The Weeds Are Winning

Check this out!

2009-06-03T21:39:00.002-05:00

Video tour of the market

The Pantagraph did a great video article on navigating the Downtown Farmer's Market. It's only about 3 minutes long--see how many farmers you recognize! I'm in there....looking really, really bored.

Week 3

2009-05-28T15:12:00.010-05:00

Good bye gloomy weather; hello sunny, warm weekend! Hopefully, the forecast will hold and we will have some nicer weather for Saturday. It's been busy around the farm lately, plus all the end of year school activities and trying to fit a holiday weekend or vacation into the mix--there just isn't enough time.

Bill and Carson are taking off for a much needed fishing holiday on Friday and some of our staff had other plans (can you believe it?), so Allie and I will be holding down the stand on Saturday. Our oldest, Kyle, is here for a bit, so maybe I can talk him into coming down, too. He and his family are moving from North Carolina to Arizona, so we get to enjoy them for a few weeks. Kyle got a new job in the Marine Corps and that entailed a move--but better than going back to Iraq! We're glad to have him here for a while.

We will have some of the best lettuce that I think we've ever grown. The cool, wet weather mixed with just the right amount of sun is just what you need to grow MASSIVE heads of lettuce! Plus, you just can't beat all the different shades of green of all the varieties of lettuce that we have this year: the light spring green of the leaf lettuce and Green Oak leaf, the intense green of Truckee, the bright red to burgundy of Red Oak Leaf and Red Sails to the deep green of the spinach and arugula. Plus, you can mix them all together for a dynamite salad!

Before Bill felt as if he could head up to the Great White North for some R&R, he had to get about 3,000 melons in the ground. Not only did he have to get them in the ground, but they had to be covered to protect them from the wind. Because we have the best crew ever, all this work was accomplished in the window of time between 4 & 8 pm....those guys rock!

The picture to the right shows some of the rows of cantaloupe & watermelon at the Manito farm. The rows go all....the....way.....back to the top of the hill. It's a long way back there. What's on the other side of the hill? Glad you asked!

It's where the sweet corn is at! This is taken about 1/4 of the way from the start of the field......no kidding, these rows are long! This is the first crop of corn that finally got planted in late April. Sadly, all the spring rains have really done for farmers is to put them WAY behind in their planting schedules. Luckily for us, we have some rolling ground and it is sandy, so unless there is a monsoon, we can usually find some dry spot to plant.

We've switched it up this year and moved some of our crops down to the Manito farm from the main homestead. We had run out of places to rotate our crops without putting something back where it was just a year or two ago. Plus, it was VERY rainy last year and we fought flooded areas and disease constantly. This year, we didn't want to take a chance with too much rain (we look pretty smart now, don't we?) so the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squashes and eggplant are now growing in Mason county soil. The Manito farm is only about 2 miles south of the main farm and its where the corn is at, so not much of an adjustment for us.

This week, we are still celebrating all things leafy and green with lots of lettuce. I'll be manning the stand on Saturday, along with Allie (best helper ever!). What will we have for you:

Lots and lots of beautiful head lettuce: Red Sails, Buttercrunch, Red & Green Oak Leaf, Simpson Elite, Giant Caesar and endive
Radishes: regular red ones, long skinny white ones, round white ones and red & white French Breakfast, all still sweet and mild!
Green onions--they never taste this good from the store!
Leaf lettuce--so tender and sweet, its worth getting downtown by 7:30 to get some!
Maybe, maybe, maybe, but no promises....turnips

Hope to see you all there Saturday morning!

Farmers at the (State) Farm

2009-04-29T12:55:00.006-05:00

We are just 3 short weeks away from starting the 2009 Farmer's Market season! Excited?! We are.....and a little nervous. It is always this way at the beginning of the season: will the weather cooperate? Will anything be ready to pick? Will our customers show up? What did we forget THIS time? Actually, the only sure thing is that our customers WILL show up--you've never let us down yet!

We finally got into the field mid-April. We (and I am using "we" very loosely-I was at a soccer tournament!) planted over 11,000 sweet onions, lots of leeks, radishes, spinach, turnips, green onions, carrots and about 2,000 head of lettuce. Bill and his dad also got about 3 acres of sweet corn in as well. Now, it's a rush to get everything else in before we get busy with the markets. We have trays stacked up in the greenhouse, just waiting for the weather to warm up (and dry out!) so the warmer weather plants--tomatoes, peppers and eggplant--can get growing. Once we get stuff up and growing, I'll have some pictures. Right now, it's pretty boring.

ETA: There will not be a Buy Fresh, Buy Local booth at State Farm tomorrow. Sorry :( For those of you reading that work at State Farm, we will be participating in an Earth Day presentation on Thursday, April 30 at Corporate South. I'm sorry I don't have any other details than that......but we should be there with other eco-friendly folks over the lunch hours. So come look us up! We will have CSA information if you are thinking about beginning a healthier, more plant based diet. There are some CSA memberships still available---be the first in your department to sign up. Also, if you have a friend sign up for CSA at the same time, you both save $20 on your memberships. Come by and talk to me about it!

Finally, since I can't have a post without pictures, here are some to whet your appetite for some fresh veggies! These pics are examples of spring and early summer CSA shares. Both show what would be in your share for that particular week. The top photo has Red Oak Leaf loose head lettuce, 2 bunches of green onions, a bunch of French Breakfast radishes, white icicle radishes, Japanese turnips, and Napa cabbage. The second picture has a little more variety, as it is from about mid June: red radishes, yellow squash, zucchini, beets, leeks, sugar snap peas, butter crunch lettuce and rainbow swiss chard. As former members know, the later in the season is when the CSA REALLY pays off: sweet corn, watermelon and cantaloupe, plus tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes and onions, plus all the other stuff that I can't remember right now!

Probably the best reason for joining a CSA besides getting the quality, fresh produce is your return on investment. Really. Raise your hand if this has happened to you: buy a bag of lettuce at the store for $3, open it and by the next day, it is brown around the edges. Kind of a use it or lose it situation and very wasteful if only one or two people eat salad. Fresh, seasonal lettuce will keep for up to a WEEK in the fridge--with no browning! Radishes are crisper, onions sweeter, watermelon juicier.......on and on and on. Because we harvest when the produce is ready, your recieve a quality produce that has a longer shelf life.....maximizing your dollar by not throwing away food.

Anyway, the countdown to great local summer eating is underway! See you at the markets!

Come on spring!

2009-04-03T13:50:00.002-05:00

It certainly doesn't seem like winter wants to give up....snow is being forecast for next week. What gives? We need to get plants in the ground!

This winter was brutal......remember our strawberry experiment? 100% fail. Every plant died. Very disappointing, but we had below normal temperatures for all of January and most of February and these plants were new baby ones; not mature or hardy. Very sad, but Bill has ordered some more, so there may be berries, but not until September.

The lettuce has moved out of our basement and into the greenhouse at the farm, making room for tomato, eggplant and peppers. This may be our most successful start to the season yet; all the plants look strong and healthy. Because tomato, eggplant & peppers are warm weather lovers, it won't be until the end of May before we set them out in the field and even then we'll cover them until it is consistently warm.

It is only 6 weeks until the start of the Bloomington Downtown Farmer's market! I've also heard through the grape vine that State Farm will again have a farmer's market for their employees this summer. No details yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I hear something.

Not much else going on; this is the calm before the storm! We've been taking it as easy as we can, just hanging out and watching Redbird Women's basketball! Can't wait for next season. Lots of local type things to do here in April: check these out!

Synergy RAD presents a Dance Showcase to benefit the YWCA Stepping Stones this Saturday (4/4) at 7:00 pm. More info here! I'm dancing--come & see me!

EEK! I'm running in a half-marathon! 4/11 in Champaign--come cheer me & Mercy from Blueschool House on to the finish!

Health & Wellness Expo--4/17-4/18 at IWU Shirk Center--lots of things here both local and environementally good.

What's new? Lettuce tell you!

2009-03-06T15:12:00.004-06:00

I know, first post of the new year and it's a pun.......sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

Thursday night, Bill got super-organized and busted out the seed trays, dirt & lettuce seed. I was allowed to help, 'cause it was late. So, six trays of yummy lettuce are off and running! The seedlings are up already and it won't be too long before we will need to put them in the ground.

We've been taking inventory of what we have and what we need to get started, touching base with our fantastic crew, getting equipment serviced and tuned up and attending pre-season market meetings. There are some exciting things coming up for both the Bloomington & Normal markets and we are glad to be back with both markets.

The Uptown Normal Trailside Market will again be on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 to 6:00 in the Parkingson lot behind Wild Country. This should be the last year in this location--if construction schedules are on time, next year the market should be in a nicer location. As in the last two years, parking has been a concern in this area. There is parking over by the City Hall lot and on street parking to the east, so don't let a full parking lot keep you away!

There are more drastic alterations to the Downtown Bloomington Farmer's Market. We are still ringing the starting bell at 7:30 am, but some of the vendors will be in a different configuration. Farmers will still be on Main Street and on the adjoining block of Jefferson; however, the artists and a few other booths will be ACROSS Washington street to the south. While is isn't the best situation to have a major street run through a market, it's what we've got to work with, so we'll make it work! One benefit is that all the art and artists will be together. Sometimes the art gets lost in and among all us farmers; this new location will give them more visibility.

Another benefit of having the market extend a block to the south is the Lincoln parking deck anchors the end of the market. Already many market goers park here and walk up the short block to get to the market---now, the market will start a block closer, so take advantage of parking deck this summer.

In other news, we still have a few CSA memberships available for this summer. What's CSA? Short version is a CSA is an easy way to get top quality produce without having to visit a market or get up early on a Saturday morning. For a more detailed explanation, check out this page on our web site. I am also exploring ways for us to be able to accept debit and credit cards at the markets. We don't have all the details in place yet, but I'll keep you up to date on this development.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and we'll see you at the market!

Merry Festivus

2008-12-19T10:46:00.002-06:00

Happy end of the year or whatever holiday season you celebrate. Actually, I think we should observe ALL winter solstice-type celebrations....but maybe that's just me. I don't need an excuse to get together with friends to enjoy good food and company! Plus, I've always wanted to do an "airing of the grievances"......Bill won't let me.

We've been busy going through seed catalogs and making lists of what seeds to buy and where to plant everything next year. We are moving most of our production to the Manito farm, so we aren't really sure where we should plant everything. Luckily, we've got a few months to figure it all out.

The Great Strawberry Experiment of 09 is coming along well. The plants got in the ground and established themselves well and are now covered with a heavy duty row cover. Now we just wait to see what happens in the spring. If all goes well (or even sort of well) we should have some berries by the first part of June. I'll keep you posted.

Bill and I wish all of you warmth, peace and good food this holiday season!

BRRRR!

2008-10-17T09:06:00.003-05:00

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!

Ends and Beginnings

2008-09-26T19:05:00.003-05:00

Sorry for no post last week--I had a busy week and a serious case of the lazies.

This Saturday, 9/27, will be our last week at the Bloomington market. Initially way back last November, we decided to finish the market year and grow a large fall crop: hard squash, pumpkins, exotic pumpkins, collards, arugula, sweet potatoes and the like. With a rainy July and a few hurricanes later (11 inches if you're keeping score), our fall "garden" has subcome to the disease that has plagued us all year.

Overall, this has been a good year--how about some numbers?

Number of transplants--between 20,000 and 23,000
Acres under production--30
Number of tomato plants--900
Number of markets per week at peak season--7
Number of onion sets planted--9,000
Varieties of tomatoes--12
Number of greenhouses burnt to the ground--1

So, while this season comes to a close for us, Bill is planning ahead for next year. This week, he and his dad have been planting strawberries. Hopefully, we won't have the rain and damp conditions we had this year. The transplants look like dead twigs--bare roots and no leaves. Just two days after being introduced to Tazewell County dirt, Bill reports that almost all of the plants have taken off growing and many have several leaves! He took a great picture with his cell phone, but I don't know how to get it to the computer.

