diff --git a/app/views/posts/_single.html.haml b/app/views/posts/_single.html.haml
index dc22fc6aa..bd6122d0f 100644
--- a/app/views/posts/_single.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/posts/_single.html.haml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
             = post.created_at
 
         .post-body
-          :markdown
+          :growstuff_markdown
             #{ strip_tags post.body }
 
         - unless defined?(hide_comments)
diff --git a/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown.rb b/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown.rb
index 2670d7f81..e438ac271 100644
--- a/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown.rb
+++ b/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown.rb
@@ -5,11 +5,9 @@ module Haml::Filters
     include Haml::Filters::Base
 
     def render(text)
-      bc = BlueCloth.new(text)
-      orig = bc.text
 
       # turn [tomato](crop) into [tomato](http://growstuff.org/crops/tomato)
-      return orig.gsub(/\[(.*?)\]\(crop\)/) do |m|
+      expanded = text.gsub(/\[(.*?)\]\(crop\)/) do |m|
         crop_str = $1
         crop = Crop.find_by_name(crop_str)
         if crop
@@ -19,6 +17,9 @@ module Haml::Filters
           crop_str
         end
       end
+
+      return BlueCloth.new(expanded).to_html
+
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/spec/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown_spec.rb b/spec/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown_spec.rb
index b8a2a57c6..6218c54d4 100644
--- a/spec/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/haml/filters/growstuff_markdown_spec.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ def input_link(name)
 end
 
 def output_link(crop)
-  return "[#{crop.name}](#{Rails.application.routes.url_helpers.crop_url(crop, :host => Growstuff::Application.config.host)})"
+  url = Rails.application.routes.url_helpers.crop_url(crop, :host => Growstuff::Application.config.host)
+  return "<a href=\"#{url}\">#{crop.name}</a>"
 end
 
 describe 'Haml::Filters::Growstuff_Markdown' do
@@ -19,12 +20,12 @@ describe 'Haml::Filters::Growstuff_Markdown' do
   it 'converts quick crop links' do
     @crop = FactoryGirl.create(:crop)
     rendered = Haml::Filters::GrowstuffMarkdown.render(input_link(@crop.name))
-    rendered.should eq output_link(@crop)
+    rendered.should match /#{output_link(@crop)}/
   end
 
   it "doesn't convert nonexistent crops" do
     rendered = Haml::Filters::GrowstuffMarkdown.render(input_link("not a crop"))
-    rendered.should eq "not a crop"
+    rendered.should match /not a crop/
   end
 
   it "handles multiple crop links" do
@@ -32,7 +33,13 @@ describe 'Haml::Filters::Growstuff_Markdown' do
     maize = FactoryGirl.create(:maize)
     string = "#{input_link(tomato)} #{input_link(maize)}"
     rendered = Haml::Filters::GrowstuffMarkdown.render(string)
-    rendered.should eq "#{output_link(tomato)} #{output_link(maize)}"
+    rendered.should match /#{output_link(tomato)} #{output_link(maize)}/
+  end
+
+  it "converts normal markdown" do
+    string = "**foo**"
+    rendered = Haml::Filters::GrowstuffMarkdown.render(string)
+    rendered.should match /<strong>foo<\/strong>/
   end
 
 end