Looking forward

Ok, enough with the reminiscing--time to move forward and look ahead! We are already planning for next year's growing season and markets--just waiting for the seed catalogs to start arriving! By the time we order, the pages are dog-eared, sticky, torn, missing covers and sometimes pages! We love our seed catalogs and always seem to order more each year.

We usually place our orders in mid to late November. This ensures that we get our seeds in time to start them under the lights; as some seed companies won't send out seeds until closer to the growing season. But......guess what we got yesterday! Go, on--GUESS!



These utilitarian cardboard boxes contain........STRAWBERRIES! We decided to venture out with another large, labor intensive crop. Fruit is something that is not very prevalent at our markets. The Application Committee has discussed ways to attract local fruit growers to our market, but the fact is, there aren't very many around this area. So, we decided rather than lament the fact there aren't any/many strawberries/grapes/berries/etc being brought to the market, we would see if we could fill that gap. Planting should begin next week and if all goes well (cross fingers and toes!) we should have some sort of crop in June 09. I'll keep you posted.

While in the PSA mode of keeping you fine folks up to date on local events, I have a reminder and two, yes, two! local event announcements!

• This Thursday, September 11 from 5 pm to 7 pm, the ISU Hort Center is hosting a Nutraceutical Evening for the public to learn about what they eat and how it affects their health. There will be garden tours, info booths, Farmer's Market (yes, Bill Mitchell and Bill Davison will be there!) and seminars. The Hort Center is located on Raab Road, south of Heartland College campus.

• Looking for something new and exicting to do on Saturday night? Synergy Rhythm and Dance, a local bellydance studio, is presenting a special show featuring the Chicago dance troupe, Blue Lotus Tribe. Bellydancing is gaining popularity, not only as an expressive art form for women, but as a way to maintain fitness and overall health. Synergy's performance is on Saturday, September 13 at the Normal Community Activity Center, 1110 Douglas St in One Normal Plaza, in Normal (formerly the Soldiers & Sailors Home). The doors open at 7 pm. For more information, go to Synergy RAD's website.

• On Monday, September 15 at 7 pm, there will be a FREE screening of the documentary, The Future of Food, along with a panel discussion. The panel discussion topic is creating a viable local foods system in Central Illinois--something ALL OF US should be very interested in.

Whew! Who knew there were so many interesting and fun activities available locally?

The cooler weather is really dictating what we bring to the market (getting back on topic!); for a few weeks now, Bill has told me that "zucchini is coming along, shouldn't be too long". Well, all the cool weather isn't encouraging the plants to produce much fruit. Maybe by Christmas............

Bill did pick the first acorn squash last night! yay! I love the hard fall squashes, so versatile! They can be diced and sauteed, grilled or pan fried, boiled & mashed, made into soups: the possibilities are almost endless. Plus, they are good savory, spicy or sweet AND good for you. We may have some this Saturday; gotta do what Mother Nature lets us do!

Lineup for Saturday:

• Sweet corn! Still! We are into the last patch and will have corn for another week.
  
• Watermelon
• Sweet Potatoes
• Potatoes
• Cucumbers
• Summer squash
• Eggplant--try dehydrating them and using in place of chips with hummus! Yummy!
  
• Green Peppers
• Apples !! In a suprise move, a few of our apple trees have produced fruit that is worth picking. They are small and not pretty, but make incredible applesauce!

See everyone on Saturday!