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Your First Seeds: A Simple Start to Saving Your Own
Read more: Your First Seeds: A Simple Start to Saving Your OwnThere is a moment in late September when the garden shifts from feeding you to trusting you. That is when I first understood what seed saving actually was. Here is how to start.
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The Second Bloom: An Amaryllis Returns for Valentine’s Day
Read more: The Second Bloom: An Amaryllis Returns for Valentine’s DayThe bay is frozen and the windows are dark by five o’clock, and there is nothing blooming in Michigan right now, not outside, anyway. The raised beds are under snow. The garlic is sleeping. The soil will not be workable for two months, maybe longer. February is the season of waiting, and a gardener either…
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The Onion Trays and the Long Light of February
Read more: The Onion Trays and the Long Light of FebruaryThe bay is steel-gray this morning, and the ice is thick enough now that nothing moves out there — not the freighters, not the gulls, not even the wind, which has been ruthless all week but today decided to rest. I stood at the window with coffee and watched the stillness. February in Michigan does…
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My Gardening Philosophy
Read more: My Gardening PhilosophyA small garden tended well produces more food and more satisfaction than an acre of neglected rows. At Freighter View Farms I garden in about 200 square feet — and it is enough.
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What I Learned Growing 20 Heirloom Tomato Varieties in Michigan
Read more: What I Learned Growing 20 Heirloom Tomato Varieties in MichiganLast season I grew twenty varieties of heirloom tomatoes in raised beds at Freighter View Farms. It was too many. I will do it again next year. Here is what twenty varieties taught me.
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Why I Garden
Read more: Why I GardenThe bay was flat the morning I finally understood why I do this. Early June, the light not yet committed to the day, and I was standing at the edge of the raised bed with coffee going cold in my hand.
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Companion Planting in a Small Michigan Garden: What Actually Works
Read more: Companion Planting in a Small Michigan Garden: What Actually WorksThe tomatoes and basil go in together every year. Not because a gardening book told me to — because I tried it once and could not imagine doing it differently. Here is what actually works in a small Michigan garden.
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What to Plant in March in Michigan: Zone 6a, Under the Lights
Read more: What to Plant in March in Michigan: Zone 6a, Under the LightsMarch in Michigan is when the real work begins — not in the garden, but under the lights. The ground is still frozen, but downstairs on the seed-starting shelves, the season is already underway.
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Composting in Michigan: How I Build the Soil at Freighter View Farms
Read more: Composting in Michigan: How I Build the Soil at Freighter View FarmsThe best soil at Freighter View Farms did not come from a bag. It came from the compost pile — a slow, unglamorous heap of kitchen scraps and garden waste that turns into the richest growing medium I have ever used.
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Michigan Frost Dates: When to Plant and When to Worry in Zone 6a
Read more: Michigan Frost Dates: When to Plant and When to Worry in Zone 6aTwo dates run the show at Freighter View Farms: the last spring frost and the first fall frost. In Zone 6a Bay City, those dates are roughly May 15th and October 10th — and everything else flows from there.
Hello,
I’m Chris
Welcome to Freighter View Farms, where gardening meets the beauty of the Great Lakes. Here, you’ll find tips, stories, and seeds inspired by the fresh water sea and the garden that hugs its shoreline. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, we invite you to cultivate a piece of tranquility in your own backyard. Let’s grow something beautiful together!
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Freighter View Farms | Chris Izworski 