But before strawberries, what can you get this week?

We still have sweet corn! This is the last of it for the year--it will be 9 months before we have any more.
Sweet potatoes
Potatoes
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Collard greens

It will be a beautiful day--come on out and join us! While this is our last market, there will be tons of fabulous fall produce being brought in by the other great farmers at the market--so don't stop coming to the market. I'll STILL come down on Saturdays, because I just can't stay away! See you saturday!

Looking forward

2008-09-11T07:21:00.002-05:00

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!

Looking back

2008-09-05T09:31:00.006-05:00

Toward the fall, Bill and I look back over the season and take stock: what worked, what didn't work, do we stay with this market or try another one, what to plant and where, equipment purchases, etc. We keep records of how we perform in each market to mark growth or if it isn't worth the time, fuel and labor costs to go there. While we mainly look at the current season, I've been comparing our ups & downs from 2005, when we started keeping actual records (before it was just slips of paper, randomly shoved in a drawer).

2008 is our 8th year in this business and not only have we seen growth in our business, but also growth in other farmer's operations and farmer's markets. When we first started, we came to the Bloomington market late in the season (mid-July) in 2000 with just sweet corn and 100 or so cantaloupe. The market was very small with perhaps 15 vendors. It started at the corner of Washington & Main and went the one block to Jefferson Street, where it turned the corner.......and pretty well died. We were on the south corner and Frank Merrick was across the street to our north and some lady selling eggs next to us. Oh, the vendors faced. the. sidewalk. so there was traffic in the streets [ETA--Elaine has a better memory-the streets WERE blocked--she struggled with the heavy barricades back in the day, so maybe it was THOSE people that thought they were special]......if you were there, you know what I'm talking about. It just didn't hit the right note. What brought us back? The people. We met some really cool and interesting folks that first market and guess what? They came back to see us the next week! They liked our corn! They liked local food! They liked seasonal food!

We got more involved with the development of the Downtown market, as did other farmers, and as a group started making small changes to improve the market and hopefully draw more customers on Saturday mornings. The streets were completely blocked to traffic to allow the vendors to have nicer, more accessible stands and to allow for a more pleasant shopping experience for the customers. Other growers were sought out and encouraged to attend the market, especially if they grew/produced unique items. Artist's Alley was added, making our market unique. Local musical talent stepped up to the plate to entertain all of us and we've also got our own home-grown chef, Nars, who demonstrated how quick and easy it is to shop & cook from your local market. This year, the market hours were adjusted a bit to allow more families time to get to the market without having to set an alarm.

The most drastic change was the change to becoming a producer only market: only growers that plant, maintain and harvest their produce were allowed to be vendors. This change has resulted in some of the highest quality local produce anywhere in the country. Out of town shoppers from large cities will tell us how wonderful all the produce looks and tastes and how vibrant the market is, compared to (as I've been informed over the summer) Chicago, Atlanta, LA and Des Moines.

These changes didn't happen overnight and not without growing pains, but not only have the farmers brought their 'A' games, but so have the customers. You guys are great--rain, shine, you've been there! There has been so much focus on local eating, healthy eating, farmer's markets and "killer" foods in the national media recently and our very supportive B-N customers have made sure that they have access to high quality, local, seasonal food. You've also done the green thing and have been bringing your canvas/nylon/re-purposed bags. Not only does it eliminate the over use of plastic, but it is quite a bit easier to haul produce in these bags. It also has kept our input costs down by not ordering as many bags, which in turn reflects in our prices. Very much a win-win.

This season has been FANTASTIC! There have been more of you coming down to the market; many of you bring friends down and introduce them to your favorite vendors; you've brought your out of town guests to the market to show us off; more & more households are doing their weekly shopping at the market; parents are teaching that food doesn't always come from the store or in a plastic wrapper.

For us, August is the 2nd most productive month, following July. We typically have two or three good weeks before school starts, then the market becomes a ghost town--where did everyone go? So far, not this year--the last two weekends the market has been packed with shoppers! It looks like many of you have taken to heart that eating locally is possible, you can eat (very) well and not spend a fortune! We are truly appreciative of all the customers that make the time to shop the market on Saturdays--thank you all for making 2008 a fantastic year.

But! Don't stop now! Just because we had some wet, rainy, fall, Let's-stay-indoors weather, don't let that stop you. There are lots of Saturdays left and we've got Brand! New! produce from our fall planting is heading your way.

I truly love the fall garden--mostly because I like the hard squashes: butternut, acorn, pumpkin and spaghetti. YUM. These aren't quite ready, but are getting close. The nutritional value in these foods is amazing and I have some good recipes coming for using squashes.

What will we have on the Veggie Wagon tomorrow?

Sweet corn-almost to the end, probably one more week
Cantaloupe-this is the last of the summer planting; there is a late patch that is questionable
Watermelon-we hit the watermelon home run this year--we have lots
Sweet potatoes-most of these guys are large & in charge--one will feed your whole family
Yellow squash
Green beans
Green Peppers
Hot peppers
Cucumbers
Eggplant

We'll be there 7:30 am to noon! See you there! Bill just left town to go pick sweet corn in the mud (thanks, Gustav!)--I know all of you will be thinking of him (I'm still at work!).

Picking watermelon

2008-08-26T22:19:00.009-05:00

One of my favorite holidays is fast approaching....Labor Day. Marking the end of the summer season, Labor Day is laid back and easy. No gifts, no elaborate meals, no pressure. The weather is usually nice (unlike Memorial Day) and no changing around on the calendar; always the first Monday of September. Just blue skies and a BBQ or two.

This upcoming weekend is prime BBQ & picnic time and what makes a BBQ great? Watermelon!

We have had a great crop this year; sweet, juicy and tasty! One question that we answer quite a bit is "How do you know a watermelon is good/sweet/juicy?" The short answer is to get your watermelon from someone that grows them. We can tell in the field if the melon is ready or not. If it's ready, then it goes on the trailer. Not ready? It stays in the field. Simple? Of course it is easy if you've picked 56,938 melons in your life! How about some pictures?

First, you need to get out to the melon patch. Really, there are melons out there--not just weeds! If you look closely, you can see some melons through all the weeds. As you may have noticed, weed control isn't very high on our list right now. We do try to keep the weeds to a minimum early in the season, but it's a losing battle. Notice the lovely stand of lambs quarters in the background, in front of the corn. We have the loveliest weeds!

The two pictures above show what we look for in a ripe watermelon. The top picture is the ground spot. That's where the melon sits on the ground as it grows. In a immature melon, this spot will be very light in color; off-white or cream colored. As the melon matures, this spot will darken in color. Each variety is different and some will be very dark yellow while some are a pale butter color.

The bottom picture is of the infamous tendril. This very small and seemingly insignificant part of the stem system is perhaps the most helpful to a us. When the tendril dries up, we figure that we've got a pretty ripe melon. The ground spot is checked, the melon is thumped (listening for a clear, ringing tone) and if everything checks out, it gets picked and put on the trailer. Notice the black dog supervising in the background. Skipper is keeping everything running smoothly!

It may not look muddy, but Dana managed to rub off quite a bit of dirt on her shirt. Bill and the crew fan out across the field, similar to a fire brigade line. Bill, Karen & Brenda usually do the actual checking and picking and the others are just muscle.

Picture to be posted later, but as the melons are picked, they get tossed down the line into the trailer. It sounds easy, but it's much harder than it looks...many of these melons are in the neighborhood of 20-30 lbs and we can pick over 200 for a weekend market. It is a great upper body workout for abs and arms (coming soon--Mitchell Farms Workout video!)

What does all that work get you? A beautiful, sweet watermelon! This is one of the Vanessas: a small, dark personal sized melon. Very juicy & sweet with a crisp bite and a great size for just one or two.

Besides watermelon, what else will we have for your picnicing needs?

Yellow watermelon--we will have a few--we've almost picked all of the yellow watermelon (note to Bill: grow more!) and some of y'all are addicted to them! Come and check early in the market if you want one.
Sweet Corn-nature's original fast food: minutes from pot or grill to table! If you are having out of town visitors, you must introduce them to our corn. They'll be amazed that simple corn can taste so good!
Cantaloupe--this will be coming to a close soon, but right now they are at their peak!
Crensahw melons- new for us! This is a cross between a casaba melon & a persian melon yielding an oblong, bright yellow melon with a sweet, spicy scent. Ours are a pale orange color on the inside, with a firm, fine grained texture. It's the new thing to try this week!
Green beans--we love this new variety that we are growing for fall. Very straight, skinny and tender--good enough to nibble on raw.
Cucumbers-starting to make a comeback with the new fall planting
Summer squash--ditto to cucumbers!
Eggplant--all shapes, colors and sizes. It isn't too late to give one a try!
Sweet onions
Hot peppers--jalapeno, habanero, peppercorncini
Green peppers

.......and that's about it. You'll notice that tomatoes are absent from the list. We've struggled with them all season and now the plants have just given up. They were good while we had them!

I am looking forward to seeing lots and lots of folks at the market this weekend! Have company in for the weekend? Bring them down and show off one of the best farmer's markets in the state! Remember those canvas bags, grab a cup of coffee and the dog and get downtown! We look forward to seeing you!

Back to School

2008-08-21T08:07:00.012-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting, but this week was just jam packed with markets, football & soccer practice, first days of school, more school supply shopping and work! I work for one of the school districts and August is when my department get busier than normal putting the final touches on the classrooms and schools before teachers and students come back. I can always tell that summer is over when I start hearing from teachers! It's good to hear from them--they are always excited to start another year.

This is the time of the year that we see about a 50% drop in market attendance. The markets don't stop when school starts--in fact, this is when some of the best items are being brought to the markets. With the change in time for the Saturday market this year (7:30 am to noon) should give people a chance to stop by and stock up for the week. Don't think you have to be at the market at the crack of dawn--there is still plenty of high quality produce and large selections at the market--why do you think we got that massive trailer? All the better to bring more stuff for you folks!

For those of you that know us, we have 4 children. If you come to the Uptown Normal market, likely you've seen all three of them (and one or two extras!) helping out, bagging sweet corn and waiting on customers. The fourth one is rarely seen--Kyle is currently serving our country with the Marine Corps. He is stationed in Cherry Point NC (beautiful area--you should visit!) and has been shuttling back and forth between there and Iraq. Unfortunately, the USMC doesn't think picking sweet corn is a priority or I'd have him here every summer! He and his family will be back in town for their annual visit starting this week. Kyle is larger than life and will get you wrapped up in whatever scheme he is focused on at the time. He is a whirlwind of energy, always up for a good time and when he was home, good help on the farm. The picture to the left is a day when he didn't really want to be there: it was cold and wet. I unfortunately didn't have my camera when they came back from picking sweet corn, with Kyle riding on top of the truck roof, singing a little ditty about picking corn, trying to keep everyone's spirits up. I'm trying to get him to stop by one of the Saturday markets--maybe you'll be lucky enough to meet him and his beautiful wife & daughter.

So, with KKA in town and my dad(of pineapple growing fame) & step-mom coming in early September, it's a 3 ring circus ALL. THE. TIME. Did I mention that Kyle has lab mix that stays with us when they are in town? 4 dogs. 1 house. Circus=Mitchell House!

In between all this familial bliss are the crops that need to be harvested! This is the time to start putting away for the non-growing months, with freezing, canning or drying. Bill & I are experimenting with dehydrating peppers for chili powder & paprika, our sweet onions for onion powder and garlic for garlic powder. I bought a dehydrator last year and dried tomatoes for use in soups and stews. I didn't make enough! It is quite amazing at how much water is in food--and how much of it goes away when the product is dried. It's no wonder that dried fruits are expensive!

Following some advice I found on the internet (forget exactly where), I washed and dried whole jalepeno, habanero and Hungarian peppers and put them in the dehydrator. It has taken most of a week, but they are all almost completely dried and ready to be pulverized in a coffee grinder. I also thinly sliced onions and garlic and dried them as well. Since they are thinner, they dry faster. I'll grind them up as well.

