Farm Description:
    Mud Lake Farm is situated on 40 acres in southern Ottawa county. We are firm believers in sustainable agriculture, and enjoy exploring new ideas to make our farm more sustainable. We do not use chemical pesticides, herbicides, or growth hormones on our farm. Our "salad shares" offer families a connection to our farm and supply them with fresh, nutritious salads all year long. Variety is the spice of life: we grow about 40 different varieties of salad greens, including red and green romaine, red leaf, and red and green bibb lettuces. We also grow microgreens -- baby vegetable plants packed with flavor and nutrition. Microgreens add extra spice to salads or sandwiches, and beauty to your plate. A variety of herbs, greens, and other vegetables are available in season.

Practices:
    Many people ask if our hydroponic lettuce is "organic". The answer is a qualified "no". Organic standards are based on growing in soil. Hydroponics is by definition growing plants without soil, so organic terminology just doesn't apply. However, while organic practices allow the use of certain pesticides and herbicides, Mud Lake Farm refuses to use poisons on our plants. Our pest control is achieved by beneficial insects (mostly ladybugs). We hope that our customers understand that insects are part of nature, and while we strive to keep their numbers to a minimum, our lettuce will never be as pest-free as lettuce treated with pesticides. Our customers agree that having to wash a few off is much better than worrying about the affect of pesticide and herbicide residues on their family's health.

Describe your product specialties and highlights:
    We specialize in growing a variety of gormet hydroponic lettuces, arugula, watercress and microgreens year-round. We also raise two batches of pastured broiler chickens each summer/fall. They are beautiful birds, and tasty too! Contact us for more details.

Where we sell our products:
    Please check our website for a list of area restaurants and grocery stores that use our products. We participate in the Metro Health Farm Market, and occasionally in the Byron and Holland Farmers Markets. Families can join our Salad CSA and receive fresh greens year-round.

Web/Mail Order Items:
    We do not offer any of our products for mail order. Please support a local farm in your area!