michigan's Forgotten Coast

If you love to cook, you’ll really love how many fresh, local ingredients are at your fingertips on Michigan’s Forgotten Coast.

Local fresh grown produce can be found in just about every nook and cranny here on the Forgotten Coast. Our roots are steeped in agriculture, meaning you can’t really go but a few blocks or miles without seeing something growing. Whether its fields ripe with corn, sugar beets, soybeans or wheat for what sometimes seems like miles, farmers markets brimming with all sorts of fresh selections, a neighbor’s backyard garden, or the occasional chicken crossing, local produce is pretty much everywhere you look.

If you’re into fresh produce and protein like I am you too will find the Forgotten Coast to be ripe with opportunities for creating healthy, sustainable, and delicious meals. With access to truly local and fresh produce being so close to your very own kitchen, the limits to creating your own farm-fresh menu are few.

Depending on where you settle whether in-town or out-of-town, you can have the choice to grow your own fruits and vegetables, raise your own farm animals, as well as find what you need from local markets, farm stands, friends, or even by foraging. Let’s not forget about hunting and fishing. The area boasts an abundance of options to source wild game and fish for your freezer/table.

GROW YOUR OWN

From a few pots on your back porch to a large garden, fruits and vegetables tend to grow well here on the Forgotten Coast. I have been an avid gardener here my whole life. Growing up on a small farm just south of Harbor Beach, my hands have been in the dirt since I was a little sprout. What I particularly enjoy about gardening here is that we have seasons. Busy seasons with plenty of planting, weeding, and harvesting (spring-early fall), and quiet time to reflect, plan and prepare for another season ahead (late fall-winter).

The Forgotten Coast is unique because our nearby coastal water provides for an interesting growing climate. Around the lakeshore, and in some areas inland, the plant hardiness zone is 6a (-10 to -5 degrees Fahrenheit) while some areas are considered 5b (-15 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit). This is because water, especially large bodies of water like the Great Lakes, absorbs and releases heat easily. Lakes tend to act as a great heat source throughout the winter months and also tend to smooth out seasonal changes providing for fewer temperature extremes. There are other factors that can affect growing fruits and vegetables in the area, including microclimates. If you want to geek out, research the Port Huron Moraine. Moraines are typically rolling landforms, higher than the surrounding countryside.

In my experience, we typically have an average 130-150 day window for growing outdoors depending on how close you are to the lakeshore. Areas that are 25 miles or closer to the shoreline seem to embrace that longer-growing window. This gives you plenty of opportunities to grow a variety of plants. Fruit trees like apple, pear, peach, and cherry trees tend to thrive here, along with most berry plants. Grapes are also a good candidate for growing, especially hybrid, cold-hardy varieties. Vegetables of all colors and varieties grow very well here. Plants that take longer to grow (such as peppers and tomatoes) should be started indoors in early spring, or purchased from a local nursery as transplants for greater success.

Harvest is always a particularly exciting time and typically happens mid-late August through early October, depending on which varieties you choose to grow. Sweet corn can be shucked and frozen to be enjoyed in the cold weather months, tomatoes canned and put to use in a variety of ways. Potatoes and other root vegetables can be stored and eaten well into the late spring of the next year if kept in cold storage. It is not uncommon to find cold rooms in the basements of older homes in the area or even the occasional root cellar.

Growing your own fruits and vegetables gives you the ability to truly customize your very own farm-fresh menu. Grow the types and varieties that you particularly enjoy, and feed your family year-round by preserving your harvest. The Forgotten Coast is ripe with farm-fresh opportunities for growing or consuming!

FIND WHAT YOU NEED, LOCALLY

If growing your own produce is not an option, then you can typically find more than what you need at local farmers markets, farm stands, or even from neighbors. Our farmers markets typically run from Mid-May through Mid-October and offer all kinds of seasonal produce. The Port Austin Farmers Market has been recognized as one of Michigan’s top ten Farmers Markets by Michigan’s Official State Travel Guide and regularly has 150 vendors if not more every Saturday throughout the season. At this market, in particular, you can find a nice range of produce, plants, cheese, local and organic meats, as well as fish and seafood. There are a number of other local community farmers markets throughout the Forgotten Coast happening weekly.

Beyond farmers markets, you can find locally grown produce and farm-fresh staples at many farm stands or from local growers throughout the area. You can find anything from fruits and vegetables to farm fresh eggs, honey, maple syrup, cider vinegar, and beyond. It is also common to find local beef farmers who offer opportunities to buy directly from them.

In addition to farmers markets and local growers, the area offers a number of stores dedicated to selling produce, meat, dry goods and more to help you fill in the gaps for your perfect farm-fresh menu.

RAISE YOUR OWN

The Forgotten Coast is wide open with possibilities to raise your own livestock. You can find that some villages and towns are zoned so you can have your very own backyard flock of chickens. If you choose to live in a more rural area, you can find ample space to create your own farm and raise whatever livestock fits your fancy.

HUNTING & FISHING

This area is home to a wide variety of hunting and fishing. If wild game and fresh fish is what you seek there are so many options for you to choose from on the Forgotten Coast. Deer, wild turkey, pheasant, grouse, and waterfowl such as ducks, are all commonly sought-after wild game that brings a variety of protein options to your table. To learn more about hunting seasons and licenses visit the Michigan Department of Natural Resources website. Fishing is also extremely popular on the Forgotten Coast. You can find freshwater fish like trout, salmon, walleye, large and small-mouth bass, whitefish, and perch to name a few. Valid licenses are required for both hunting and fishing, see the Michigan DNR Website for more information.

FORAGING

Last but not least, foraging on the Forgotten Coast is an exciting, healthy, and cost-effective way to enhance any locally sourced menu. From Morel hunting to picking wild asparagus and beyond, there are many delicious and treasured finds to seek out and cook up. State land, which we happen to have an abundance of here on the Forgotten Coast, provides ample opportunities for foraging. You can learn more about what you can and cannot forage on public lands on The Department of Natural Resources website. You can also get permission from a friend or neighbor to forage on their property.

Regardless of the path you choose, you won’t be alone in your endeavor to create your own farm-fresh way of life.

You will find many friends here, including me! Many of which will be willing to share not only wisdom and helpful tips but a helping hand along the way.