I was curious as to how the garlic and onions would taste. The garlic flavor is more concentrated, but not unpleasant when eaten as a "chip", but requires a good tooth brushing! These will make excellent garlic powder! The sweet onions were a surprise! I expected all "hot" onion flavor and no sweet, but the sweet, mild onion taste really came through! Bill thought it tasted like onion candy and would be great sprinkled over salads or squashes. I sliced some more onions last night to dry and put into a trail mix. I'm also going to experiment with drying some potatoes for my own instant mashed!

This weekend in Downtown Bloomington is the Hot August Nights, so plan ahead for parking. There is always FREE, CONVENIENT parking in the Monroe St (I think) parking garage, just south of Fox & Hounds. It's free, its shady for those hot day and there is lots of room! Some streets may be cordoned off, so parking will be a little different than in past weeks.

But don't let that stop you! How can you go another week without:

Watermelon--red & seedless--very juicy and sweet! They come in a range of sizes from small to very large!
Cantaloupe--season is short, enjoy them now when they are at their best
Sweet Corn--if you are "corned" out, think about putting some in the freezer for a blast of summer in the middle of winter--Easy as falling off a log: boil water, blanch for 1 minute, put in ice water, cut off cob and freeze! You can do this with just one ear or with 100!
Tomatoes-perfect for salsa, fresh or canned
Eggplant--we have been bringing record numbers of eggplant--try a white one or a skinny Asian one!
Green peppers
Hot peppers
Sweet onions
Potatoes
cucumbers--finally, our late crop is starting to produce
Summer squash--ditto!
Green Beans--fall crop--these are beautiful, long and crisp. Pair up with some small, fresh potatoes.

Remember, rain or shine! Bring your bags! Bring your cameras--we love it when folks take pictures of our veggies! Bring a friend!

The Eagle has landed...

2008-08-14T07:13:00.003-05:00

Y'all are familiar with my griping about how busy we are and dashing here & there with farm stuff and kid stuff...right? Well, our salvation has just arrived (Wednesday at 4:40 pm) in the shape of Bill's mom, Margaret. She is a saint in human form and a dervish of cleaning (Bill used to call her the Fairbury tornado due to her mad cleaning skillz). Why is this SO exciting? 'Cause it means that my house will not be condemned by the health department!! Within in minutes of pulling up to the house, she was asking what she could do to help....she and Emily started with dishes.

Now, we don't have the typical OMG it's my Mother in Law relationship--in fact, I'll let anyone clean my kitchen! Margaret is a great person and now that she is living in Florida we only get to see her about 3 or 4 times a year. The kids love having her around (except when she makes them clean their rooms!) because she is fun! And she spoils them with lots of hugs, kisses and love--and Disney passes! She works a few days a the Mouse House so when her grandkids come down, we have day passes for Disney. See, I told you she spoils them!

This time, Margaret came with a friend. She recently got a puppy that is part Yorkie and part Chihauhau--so cute! Cubby is so much smaller than our dogs (!) but settled right in and felt comfortable taking Chase's bone away from him this morning! Yes, Margaret is a Cubs fan, to the dismay of Bill. For those of you that know about Bill's love for all things St. Louis & Cardinal, this is very sad. Ball games are quite fun to watch, however with both of them razzing each other, often via long distance!

Now that both of us have our new right hand, some of the craziness that permeates the late summer markets will abate somewhat. We will be at our Country Insurance stand and at the State Farm market until the end of August. I will continue Tuesday afternoons in Uptown Normal as long as we have product and plenty of customers. Of course, we will be in Downtown Bloomington through the end of October (not so far away) with plenty of fall goodies.

What will we bring on our new fancy trailer?

Sweet corn-still picking, although in a new patch, with 2 or 3 patches starting to pollinate. We'll have plenty of corn for Labor Day picnics!
Watermelon-man, do we have a lot of watermelon! All sizes from small to feed-an-army size. Again, we will have plenty in time for Labor Day.
Cantaloupe-juicy, sweet, lovely orange color--it's a fantastic way to get vitamin C
Tomatoes--even with some major crop failure, the tomatoes that we are picking are just fantastic! They are loving this moderate weather--it seems to be giving the plants a chance to recuperate.
Sweet onions--we hit a home run with the sweet onions this year--planted plenty of them and they got lots & lots of water, which is what onions need. These are fabulous cooked or raw.
Potatoes--The white potatoes aren't quite ready, but the red-skinned ones are. Fresh potatoes that haven't been chilled are crisp and actually have taste!
Eggplant--another home run crop. Disease issues haven't seemed to bother the eggplant and we've been picking enough for everyone in B-N to have one! Our white ones and the longer, striped Antiguas are just now starting to mature, so you'll be seeing more of them at the markets.
Green Peppers--some are green, some are turning red, some are confused and are a little of both!
Sweet Banana peppers--slice for salads, pickle for winter, stuff with cream cheese and bake!
Hot peppers--just in time for fresh salsa! Hot pepper jelly is great over cream cheese (ok, low-fat!) or goat cheese.
Cucumbers-still struggling, but we may have a few!
Zucchini & squash-the plants are blooming so you may start to see some fruits here & there.

Will it rain Saturday AM? I hope not--although we had a great crowd last week! Friday night, set out your canvas bags, rain boots & umbrella, set your alarm and make your shopping list! We'll be ready for you at 7:30!

Can't think of a good title

2008-08-08T09:04:00.003-05:00

I'm a little late in posting this week, but we've been running crazy! We have had record crowds at all our markets this week: that's fantastic! I hope we can keep this "I-need-fresh-local-food" train going even after the start of school. Usually market attendance starts to wane the week before school with more week day activities, but there is so much really great produce yet to come that you need to dedicate 20 minutes on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday to stock up for the week. After a summer of eating fresh, local foods, can you really go back to eating lousy supermarket food? I didn't think so!

In addition to the crazy that surrounds us, it's been an expensive week for us. Our large 12' trailer that we haul most of our produce blew out the bearings on one side, making it VERY unsafe for use. Luckily, one of our workers noticed that the tire was not at the proper angle while Bill was hauling about 300 lbs of watermelon back to the main farm!

We've discussed getting a new trailer, but what we were using worked. At least, until this season. We have brought to market more produce than we ever have before. Both trailers are packed full, as well as my truck which doubles as the tomato conveyance (we have around 320 lbs of tomatoes last week--that's a lot!). Since we've always skirted the weight limit on the big trailer, we decided to upgrade to a newer, sturdier and safer trailer. This baby is 16' (!) long and is rated for 5000 lbs--that's a lot of melons! So now we can easily (and safely) bring more cantaloupe and watermelon to market--all good for you!

The watermelon are really starting to produce and we've (ha!-like I've done much) done a great job in keeping them alive this wet spring & summer. Bill read in Farm Week that since they've been keeping meterologic records in 1895(!) that January-July 2008 has been the wettest on record. All I know is that it's August and my grass is still green!

I get asked what else you can do with watermelon, other than just eat and enjoy it. Weeeeell, I think it's pretty good just the way it is! I haven't tried grilling it (yet--although grilled peaches are fab!) and it doesn't lend itself well to canning (watermelon rind pickles do come to mind) or freezing. However, one of my very savvy CSA members freezes her extra watermelon (is there such a thing as leftover watermelon?) for : watermelon margaritas! How awesome is that! Can you picture the middle of February, cold, snow and ice, dark by 3:30---instant summer! If you aren't into margaritas, you could easily make a slushy with other fruit.

What will we be bringing on our fancy, new trailer?

Sweet corn
Watermelon-all seedless, red or yellow, small, medium, large and largest!
Cantaloupe-haven't been many this week--we are hoping the next crop is ready on Friday
Tomatoes-we'll have more 'maters this week--you all are a tomato deprived bunch!
Eggplant-all kinds! The white eggplants are starting to produce and are very good for grilling as they seem to be a little more firm
Green peppers
Banana peppers
Hot peppers--several kinds, Hot Hungarian, Cherry Bomb, anaheim, jalepeno-perfect for salasa
Sweet onions
Potoatoes
Cucumbers-a definite maybe
Pickling cucumbers
Armenian cucumbers-this is new for us and according to the internet and Monica from AZ--these are the best slicing & eating cukes ever! Also known as "snake melons", they don't look like your standard cuke--I think Saturday should be a day to try something new!

I know I'm forgetting something, so stop by and check out the table! Tonight, put your canvas bags in the car (you know who you are!) so you'll be ready for the best market of the season!

Guest entry

2008-08-04T21:54:00.002-05:00

Hi! It's Skipper the Black Lab here. Mom's been very busy, so I'd thought I would help out a little. She's always griping that I don't help at the market! Someone needs to watch and make sure our setup looks good. That's my job.

If you can't tell, I just love coming to the market on Saturday mornings. I've been the top dog for the last few years, but my parents just had to go get another dog. You've probably seen him, he's the obnoxious yellow dog, Chase. He is a knucklehead---not like me at all!

Anyway, my humans have been working very hard in all this heat and humidity. They leave us at home in the AC, because we just go flop in a mud puddle at the farm. Mom doesn't appreciate muddy dogs--not sure why. It's just too hot for us, but Dad brought the trailer back just now and man, is it full!

It must have been miserable out there tonight, but this is what Dad brought back:

Watermelon! Lots and lots of watermelon! Mom will have red and yellow seedless ones.
Cantaloupe
Sweet corn--still sweet and tender--there is a bunch of it
Eggplant-both regular and Asian varieties
Tomatoes-red and yummy--it almost makes me wish I liked them--I'd rather have a hamburger, though.
all kinds of hot peppers--Mom has been talking about making salsa--I guess it's good
green peppers
cucumbers--Mom and Dad were talking about Armenian cucumbers and how good they are--I still want a hamburger!

It is too hot for me to go to the Uptown Normal market (black dogs and hot afternoon sun don't mix well), but I'll be at the Saturday market. Stop by and say hi!

Skipper

Scenes from a market

2008-08-03T18:57:00.007-05:00

Couldn't make it down to the market Saturday? Here's what you missed........

What's in your truck?

2008-08-01T19:45:00.005-05:00

This is what our truck & trailer look like on Friday nights. By the time many of you get to the market, much of this is gone or re-arranged onto tables. There is about 300 dozen ears of corn on the truck---believe me, it will go fast!

See everyone in the morning!

August

2008-07-31T10:18:00.003-05:00

My, my, my....where did the summer go? August is just around the corner and I'm still waiting for the lazy, hazy days of summer. Football (go Cougars!) and soccer (go Fusion!) practices start in the next few weeks, school registrations are due tomorrow (and still on the counter), school starts in 21 days....August has always been a busy month for us even before we started farming!

Usually the trend at the markets has been for business to drop off dramatically about the 2nd week of August. Hopefully, this year, we won't see that trend happen; with the great crowds we've been experiencing at ALL our markets, I hope that all of you have found that eating locally, seasonally and more healthy is more than just something "cool" to do. It is a lifestyle choice--committing to eating better. Plus, your food dollars go further at the market! The food you buy is fresh and won't spoil as quickly as store-bought. The variety of different foods available at the market: tomatoes, eggplant, onions, peppers, potatoes--all are significantly better tasting--because they are fresh (and grown by really great people!).

August has been our month at the market to focus on eating locally and preparing meals using all or mostly locally obtained ingredients. It is easy for our family to eat locally, because we've usually got something in the garage that we've just brought back to the house. Now, we've sold TONS of veggies in the last few weeks: what have you folks done with it? I know that a lot of you shop on Saturday AM with the intention of having friends over that night--what did you have for dinner? Was the entire meal local or just one dish? Did you use anything from your own garden (you get bonus points for that!)? Tell me! Leave a comment about the fabulous meals that you have been fixing using your bounty from the market! Super-volunteer Caroline Fox wrote in the Market blog about her 1st meal back from vacation using her Mitchell Farms CSA share for that week. So, comment away! Tell me about one of your local meals/dish that you have made this summer!

