I had a little FROST on my windshield this morning! Yikes--must mean winter isn't too far behind!
How have you all been? I've seen lots of you out & about at the market! Yes, I still go, even though I'm not selling. Hey--we have to eat, too! Plus, there is so much good late fall stuff available--butternut squash, pumpkins to eat & display, Indian corn, apples, root veggies. You still can find tons of leafy greens, some tomatoes & squashes and green beans. With only two weeks left in the market season, take a quick spin through the market and stock up! I've stocked up to cover my absence this weekend--I'll be in Indiana--to get me through to the last market on October 25. Truly fresh produce lasts SO much longer--get it while you can.
We've been enjoying our time off and starting to plan for next year. Bill and the crew got all the strawberries planted finally! This is a gamble on our part: strawberries can be fussy and early spring in IL doesn't always cooperate. One variety is already blooming, so part of Bill's weekend fun will be to go and pinch off all the blooms. What this exercise does, other than keep him out of the deer stand, is help the plant channel its energy into becoming stronger & more healthy. A large, healthy plant in the spring will produce more berries! This is our first foray into small fruit production; much more involved than eggplant or sweet corn!
The last thing we will do this fall is plant our garlic. Our Garlic Guru advises us to wait until we've had a freeze (getting close) before planting. Last fall, we planted about 900 cloves--we thought that was plenty! Sadly, it wasn't even close enough--I need 900 heads of garlic for myself! I've saved back about 10lbs from this year's harvest to plant, plus ordered a BIG box of garlic from Seed Savers. It will take a few years, but my goal is to eventually grow enough garlic so that I have my own stock.
Anyone read the funny pages in the Pantagraph? I'm hit or miss usually, but I understand that the Pantagraph is holding a vote to see which new comic strips they should include. I've been contacted by Jeff Corriveau, the creator of DeFlocked, one of the strips in the running. Jeff is a farm boy(grew up in or next to a dairy barn!) now living the LA life and has created one of the funniest strips since Far Side featuring a cynical and sassy sheep. Go check out some of his strips here: www.deflocked.com. Then go to the Pantagraph and vote for his strip!
Make sure that you have the Thanksgiving Market on your calendars for Saturday, November 22! The last two years have been fabulous with vendor & customer turn out--so come and be a part of it all! It is from 10 am to 2 pm at the US Cellular Coliseum (yay! indoors!) and in addition to all the farmers, the artists will be represented with local holiday gift ideas! Get your turkey day shopping AND holiday shopping done in one day! For complete information, click here. I will there, maybe with sweet potatoes and some squash. I will also have CSA memberships available for next year. If this is something you've been considering, stop by and ask questions! CSA is a very simple way to eat fresh, local foods all summer, especially if you have a difficult time making to to our area farmer's markets.
I'll be posting over the winter, so check often! I won't send out an e-mail alert unless there is something that I think needs attention. I'm sure I'll see many of you out and about this winter. If I don't, have a safe and warm winter and see you in the spring!
