In 2008, Nic and Jen Welty began their second season of Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) farming at Black Star Farms, just south of Suttons Bay, MI. They installed a wood-fired pizza oven in the Black Star Farms market (the Hearth and Vine cafe) and added artisan breads to their line up of produce. That fall, they started their own small farm in Omena (north of Suttons Bay) and called it 9 Bean Rows. Their mission was to create greater availability and diversity of fresh, local foods for our community 52 weeks of the year.

The farm, while modest in size, is filled with wild and cultivated edibles. There are ramps, blackberries, red raspberries, apple trees, choke cherries, asparagus, rhubarb, table grapes, garlic, walnut trees, sugar maples, and a forest full of edible wild mushrooms. The use of hoop houses allows for a year-round harvest.