August is the beginning of the end, too. Plants and flowers have mostly reached their peak and will start winding down, preparing for winter and spreading seeds. Usually by this time, the lawns are dry and brown. Not this year! Now, you may enjoy a verdant, green lawn that all this rain has brought us. We, on the other hand, sincerely wish it would stop raining for about 3 more months! All the frequent rains have wreaked havoc on our zucchini, squash and cucumber crops and we are experiencing massive crop failure. Too much rain means rot and fungus and that translates into no squash or cucumber goodies for you! At this point, many of these crops are too far gone to recover, so the availability of these will be limited. Much more moisture will also have an impact on our fall crops, too. Such are the pitfalls of farming.

Changing gears....what hasn't failed?

Watermelon! We will have red seedless watermelon this Saturday from the small personal sized ones to some big, feed a crowd melons. Yellow melons will also be there--these are just as good as a red watermelon, but think with a hint of peach or plum. So very sweet and juicy and good for you!
Cantaloupe--The early crop is just now coming into its own. There were a few last week, but will will be loaded down this week. We are still picking the Early Queens and will be transitioning over to the larger varieties as the season continues.
Sweet corn--Our signature crop--we will have plenty of corn this week. Now is the time to put some up for winter. How wonderful at a winter dinner party or Thanksgiving to pull some summery goodness out of the freezer?! Or maybe a nice hot bowl of corn chowder or veggie soup? Grab an extra dozen and freeze it. I promise it won't take more than an hour to put up 12 ears for the freezer!
Tomatoes--vine ripened, juicy, tasty, some are just flat out ugly! I firmly believe that God intended for tomatoes to taste good, not look good. Their beauty is on the inside! As a former tomato-avoider (I should start a club!), resistance was futile and I assimilated into the club of enjoying summer tomatoes. I still can't just cut one, but as a topping for bruchetta or in gazpacho--I'm there. We have some very, very good hybrids and our heriloom tomatoes are outstanding! Bill has outdone himself this year, as heirloom plants & fruits need a little more TLC. The result is some stellar tomatoes!
San Marzano Italian tomatoes-these torpedo shaped tomatoes are in the Roma tomato classification and are used for making tomato sauce, paste or any dish where not a lot of juice is desirable. I've used these to make sauce with fabulous results--it cans very well. A quick fresh sauce recipe: rough chop one heirloom tomato and 2-3 San Marzano tomatoes, one medium or half a large sweet onion chopped medium, 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced, salt & pepper, fresh oregano. Put tomatoes, onion and garlic into sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until tomatoes have broken down. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add finely chopped oregano. Serve over pasta, sauteed or grilled veggies or on toast!
Eggplant--one of the more underutilized veggies-we'll have the regular purple aubergine, striped Antiguas, a whole pile of Asian varieties and some white eggplants.
Sweet Onions
Maybe, maybe some zucchini, cucumbers & squash
Bell Peppers
Giant Marconi grilling peppers
Sweet banana peppers
Hot peppers: jalepeno, hot Hungarian and others
Garlic
Leeks
Carrots--something new at the Mitchell Ranch--we think we've figured out how to grow these guys finally!
Potatoes--Think potatoes are just the medium for eating butter & sour cream? Fresh potatoes have so much more flavor and texture. You won't be able to go back to store bought (which by the way can sometimes be quite old before they get to the store).

Dave Berchtold is our musical entertainment Saturday. He is a superb performer with a smooth voice and great musical style. Plan on hanging around and listening for a while, have some coffee and a bakery treat and enjoy yourself!

For the Skipper fans, he thanks you for your interest and wonders, indeed, why I don't write about him more often!

Trifecta

2008-07-29T08:13:00.003-05:00

Today, we complete our trifecta: sweet corn, cantaloupe and watermelon! However, there is no gamble in getting cantaloupe or watermelon from us: they are ripe and ready to eat. Also, no jostling around on a semi or sitting in a warehouse....straight from the farm to you! I didn't ask Bill which variety of seedless red watermelon there are, but they are so good! As a service to all our customers, we test and test how our produce tastes before it comes to you! Ah, the sacrifice!

Thanks to everyone that got the cantaloupe-gram and came by to get one or two (or five)! In produce farming, we expect a certain amount of waste either with produce that hasn't sold or doesn't meet our quality standards. One of the quirks about cantaloupe is when they are ripe, you need to have a plan for what to do with them. Bill was puttering around at the farm Sunday and decided to check out the patch of early melons. He ended up bringing home about 100 cantaloupe with no place for them until Tuesday! Needless to say, the plants keep producing and we have about 150 MORE for Tuesday, plus Sunday's bounty.

This is where our e-mail list and our fantastic customers come in. I sent out a "Help! Drowning in cantaloupe" e-mail and several of you came to our rescue. If it didn't work out for you, I know ALL of you would have come by if you could have. I don't know if there will be an other opportunity like this in the future, but you can bet that I will let you know!

Like I said, it's watermelon time. I much prefer watermelon to cantaloupe and don't mind hefting the large orbs in and out of trailers. It makes setting up for a market a little more challenging since we can't toss the watermelon like we do the cantaloupes. Market goers on Saturday got a treat--we needed to put more cantaloupe on the table and the fastest way was for Bill to "toss" them to me over about 12'-14' distance. We usually employ a gentle toss with some height to allow the catcher time to get in position. Not on Saturday. This was major league, 90 mph fast ball throwing. Did I mention that most of these melons were in the 5-7 lb range? Bill threw blind because he was looking down at the next melon to determine if it was still good or if it had crossed the line into yucky (happens fast in this hot weather). I caught every single one, and they were coming fast. The show gets better when we start tossing our BIG melons that top out at 10-12 lbs.

Now is the time where your canvas bags really come in handy! Bags don't like being left in the car or at home (they've told me this !) and just love coming to the market to be filled with all kinds of good food. We do have official Mitchell Farms Produce canvas bags for sale. I haven't had them out at Normal due to more veggies than table space. If you are interested, let me know since I usually have them in the truck. They are $20 and are a heavy duty canvas with the MFP logo embroidered on one side. They also make great gifts! (end shameless plug!).

What will be going into your bags today?

Red, seedless watermelon--first of the season, sweet and juicy
Cantaloupe--there will be a pile of these--no need to have them "ripen" on the counter--ready to eat, cut up a few and have a healthy snack for the rest of the week
Sweet corn--If you haven't had any yet, what are you waiting for?
Zucchini--I have a recipe for zucchini cobbler--desert that is good for you!
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Asian eggplant
Leeks
Carrots--this is the first time we've successfully grown carrots. Allie is very proud of them! She weeded the entire patch by herself a few weeks ago and has been very concerned about their progress. She harvested the carrots and leeks by herself last night while Bill was busy with the melons.
Sweet onions--these make the best onion rings
Sweet banana peppers
Hot Hungarian peppers & jalepeno peppers

The market starts at 3:30 and runs until 6 pm. Old Time Jam will be entertaining us this afternoon, so plan on staying to hear a few tunes!

Rain or no rain: place your bets

2008-07-25T07:41:00.006-05:00

If we sold umbrellas, would more people come to the market? Just a thought......actually, the turnout was outstanding despite the almost constant rain. Thank you, thank you Bloomington-Normal market supporters for showing all the farmers how important fresh, seasonal and LOCAL produce is to you. For your support, we'll keep our end of the bargain and continue to bring fabulous food to you in the months and years to come.

Tip: When it rains, don't stand under the edge of the tents--water will unexpectedly dump down your back! I think I got more wet from that than the actual rain.

An idea that was born back in February/March as an off-shoot of the Sustainable Living & Wellness Expo (you should go!--its great!) was to some how, some way, get locally grown foods into area grocery stores. Would it work? Who would grow the produce? How far away is local? Would produce managers even talk to us? Two members volunteered to investigate possibilities and report back. We thought then that it may be a year or two before we saw something concrete.

Well, concrete happens this Saturday. Barely six months after this concept was discussed, the Local Food Committee and Schnucks will partner to showcase local farmers and their produce. Guess what Mitchell Farms Produce will have there......sweet corn. I know, big surprise.

To kick this off right, Schnucks on Empire St will be hosting a mini-market with a "Meet The Farmer" twist. The Schnucks market will be from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm on Saturday, July 26. Bill will be there from 3:30 to 4:30, so if you've ever wanted to chat with him, now is you chance. He'll be less distracted than at the Downtown market, so stop by and say hi!

We also could use volunteers to help out at this market as well--to assist with Chef Sally Davis preparing samples and also local food advocates to be on hand to talk to other customers about the benefits of local food and knowing the farmer. If you would like to help (you don't have to commit to the entire time), please drop Elaine a line at bloomington_farmersmarket@yahoo.com or stop by the Market tent Saturday morning downtown. Or come see me.

I won't be a the Schnucks market--we're having a birthday party for Allie. For those who know her, Allie has been helping us at the market for the last few years. As her math skills increase, she has been more of an asset and willingly gets up at 5:45 am for the market. She turned 9 this Wednesday and eight of those years, we've been farming, so she hasn't know life without lots of fresh produce and farmer's markets. Allie has always been eager to help out on the farm; even as as tiny 3 year old, she insisted on helping us move cantaloupe. She's a great girl--so stop by and wish her a happy birthday!

Since we're having a cook out Saturday night (after the kid party and two markets!), I know what I'm fixing--what will you have?

Sweet corn--The best around! Tell your neighbors & friends all about our corn--sweet, tender and creamy. Let us know if you want a large quantity (more than 6 dozen) to freeze for the winter.
Tomatoes--We should have a good quantity of tomatoes this week. Some of our best have been the heirlooms: Pink Brandywine & Purple Cherokee are two fantastic varieties. Both have amazing flavor and are solid tomato--not watery!
Cantaloupe--There have been a few here & there this week and we'll have a bunch Saturday. These are an early variety (Early Queen) and they are just fantastic. Very sweet and flavorful. Melon lovers--rejoice!
Green beans
Green peppers
Sweet Banana peppers
Variety of hot peppers--hot Hungarian, jalapeno, and some others--can't remember!
Eggplant-purple & striped
Asian eggplant--these skinny fruits are perfect for stir fry. No need to peel--perfect if you haven't tried eggplant before.
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Sweet onions--perfect for onion rings!
Garlic--fresh garlic CANNOT be missed!
Cherry & grape tomatoes
anything else that's growing that I missed!

Get your canvas bags out of the car, bring them to the market and get something good for dinner this weekend. August is just around the corner and we'll be starting our eat local campaign again. This would be a good week to practice making a local meal or a dish featuring local ingredients. Send me a picture and I'll feature your local meal!

Banana Pepper appetizer

2008-07-23T13:46:00.002-05:00

This is a recipe that shows up all summer at our house. It is crazy easy to make and guest ohh & ahh every time. I received this from a young market attendee a few years ago and misplaced the recipe card that she gave me with her name. I remember that she was a remarkable young lady and was home schooled--if you gave this recipe to me, let me know so you get the credit!

Other than the panko bread crumbs (in the international section of most grocery stores) cream/goat cheese (goat cheese may be showing up yet this fall!), ALL items are available at the Bloomington Downtown Farmer's Market.

Stuffed Banana Peppers

8-10 banana peppers

8 oz cream cheese or goat cheese

2-3 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

1/4 c sweet onion, chopped finely

1/4 c Cheddar cheese, grated

Panko Bread crumbs

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Wash peppers. Lay pepper on its side and remove the top 1/3, leaving on the stem. Carefully remove the seed pod and white membrane. Use gloves if necessary.

Combine cream cheese, bacon, onion, cheddar cheese, salt & pepper. Spoon cheese mixture into pepper shells, mounding up cheese.

Place panko bread crumbs on a plate. Turn peppers upside down in the panko crumbs and place on a baking sheet.

Bake in oven at 350° for 7-8 minutes. Turn broiler on for the last minute to brown the panko crumbs if necessary.

Trailside market this Tuesday

2008-07-21T22:26:00.004-05:00

Continuing another week with fantastic produce and steady support from customers, I'm ready for another Super Tuesday in Uptown Normal!

Last week, we had the only locally grown sweet corn at the market--remember to ALWAYS ask the vendor if they grew the produce they are selling. Is it really fresh if it came from a wholesale warehouse? Know your grower; know their produce. I love that many of my long time, repeat customers are knowledgeable about what produce grows in Illinois and when it is in season. I also like customers that ask questions about how we grow our produce and our farm operation in general. So, remember, if you have a question--ask the grower! There is no silly question except the one you don't ask.

On another note, sadly, Bill didn't feel that there were enough ripe tomatoes to justify bringing any, plus, he could see tonight's storm brewing and he wanted to get the help and himself out of the fields. So, they concentrated on more important things like-----CANTALOUPE!
Yes, you read correctly-cantaloupe. These are Early Queens and they are delicious! We cut one for ourselves tonight (eh, it's one of the perks of farming!) and boy, was it good! So, Cantaloupe Fans, rejoice and come to the market early because there aren't too many of these this week. Come stand in like its an iPhone!

What will we have?

Sweet corn--fresh, sweet and local--just the thing for dinner tonight
Cantaloupe-first of the season!
zucchini
yellow summer squash
eggplant--regular and asian
green beans
green peppers
sweet banana peppers
onions
garlic
shallots
leeks
cucumbers
burpless cucumbers
mini salad cucumbers

Whew! That's quite a list! Come down to the market on Tuesday between 3:30 and 6:00 pm--bring your canvas bags! I don't have my list of who the musical talent will be tomorrow, but there has been some great local musicians providing music for the market.

If you would like a large quantity (more than 6 dozen) of sweet corn for freezing or canning, please let us know in advance! Send me an e-mail at pattm1966@comcast.net if you have questions or wish to order some corn to save for the winter.

See you tomorrow afternoon!

Welcome to the Jungle

2008-07-21T16:17:00.012-05:00

It's hot where you are. Not just hot; humid, stifling, thick. Looking forward, left and right, all you can see is green growth, thick, impossible to move through. Even though you aren't moving, sweat is running in a river down your back; your shoes are soaked with water and caked with mud. It's barely 8 am and already the sun is unbearable.

Welcome to picking sweet corn in Illinois!

Sweet corn picking is hot, wet, messy work--see how we do it!

This is the view of most of the corn that is shoulder high. We'll be picking over on the right hand side of the picture.The rows to be picked are 6 on the right of the truck and 6 more to the left of the truck. Can you see the end of the row? Way, way, waaaaaaay down on the horizon. It's about 1/4 of a mile.

First, grab about 4 or 5 burlap bags. Hold onto one and tuck the rest into your waist band or pockets. It will look like a very itchy skirt. Important safety tip: wearing a black shirt isn't recommended. Light colors work best. Dana and Jason were VERY hot by the end of the morning.

This is your row. Notice the lack of visibility. There is only about 18" between rows. To really experience how hot the corn field is, go into your bathroom, turn on the shower with the hottest water and hang out for 20 minutes or so. Think hot, wet, sticky.

Everyone wave to Carson! He is only about 4 rows away from me. He picked about 13 bags on Friday. There are 5-6 dozen in each bag and they get heavy. Carson is asking me why I am still on the trailer taking pictures. I had to put down the camera after this and pick corn myself.

I couldn't take pictures and pick corn at the same time. This shot is about two hours later as we are picking up the full bags. As we pick down the rows, we carry our bags to the nearest lane. When Bill decides that we have enough bags, we drive down the rows and put the bags in the truck bed and trailer.You can kind of see LeAnn, Brenda and Brandi and the bags of corn. Several of us walk alongside the truck and hand them the bags. The truck kept moving, not stopping. The irrigation had gone through the field in the night, so the field was extra muddy and we were worried about the truck getting stuck with all the weight of the corn. Each bag weighs between 50 & 70 pounds, depending on who filled it.This was my view for most of this exercise. Bill can't really see me and is more concerned with getting stuck or knocking one of the kids off the back of the truck. Running over your wife? Not really a big deal.

This is our fantastic crew: Karen, Dana, Bill, Carson, LeAnn, Emily (she picked 4 bags by herself), and Brenda. Hiding in the back are Brandi and Jason. We simply cannot run our operation without the help of these great workers. Notice that most are girls! Our corn is a very tender variety that must be picked by hand. Using machinery would damage the ears so much that they would be unfit for sale. We could grow a lesser variety, but we will not compromise the taste or tenderness of our corn, just to save a little time.

Produce farming is very physical demanding work in all conditions: hot, cold, rainy, extreme heat. We have a dedicated crew that takes pride helping us bring you the best produce that we can grow.

Eggplant 101

2008-07-19T19:26:00.007-05:00

As promised, here is the first cooking tutorial! I'm starting with eggplant, since we get so many questions from folks that have never had it before. This process is straightforward and pretty basic--no fancy equipment required!

You will need an eggplant (from Mitchell Farms, of course!), kosher salt, one egg, milk, fish breading (we like Andy's), paper towels and oil.

First, wash the eggplant, peel and slice into rounds about 3/8" thick. The eggplant will start to turn brown (oxidize), but this is ok.
Place on cooling rack over a bowl or the sink. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and let sit about 15 minutes. This helps draw out moisture or so I'm told. Rinse well and pat dry with a cloth towel--paper towels leave lint fuzzies--not good for eating.

Put a heavy skillet over medium high heat and add oil The amount depends, buy you want the oil no more than half way up the thickness of the eggplant slice. Full disclosure: I put too much oil in the skillet--oops!
Take the egg and about 1/2 cup of milk and mix in a shallow bowl. Put the breading in a shallow bowl or plate. Taking a eggplant slice, dip into the egg/milk mix then into the breading. Place in hot oil. Cook until brown then flip to cook the other side. When done, place on paper towels to drain.Serve with ranch dressing, ketchup, fresh, chopped tomatoes or the topping of your own choice!

Sweet Corn!

2008-07-18T06:06:00.002-05:00

It's that time that so many of you have patiently waited for--the first sweet corn of the season! We will have a truck load at the Bloomington Market (and also in Springfield & Decatur), so bring your big canvas bag and come on down!

For those of you who are new to our sweet corn: it is like no other corn you have ever eaten. You don't have to rush home and eat it quickly like some varieties and it stays sweet and crisp for days. We grow a gourmet variety that has been developed to be very sweet, but tender at the same time.

Cooking tip: due to the extreme tenderness, you DO NOT NEED TO BOIL THE CORN LONGER THAN 2-3 minutes. Boil your water first (very important), then put your corn in. Modern sweet corn varieties do not need to be cooked to death like the sweet corns of 30 & 40 years ago. When you get home, shuck all your corn at one time (one mess!). Put the corn you aren't going to use immediately in a zip top bag in the fridge. Keeping it in the husk pulls moisture away from the cob. Also, if one of those nasty corn bore worms are in there--they'll eat the entire ear!

Also, don't worry about the corn going bad if you buy too much! It is so simple to process an ear or two at a time when you are fixing corn for dinner. We understand why some folks don't want a full dozen. Continuing on from the above cooking process, only have the corn in the water about 2 minutes. Immediately put the hot corn in ice cold water. This stops the cooking process (aka blanching). When the corn is cool enough to handle, cut off the kernels with a serrated knife, put in a freezer bag (food saver systems are fabulous for this, too!) and enjoy this winter! We have had customers tell us that they have had good success in freezing the corn directly on the cob. We've experimented with it, but don't really care for the taste. Give it a try--you may not notice any taste difference (we are a little picky about corn tastes--kind of like wine snobs). It's very easy to cook an ear and pop it in the fridge.

Talking about putting up corn brings me to another topic: preservation of foods and seasonal eating. Mercy from Blueschool House touched on this topic in her blog discussing Victory Gardens during WWII. Within 2 generations, Americans have become out of touch with the seasonality of their food and most have no idea how to preserve food for winter or hard times.

Many of us remember canning times: hot, steamy kitchens; cranky grandmas and aunts; the scary squeal of the pressure canner! Unless you are very motivated, you don't need to put up 100 quarts of green beans or tomato sauce. Canning can be a very quick way to preserve the bounty of summer and retain much of the integrity of the food product. I am tossing around the idea of hosting a small canning class for newbies a little later this summer. Interested? Wanted to learn to can, but find it intimidating? Drop me a note in the comments if you might be interested. I didn't learn to can until I got roped into chopping tomatoes for my mother in law--it is much more comfortable to learn while watching!

Anyhoo--running out of time--gotta go pick sweet corn for y'all and I haven't taken Bill any coffee yet.

What will you find at our stand tomorrow?

Sweet corn, sweet corn, sweet corn!
Tomatoes-the full size ones!
cherry & grape tomatoes
zucchini
summer squash
cucumbers
eggplant-regular & Asian
leeks
onions
beets
possibly greens: collard, swiss chard, arugula
garlic
shallots
green beans
green peppers
sweet banana peppers--I'll have a recipe on the blog soon!
hot Hungarian peppers

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so plan on stopping by. Don't forget your canvas bags!! It's time to go get the corn!

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

2008-07-14T21:49:00.002-05:00

It's Sweet Corn time! Finally! I've got a trailer full for the Tuesday market. This has probably been the latest we've started picking corn, but now it's here and ready for you.

The arrival of the corn means that we are running at full speed--almost all the crops are ready for harvest, some have run their seasonal course (lettuce, radishes, green onions) and some are just getting planted (fall squash, pumpkins). There isn't much time for weeding or general work that needs to be done. In fact, remember the picture of Allison & Emily weeding a few weeks ago? That row is weeded in again and the weeds are up to my waist. I think most of you would rather we pick veggies than worry about the weeds.

Sunday was a working day for us to get the fall squashes planted, garlic & shallots harvested and some much needed mowing. We've had plenty of rain lately (4" Fri-Sat) and the grass & weeds have been growing great. While Bill planted the fancy pumpkins, I harvested the garlic & shallots. If you haven't had fresh garlic, you are in for a treat! Garlic shouldn't be refrigerated which alters the flavor. Fresh garlic isn't harsh or sharp and it does keep.

What will we have on Tuesday besides corn?

Sweet corn-if you haven't had our corn before, we grow a gourmet variety--sweeter & tender than any other corn!
zucchini
summer squash
cucumbers
tomatoes! we have some regular sized tomatoes as well as the grape & cherry ones
green beans
sweet onions
garlic
shallots
eggplant
beets
green peppers
sweet banana peppers

The market starts at 3:30 and is open until 6. Bring your canvas bags and I'll see you tomorrow. Right now, I need to eat my supper: sweet corn!

Eating locally

2008-07-10T07:53:00.001-05:00

Interesting article in the New York Times primarily about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and more Americans deciding to eat locally--just like you!

read article

Waiting...........

2008-07-10T07:07:00.002-05:00

Waiting. Sometimes, it seems like a good portion of a farmer's time is spent waiting. Waiting to get in the field. Waiting for rain/the rain to stop. Waiting for a tractor part. Waiting for your crops to mature. You can't rush Mother Nature; you just need to be patient, because she's in charge.

We are still waiting on the sweet corn to mature. Bill keeps hoping that maybe, just maybe, on Friday it will magically be ready. But probably not. Keep checking with us! Right now, it looks like next Tuesday will be the soonest. So, we'll just all wait together.

If you don't get the Downtown Bloomington Farmer's market newsletter--why not? You can sign up on line, too. Caroline Fox, number 1 volunteer, writes about going to a "foreign" farmer's market and how good B-N folks have it here! I haven't figured out the link yet, but I will.

Not much changes at the farm. Bill did plant the fall hard squashes: butternut, acorn, and a few pumpkins. We have several varieties of pumpkin this year--not just the orange jack o' lanterns, either! More on those later. We will be pulling first garlic of the season this Sunday, but it will be a week or so before you start seeing it at the market. Garlic needs to dry & cure for a while after being in the ground. If you never have had fresh garlic, you are in for a treat!

The eggplant is finally starting to make an appearance. We will have several varieties over the summer; the oblong ones you see everywhere; long, skinny Asian varieties ranging from dark purple to lavender; round white ones; pale lavender and purple & white striped ones. We have yet to meet an eggplant that we don't like!

Eggplant are so misunderstood and feared for some reason. I don't know if some people they are too "exotic" and require extensive preparation or if they had poorly cooked eggplant and the memory has never left them. I fall into the "had it as a child and didn't like it" camp. Eggplant lasagne--ick. Taste change and now I think I would probably like it. I've started a series of posts on some veggie preparation basics, based on questions we get weekly at the market. My goal is to have our verbal instructions written out with pictures. I've done eggplant; just need to get the pictures in order and posted.

This is the thick of summer: post-July 4 and we are hitting the ground running! We currently have 3 mid-week markets and one on Saturday; by next week, we will be upping the total to 5 mid-week markets and two Saturday ones. If you are unable to hit your regular market day, we're out there somewhere with your veggies. We are very fortunate in B-N to have built up such quality farmer's markets.

What will be ready this week?

Cucumbers--regular and mini salad size
Zucchini
Summer squash
Sugar snap peas
Green beans
Cherry & grape tomatoes (we've picked 3 regular tomatoes--they're coming soon!)
Beets
Eggplant
Peppers-bell & sweet banana; hot ones take a little longer
Sweet onions
Leeks

I'll have most of this at State Farm market on Thursday (2-6 pm, SF Park), too. The weather should be lovely for the rest of this week, so put the market on your weekend to-do list. Bring your canvas bags, tell your friends (or just put them in the car and make them come) and join us in all the downtown fun!

See you Saturday!

"How do I fix..........?"

2008-07-09T18:31:00.003-05:00

"How do you fix eggplant?" That is one of the most frequent questions that we get right after "When's the corn going to be here?" ( July 15 this year).

It just dawned on me that I have the perfect forum to list how-to guides for preparing vegetables and recipe ideas. So often at a market, someone will ask how to prepare something. Bill and both love to cook and are always looking for more ways to prepare the veggies that we sell and we really enjoy sharing with our customers.

However, a busy Saturday isn't the best time to have your customers memorize multi-step recipes for foods that they have never prepared before! A few years ago, we decided to print recipe cards to have on the tables. Having recipes available has bolstered many a new cook's confidence level! I try to have fairly simple, quick recipes for the produce we have available at the time. The markets have been so popular this year, we can't seem to keep recipes in stock! It really is a good problem to have.

Something that Bill and I educate market goers over and over again is the basic, simple preparation of many veggies. Many people never learned to cook or didn't have the need to learn, but for a variety of reasons (health, economics, sustainability) have decided to start preparing local, fresh foods. When we first started selling produce, we never thought that quite a bit of what we do at each market would be educating folks about produce. I'm just glad that people are curious enough to ask and are willing to learn and that we have answers to their questions.

So, as I get around to it, I'll post basic preparation steps for some of our more popular veggies. If I think about when I'm actually cooking, I'll even take step by step pictures! I'm just going to ask for a few things from you: if you have a favorite recipe for something, send to to me! If you think it's good, others will also; plus, YOU get all the credit. If you know someone who is struggling with learning to cook, send them the link to this site. Finally, if there is a veggie that I haven't covered or you have a question about preparing it--ask away! Leave your questions/queries in the comments or e-mail me directly at pattm1966@comcast.net.

Tuesday Trailside Market

2008-07-07T21:52:00.002-05:00

Every week, Bill and I are overwhelmed at the growing popularity of our local markets! It makes our hard work so worth it hearing you ohh and ahh over our produce. Usually, July4th is a slow market day--it's the first real holiday of the summer and most families take that week to start their vacation. We were blown away by the crowd this Saturday and hope that more people make the commitment to using fresh, local produce to feed their families.

Real summer weather is upon us: hot, humid, chance for thunderstorms. The thunder kept me up last night! This weather is just what the sweet corn needs. The ears is in the blister stage and just need to fill out. This usually takes about a week and high temps really help this process. We'll keep you posted!

What will be waiting for you Tuesday?

Green Beans--these almost caused a riot Saturday--come early if you want some!
Arugula
Zucchini
Summer squash
Eggplant--regular and Asian varieties
Yellow grape tomatoes
Red cherry tomatoes
Sugar snap peas
Sweet onions

As always, the Trailside market begins at 3:30 pm in the Parkinson parking lot behind Wild Country and is open until 6 pm. The Old Men Boys will be keeping us entertained this week, so come down (with your canvas bags!!) and hang out for awhile!

Saturday at the Market....

2008-07-07T18:51:00.004-05:00

What a wonderful day! Thanks everyone who took the time to come out!

Late Breaking Veggie News!

2008-07-04T19:06:00.003-05:00

Bill just got back from the farm and has a few things that we didn't plan on when I updated on Wednesday. First up, GREEN PEPPERS! This the earliest we have ever picked any type of pepper. They love the hot weather, so we are kind of surprised that they were big enough to pick.

Next up--KOHLRABI. What is it, you say? Kohlrabi is a member of the cabbage family which gives kohlrabi a nice, mild cabbage taste. It is also versatile good either raw or cooked.

Kolhrabi is an excellent, crunchy addition to a veggie tray, cubed on a salad or shredded into coleslaw. It can also be boiled & mashed or cubed and baked with cheese.

Last, but not least, are GREEN BEANS. These long, straight, green beans are the first that we've brought to the market. This is a new variety that we are trying this year and I think we've hit a home run with them. Long and straight and skinny: all the qualities that you look for in a green bean. These will go fast, so come down early.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Fourth of July--we're celebrating by having brats and watching the Cardinals play the Cubs! See you on Saturday.

Hoopty-Doo

2008-07-02T18:26:00.007-05:00

Bill and I get asked all kinds of questions at the markets: "How do you do this?; Where do you find the time?; How do I cook this?; What does eggplant taste like?" Most of the answers are fairly easy and can be quickly answered. One question that I find difficult to answer without taking up someone's entire Saturday morning is "How did you get started growing everything?"

Bill's answer is easy: he grew up on a farm and growing vegetables was just part of what they did. It's second nature for him. I, however, am a town kid, but had a special person in my life that has inspired me every day that I work with produce.

My brother and I had a special name for him: Hoopty. He loved to play with us kids, especially roughhousing and general goofing around. When we were small punks, he would let us ride on his back, cowboy-style, and try to buck us off. He always made a "hoop-hoop" sound while discharging us to the floor; hence the name "Hoopty".

Actually, my grandfather was just a very large kid and usually the one to think up things to get us a good scolding from my grandmother and aunts. He would encourage us to play loudly inside, then chuckle when we were unceremoniously put outside or told to play in the basement. He always got a kick out of what ever imaginary game we thought up and usually would lend string, pocket knife or tin can to our game. Looking back, he worked hard all his life and now could, through his grandchildren, be a child.

Besides being a staunch St. Louis Cardinal fan, he loved to garden. His vegetable garden was an amazing place and I could kick myself for never having gotten a photo of any sort. Weeds were afraid to grow. The garden was as wide as the yard in Gridley, probably about 40' or so, with a path of pavers in the center, giving way to a few planks toward the end. The last board was warped and would tip easily. I remember him coming home from working at the post office (he was the Postmaster), changing into "work clothes" and slippers (?) and going out to see

He grew everything in his garden: tomatoes, sweet corn (Illini Super Sweet!), carrots, green beans, cabbage. My memories are of summer dinners that consisted of sliced beefsteak tomatoes (served on a lovely turquoise platter), cottage cheese, sweet corn and baloney sandwiches. Yeah, even as a kid, I ate pretty locally. His garden produced quart after quart after quart of green beans that Grandma canned and put on shelves in the basement. I would spend time with her during the summer, watching TV, drinking Pepsi from a glass (!) bottle and snapping crisper drawer after drawer of beans. I am an expert bean snapper due to my early training!

Strawberries were also put up, thousands at a time, frozen into quart containers to be used throughout the year on ice cream or over shortcake. Grandma and my aunts would be in the house removing the green caps, slicing berries and prepping them for the freezer. Hoopty and us kids (my brother & cousin) would be picking out in the hot sun. He always considered berry picking as "dollar-a-minute work" (the Uncle Remus stories were favorites he shared with us) and would "pay" us a dollar a minute...if we didn't eat the berries. Needless to say, I never made much picking strawberries.

Always looking to find a better way to do something, he would pull you aside to show you his newest way of tackling a problem, always using items he had on hand or re-fashioned. You never knew what you would be lead to see when he approached you uttering the words, "Come here, I want to show you somethin' " and smiling mysteriously, would lead you to the basement, garage or garden to show his new invention. My favorite was the T stool. Hoopty devised a way to comfortably (relatively speaking) pick strawberries without stooping or crawling on your knees.

Taking a length of 2' x 4', he cut two pieces; one about 18" long, the other about 12". The longer piece was placed perpendicularly on top of the shorter one, making a 'T'. He nailed them together and --voila! The T stool was born. To use, place the short end on the ground and place your bottom on the long part of the T. Gently bend forward and pick/eat your strawberries. Simply lift and move to next location. It was corny; but it worked. We got a lot of mileage out of gently razzing him about those stools.

We always got a tour of the garden when we visited; we had to be shown what was new, where the tomatoes were going to be that year, where he found baby bunnies in a nest. The tour started before you even got to the house, it was that important. One summer was very hot and dry and rather than waste water by sprinkling it over the top of his tomatoes and corn, he carefully dug trenches throughout his garden and irrigated everything at the roots. He would love what we do with drip tape.

He has been gone for 16 years today. I miss hearing him say "wait once, wait once" as I impatiently tried to pick something that wasn't quite ripe, seeing the look of surprise on his face when I would find quarters and dollar coins in the box of sweet corn we were shucking, listening to Jack Buck call a Cardinal game and telling me that Mr. Buck was a great man or laughing at the horrible green & fuschia striped "Christmas" shirt he wore every year.

My last visit with him was two weeks before he died. I had been in Chicago at a training seminar and was meeting Bill in our hometown of Pekin. I stopped in Gridley for a bathroom break and to see if I could snag a snack off one of my two grandmother.

My first stop was my mother's parents. This was a slam dunk; Grandma ALWAYS had homemade cookies. No one was home. Forgot, it was Friday and 5:00 pm! Early bird special night. Of course they weren't there. No worries, just a few blocks over to the other grandparents; definitely would be able to get a Pepsi (in a glass bottle!) here. No hope of cookies, but maybe bean salad (sorry, family joke). Hoopty was the only one home (figures-4 grandparents, only one available). He let me have a Pepsi, reminding me to replace the one I took with a warm one or Grandma would let me have it.

We had a great visit. I don't really remember what we talked about. Bill & I had just bought a new house and were planning an open house for right after the Fourth. There was a bare spot in the yard from the previous owner's pool and we planned to put a garden in there. I don't remember any great words of advice or what to plant or not to plant, but I do remember him telling me that I would enjoy every minute of it, but it was also hard work. He was excited for me and had he lived, I know he would have pulled up to our new house, brought out a shovel and spade from the car and gotten right to work spading up our new garden space. That's the kind of guy he was.

Independence Day

2008-07-02T07:34:00.006-05:00

Describe summer: lemonade, swimming, Fourth of July are probably on the list. My list would also include watermelon and sweet corn, of course! For most of us, we get a 3 day weekend, with the 4th on Friday. Yes, your ever-dedicated farmers will be at the market on Saturday with plenty of great, fresh produce.

Unfortunately, we won't have corn for the 4th this year. We tried, but Mother Nature must be on a corn-free diet and didn't let the weather cooperate. Keep checking with us at the markets and here on the blog for sweet corn updates.

I came across an interesting article in the NYT Health section about the top 10 foods that people aren't eating. Unless you live under a rock, most people have become more aware of the benefits of healthy eating via the media. Just about every Sunday, there is a feature article somewhere in the paper regarding eating foods that are good for you, that will prevent disease, keep you looking younger, give you more energy. Basically the same information many of us got in health class or home ed (or FACTS or whatever they call it in school now): Eat. Your. Veggies.

Three of the ten items on the list can be found at our local farmers markets: beets, cabbage & swiss chard. Pumpkins won't be available until later in the fall and we've got several different types. Article here.

Really, you can't go wrong by eating fresh, local veggies! Make an Independence Day resolution (yes, it does exist--I just made it up!) by trying something new from the market or making your Saturday night dinner all local. Then, let me know! I love to hear everyone's recipes and stories about something new that you've tried. The comment section is open and ready for business!

What will we have for your Saturday night local feast?

Zucchini--I've got some great new recipes for zucchini
Summer squash
Green beans--first crop-long, straight, sweet & tender!
Sugar snap peas
Leeks
Radishes
Green onions
Eggplant--first of the season--regular, varigated and Asian
Grape tomatoes
Collard greens
Mustard greens
Arugula
Slicing cucumbers
Mini cucumbers--these cuties are where the deli dill pickle come from. Un-pickled, they are great sliced or in a salad.

The market starts at 7:30 am and is open until 12:00 noon. It should be a beautiful day, so bring the kids, dogs and some chairs to enjoy the music! Don't forget your canvas bags either! We will debut Chase, so stop by to say hi!

Trailside market this Tuesday

2008-06-30T20:11:00.003-05:00

Hey! The Fourth of July is this Friday--where did June go? It doesn't seem possible that we are about a third into summer and before you know it, we'll be getting ready for the Thanksgiving Market! I guess it hasn't been hot or humid enough yet to feel like summer.

As noted in the previous post, Chase is home from doggy college. He is settling in fine; right now, both dogs insisted that I come out and sit on the deck while they do....dog stuff. That mostly consists of staring at the other dog on his deck a few yard over and trying (unsuccessfully) to catch robins. We don't quite trust Chase to stay in the yard, so we stay out with him. He should get it figured out by winter, I hope!

Bill was out checking the crops yesterday and brought home some eggplant! It maturing much quicker and will be ready by the weekend. You will also notice in the picture are onions and garlic! Garlic is a new crop for us and we can't wait to start harvesting it. The is absolutely no comparison between store bought garlic and fresh garlic. Garlic, like onions, will loose their flavors if refrigerated. We should be pulling the cloves before too long and then it will be a few weeks while the garlic cures.

The sweet corn is looking good; better than we thought at one time, but we are still holding to our timetable of the 3rd Saturday in July for the first harvest. Although, with more sunny days and hot weather, Mother Nature could really help us out! Keep checking for sweet corn updates!

What will we have for this week?

Arugula
Collard greens
Mustard greens
Leaf lettuce
Zucchini (new recipe at the market!)
Summer squash
Radishes
Sugar snap peas-good raw or in a salad

It looks like it will be a beautiful day, so find your canvas bags and come down to the market. Brian Choban will be entertaining us from 4:30 to 6--why not bring a chair and stay and listen for a while? The market, while being a fantastic place to stock up on fresh, local produce, is also the IN spot for meeting up with friends!

NKOTB

2008-06-28T19:31:00.003-05:00

For those of you that aren't children of the late 80's & early 90's, our "New Kid On the Block" is back! Bill left the market early to go pick up Chase, our yellow lab, from the trainer. Chase has been at doggie university learning how to become a working retriever. This fall, he will be fetching up ducks and geese for Bill.

As most of you know Skipper, he is a very tolerant dog and seems to be fascinated with Chase. They have been wrestling (nicely, with no growling!) and constantly moving throughout the house. Chase didn't really remember us as he has been away at school since February, but seems to be adapting well. He hops up on the couch to sit next to me just like he used to. I'm pretty sure that by bed time, he will remember he used to sleep on the bed in the middle. What? Doesn't your dog sleep on the bed? Ours are just a little spoiled!

Chase will make his market debut next week. Stop by and say hi!

Knee high.........

2008-06-26T07:56:00.012-05:00

...by the Fourth of July. Hmmm...our sweet corn is WAY past the knee! Bill took some pictures to give you an update on the sweet corn; we're getting lots of inquires about when it will be ready. At this point, the corn needs some hot, hot days to finish tasseling and to produce ears. We are estimating that we may have corn by the 3rd week in July--check the blog often for an update. With all the cold, wet weather we experienced this spring, it is taking all the summer veggies a little longer to get ready. But isn't anything good worth waiting for?

Has anyone made a local meal yet? One dish for dinner that uses local items? Anyone? Y'all are a quiet bunch--leave me a note in the comment section! Since I haven't heard from anyone, this is what we had for dinner last night. Usually we are running around crazy during the week, we don't often have a chance to sit down to a meal like this. We save it for the weekend when we have a little more time, but with the rain Wednesday morning (1.5 inches!), Bill decided to take a night off. And, no, I usually don't get out a fancy tablecloth--the girls set the table!

To start: green salad with radishes, grape tomatoes & onions. The radishes, onions, & tomatoes are ours; the lettuce is from Blue Schoolhouse. Eggs are from the store (have a 14 year old son who eats 2-4 fried eggs daily--sigh).

Side dish of swiss chard, again from Blue Schoolhouse. Our chard is only a few inches high right now. Now that the weeds are gone, it has a chance of getting big enough to eat! This is the first time that I remember ever eating chard as a cooked green. If you wilt it just a little, the leaves stay vibrant green. The rainbow chard stems are almost neon in color and glow with the green backdrop. No artificial coloring here--isn't it amazing what nature comes up with?

Main dish: venison roast with grilled radishes and leeks. What? Grilled radishes? Are yummy. Isn't that why you come to the market? To try new things and to learn new ways to fix old favorites? Of course, it is. Try new things this week!

Leeks are a new veggie to us. Plant them like onions, give them plenty of water & well drained soil. Easy-peasy. They are quite beautiful out in the field; rows of long, green leaves. I just cut the leeks in half, washed them well (they collect dirt in their many crevices), then let them dry for a bit. They got the Barefoot Contessa treatment (olive oil, sea salt & balsamic vinegar) then onto a hot grill. Leeks have a mild onion/garlic flavor. If you don't like the stronger flavors of onions or garlic, give leeks a try.

What will you be able to find this week for your local meal?

radishes
green onions
leeks
arugula
mustard greens
collards
kolhrabi
sugar snap peas
zucchini
summer squash

Remember, rain OR shine! Bring your canvas bags! Bring your pets! And kids! Friends that haven't been to the market before! Any more reminders??? I know I'm forgetting something...

We begin the market at 7:30 am and stay open until noon. This week, the McLean County Mandolin Society will be providing musical entertainment. Get some coffee and a snack from one of the bread vendors and stay a while and enjoy! Check out the Market's website for more details. See everyone on Saturday!

Can ya hear me now?

2008-06-24T19:06:00.002-05:00

For those of you that listen to WJBC, I was lucky enough to have a short Q& A with Beth Wisman this afternoon before the Uptown Trailside Market! I've never been on the radio before, so I was a little nervous (!) and don't think I said anything spectacularly dumb. It was fun to have the chance to talk about ALL the vendors and why the market is a must-stop destination on Tuesdays. I also took the opportunity to remind all you to remember your canvas bags! No more forgetting since I don't think they will have me on the radio every week!

I usually stay away from the media and let Bill field those requests. I don't know if the interview will be on their website--I hate hearing how I sound, so maybe that's a good thing. See everyone Saturday!

Trailside Market-Week 4 & eating locally

2008-06-23T12:25:00.006-05:00

What a beautiful weekend, especially after it quit raining. I hope everyone got a chance to get out and enjoy some of the best weather we've had in quite a while. July is next week (EEK!), so you know the heat & humidity aren't too far off.

Bill got a rare day off from the farm on Sunday. His next day off: September. Really, don't feel TOO sorry for him; he can't help not going out, plus there is always something to do. Actually, on Friday, Bill, Carson and our nephew, Hunter, planted the squash and other fall crops while the rest of the crew harvested for the Saturday market.

A few years, I planted a seed of an idea with Elaine, the Bloomington Downtown Farmer's Market about starting an initiative for eating local meals in the month of August. She took that idea and has been working hard to make our customers aware of the benefits of eating locally.

While it is great to dedicate August to being "Eat Locally" month (and lots of fun!), why not start now and dedicate one meal a week or maybe one dish made with all local ingredients starting now?

This is my challenge to you: make one meal or one dish a week for the rest of the summer from ingredients from the farmer's market (yes, salads count!). Items used in the dish should be mostly local; spices, olive oil, etc. are given a bye. Also, it's up to you to define local. For some, it may be the central Illinois area; for others it could be the Mid-West. Take a picture of your dish or meal and send it to me with some backstory. I'll post some the interesting and creative ones. I'll share first: we had friends over on Saturday evening--the very best way to share a local meal! We BBQ'ed chicken from TJ's Free Range Chickens and also had duck courtesy of the Mississippi flyway. Fresh radishes were in abundance (we had some left from the market) and Bill fried up some zucchini (OK-the ranch dressing wasn't local) and our friends Bill & Mercy brought garlic scapes sauteed with rice. We had a salad also, but forgot to get it out of the fridge! OOPS! It was a fun evening with good friends and we treasure these times. I can't wait to hear about your dinner!

If you have no real idea about how to fix some of the produce you encounter at the market--ask the vendor! Or simply ask another customer who is buying the same item how they prepare it. I've gotten some great ideas from my customers sharing I try to have recipes available at the market that are tied into what is on offer that day. Also, the internet is your best resource. Do a search for "garlic scapes" or "how to cook turnips". One of my best go-to sites is Simply Recipes. I get a lot of recipes and inspiration from here.

So, what will end up on your table this week?

Red radishes--try them grilled or make radish slaw
Green onions
Turnips
Leeks
Zucchini
Summer squash
Collard greens
Mustard greens
Arugula
Maybe--sugar snap peas

This week, you'll find Austin Found in the spot to my west. Bring a chair or blanket, stay a bit and enjoy the music. You could also bring a picnic dinner or get a to go meal from The Garlic Press! The markets starts promptly at 3:30 pm with a whistle instead of a bell! Remember your canvas bags!

Summer time--and the livin' is easy

2008-06-20T11:14:00.010-05:00

Well, it may be easy for some people....for veggie farmers, it's the busiest time of the year. We are just on the verge of full production and it seems that there aren't enough hours in a day. The last of the cantaloupe and watermelon crops are in. I don't remember exactly the number of melons that we planted, but it is upward of 5,000. Then you have all the other stuff.....it's easy if we can use the transplanter or seeder. We probably have planted close to 10,000 plants this year--not counting any sweet corn or any of the fall crops that will get planted next week.

Before we can start the autumnal "garden", weeding must be done! All farmers battle weeds and everyone has their favorite way or special implement. Yesterday, the swiss chard, 2nd crop of arugula and mustard greens and carrots needed to be liberated from the insidious grasses, velvetleaf and volunteer sunflowers. We plant quite a few sunflowers for the turtledoves (mourning doves, if you prefer) and shred off the seed head in the fall. If you want to know what comes next, come see me at the market. I think most of you have a good idea (hint: Bill hunts).

ANYWAY, we had three rows of arugula, mustard greens and swiss chard that were about 75' long (or maybe longer--Emily thought it was about 10 miles) that needed work. The area between the rows had been tilled, so weeds weren't a problem there. Since we didn't get very good germination from the seeds, the rows are pretty skimpy, giving the weeds a foothold. So, it was find the plant, carefully pull the closer weeds away by hand, then use a hand tool to chop away the weeds between plants. Of course, there was no consistency between plants and the chard is extremely tiny and blended in well.

In this situation, the only solution is intensive hand weeding. Chemicals can't be used because not only will they kill the weeds (yay!), but will also kill your plant (sob!). Garden hoes can be useful, but it is very difficult to get close to the plant without uprooting it. So we used the best implement known to man: hands. Kid hands are especially good at this task--think little fingers! Yes, we make our kids toil in the fields and yes, they do know the difference between the weeds and plants. This is Allie on the left, and Emily on the right. Most of you know Allie from the market; Emily tends to stay home and sleep on Saturdays! They both do very good work and we do pay them. This picture illustrates how thick the grasses are in the rows. We are working about a 1/3 into the field; our land goes all the way to the trees in the back--this section is about 6 acres. Way, way in the back is a blue pickup and Bill & Karen are uncovering the cantaloupe crop. Plants are sending out vines like crazy and there are lots and lots of blossoms.

The carrots patch was a little better; the rows were shorter and we were only dealing with velvetleaf (a beautiful plant if you don't farm) and the volunteer sunflowers. These guys are big, so we didn't need to sit down or scoot on our bottoms. Sunflowers have surprisingly deep roots so it took a little more muscle to pull them out. This is our first go at growing carrots (customer repeat request), so we are pretty excited. They are all top right now; it will take quite a few weeks for the root to develop and form. They are over in the NW corner of the land, up on the "sand hill". The loose, sandy soil should let us grow some fantastic carrots. I'll take some pictures when I'm out there again.

With the longer days and hotter temps, this is probably the last week for the head lettuce. I've illustrated what a "bolted" head of lettuce looks like. Bolting or going to seed is what cool weather plants do (as do all plants eventually) when they reach the end of their growing season. The plants stretches up, send out flowers to attract pollinating insects and becomes bitter to discourage insects from eating the mother plant before seeds can be produced. Our lettuce patch is a mess, but we'll mow it down and plant some fall items in its place. This plant is actually some bok choi and behind it is some Red Oak Leaf lettuce, plus a variety of weeds and grasses.

What's new this week? Do I dare tell you? We couldn't believe it when we did a crop check! I'll give you a hint: it starts with a 'T" and rhymes with potato...............yep, we've got tomatoes!

Now to be fair, these aren't the put-on-your-sandwich type tomatoes; these are a grape tomato variety and are a translucent yellow. Taste testers reported that they have a lovely flavor, sweet and juicy. Disclaimer: there aren't very many just yet----so, you will have to be early (i.e., first in line). I don't know if there will be enough to fill a pint container, so it may be a few 'maters in a baggie. I know more when I get out there tonight.

Have you experimented with cooking any veggies this summer? One of our CSA members asked this week what else we could do with green onions. Bless our CSA-ers, they have had a bunch of green onions every week so far! Off the top of my head, I wasn't sure what else to do with them other than eating them raw or chopping to decorate a main dish. Later that night, as I was fixing dinner, I got inspired by Ina. Ina Garten or the Barefoot Contessa is one of my heros--man, I would LOVE to be her neighbor! I know, Hamptons, rich people, etc, etc, but I just love her excitement over good friends and good food. She makes just a big of a fuss over simple mac & cheese as she would over a fancy meal.

Anyhoo, one of the ways she fixes veggies is to roast them in the oven with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of "good" salt (if you watch her show-you know what I mean!) So, channeling that, I cleaned some green onions, leaving about 4" of green and marinated them in some olive oil and balsamic. They went on the grill ( about med-high) until they were limp and had those great grill marks. Back onto a plate for a little fresh olive oil and balsamic, sprinkle of salt and serve! Yummy!

Another question I get is, "What else can I do with radishes?" Thanks to Nicole and her innovation, roasting or grilling is an option. Earlier today, inspiration struck again! I was looking for new recipes and ran across shredded diakon radishes----hmmmm, what about shredding/grating regular radishes and making a slaw-like dressing? At lunch, I went home, shredded up 2 red and 2 white radishes, added a little rice vinegar and olive oil and salt. YUMMY! This would make a great addition to a fish dish (tilapia anyone? You can get it at the market!) or with ribs (again, available at our market, too) or just on its own. We will have plenty of radishes this week, so get an extra bunch to try.

What will we have? I'm glad you asked!

Head lettuce-mostly Red Oak Leaf, maybe some other kinds
Leaf lettuce
Red, white & French Breakfast radishes
Watermelon radishes-different! These have some bite to them, but would be good shredded
Zucchini--dust off your zucchini bread recipes! It's that time!
Summer squash
Broccoli
Leeks--National symbol of Wales and a member of the Onion family--try them grilled
Green Onions--grill these too while you're at it!
Turnips--I grilled these, too. I actually like them this way.
Collard greens
Mustard greens
Arugula

We've noticed that quite a few customers are coming prepared with canvas or re-usable bags to the market. I love seeing the Locavore bags coming back every week. It's much better for your veggies, especially the tender leafy items, in a sturdy bag. They don't get squished and the handles don't cut into your hands AND you don't have 3597523581 bags to deal with when you get home. It may seem like a little thing, but for every canvas bag, we don't use a plastic one. This cuts down on our overhead expenses (big picture) and helps us keep prices reasonable. So, collect your canvas bags, last year's school back packs, baskets, buckets or wagons! We've even seen special saddle bags made for dogs! Put your pooch to work carrying your veggies!

The market opens at 7:30 am (come early and get your coffee!) and is open until noon. Plan on staying to enjoy the musical talents of Austin Found and letting the kids explore Children's Acres. Twin Oaks & TJ Chicken will be grilling and handing out samples (do not skip this!) and WJBC will be live broadcasting. It will be a busy, fun day, so don't miss out!

See you at the market!

Lovin' Tuesdays!

2008-06-17T19:26:00.003-05:00

Wow! Once again, Bloomington-Normal, you amaze me. The turnout at the Trailside Market was fabulous! If this was your first time to the market: Welcome! I hope I had a chance to talk with you, especially if you have questions, but if I didn't, try me next week! Also, feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about our produce, our farm or how to prepare what you got at the market--even if you didn't get if from Mitchell Farms.

We had a great jazz group play--sorry! I forgot their name--and had people stick around for awhile to listen and visit with friends. It felt like more of an event rather than just running a errand to the market......I hope that more of you bring your chairs and friends and stay a bit and enjoy the market.

See you all next week!

Super Tuesday!

2008-06-16T21:15:00.003-05:00

It's that time again: Tuesday's Trailside Market in Uptown Normal!

We should have good weather tomorrow afternoon, so put your canvas bags in the car now! I'll wait.........................................................Make sure your friends know about the market, too!

Summer is starting to show up here & there. The leafy crops are giving up and the weeds are winning! We try to stay ahead of the weeds, particularly around the crops, but there is only so much that you can do. We have a great crew and they work especially hard separating crops from weeds.

Zucchini is in the house. The plants are going crazy producing and are just full of little fruits. The yellow squash isn't far behind, either. If there is a new squash recipe you've been waiting all winter to try, now is your chance. In fact, we just had dinner (yes, at 9:21 pm): chicken & arugula with a side of quinoa & grilled zucchini. Other than firing up the grill and boiling some water, it's a quick meal. I'll have recipes at the stand tomorrow, so stop by and get one.

What else will we have?

Head lettuce--Buttercrunch, Red Sails and Red Oak Leaf. This will probably be the last week for the head lettuce as its been too hot. Get it while you can!
Leaf lettuce--the leaf lettuce experiment has been working out well, so we will bring leaf lettuce while we can
Red, White & French Breakfast radishes--new crop and looking great!
Green Onions
Japanese Turnips
Beets! Finally!!
Collard Greens
Mustard Greens
Arugula
Zucchini

It only gets better from here on out, so make Tuesday afternoons a "must-stop" for your mid week produce. The market opens at 3:30 pm and there is live music down on the west end by the Amtrak terminal.

See you there!

Week 5--summer's here and a vacation

2008-06-12T16:24:00.009-05:00

Summer must be here--I can't believe how hot it's been! Usually we don't turn on the AC until later in June, but we've had it on for a few weeks now. The pool is up and the kids are getting good use from it when it isn't raining. So far, its been a pretty good summer activity-wise.

If you braved the rain last week, you may have noticed that Bill and I were both not at the market. We haven't taken a typical 2 week summer vacation since we've started farming, but will try to take the kids somewhere warm in the winter months. We had the opportunity to attend a weekend away in St. Louis put on by Bill's employer. It never is easy and Bill got up early on Friday to get everything picked and ready for our substitutes. On the way down, we got caught in a horrible thunderstorm and crawled on the interstate! The rain was incredible and we were amazed at how much water was in creeks, ditches and fields. We were thankful that we haven't had that much rain.

We had some free time on Saturday, so we went to some farmer's markets! Big surprise! The first market we stopped at was the Tower Grove Farmer's Market in Tower Grove park. This market is just starting its 3 year and already has a strong customer base. Since it is still fairly early in the season and many farmers in the area are struggling with weather, there weren't as many vendors at the market as we thought there would be. It's exciting to go somewhere else to see what might be different, but Tower Grove Market isn't much different than ones here in Illinois. The setting is in a small lot in a beautiful city park. There was live music, coffee (!), and tai chi nearby. We made a circuit quickly and got in line for strawberries. Who could pass that up? I chatted with some folks in line and got a cantaloupe smoothie recipe that I'll be sharing later this summer.

Our next stop was Soulard Market. The Soulard Market was established in 1779 and bills itself as the oldest public market west of the Mississippi. The market has a permenant building in the shape of an H with open areas on the legs of the H and year round stores inside the short part. Just about anything goes here; it's quite different than any other market you might find. In this area of St. Louis, there isn't a convenient grocery store near, so the market provides produce that is not locally or producer grown. The purpose of this market is a little different than what we are trying to accomplish in Bloomington or Normal and there are vendors that do grow their own items. Additionally, you can buy knock-off purses, wallets, T-shirts, pictures and other items that may not have any link to food. It's sort of a flea market vibe in one section. There are several meat vendors, flower vendors, one stall with homemade pasta and a pet shop. The highlight is the mini donut stall. The donut maker is set low enough that you can watch your baby donuts make their trip down the oil-way to be dusted in powdered sugar or drizzled with chocolate. There is usually some street entertainment around and people watching is prime.

If your summer plans include St. Louis, besides going to the zoo, arch or ballgame, try to visit one of these markets. More information on both is at www.tgmarket.org and http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/soulardmarket/index.html.

Back home in IL: what will the Mitchell's have this week?

Head lettuce
Leaf lettuce
Red & white radishes
Green Onions
Japanese turnips
Beets
Zucchini & summer squash

This heat has not been kind to our leafy crops! We've had to say goodbye to the spinach already. These cool weather leafy greens do not like the heat and are starting to go to seed. We will have a little bit of zucchini and summer squash this Saturday, which is very exciting! Squashes are the beginning of the summer items, so this means that tomatoes (salmonella-free!), melons, eggplant and corn aren't very far behind. I didn't ask Bill, but we should be getting some green beans and sugar snap peas very soon as well. I'm sure I'm forgetting other crops, so stop by and see what we have!

I joke about the tomato problems that have been in the national news this week, but really, do you need anymore incentive to eat locally and in season?

As always, we will be at the corner of Main & Jefferson streets, ready when the market opens at 7:30 am! Bring those great re-usable canvas bags and fill them up. Also, leave me a comment--I wonder sometimes if anyone reads this!

Funny Pages

2008-06-11T11:06:00.004-05:00

This cartoon is courtesy of my dad, Jim. He found it funny--I found it absoutely hysterical! If you had walked by my office door, you would have wondered exactly what I was doubled over about. You can click on the picture to make it larger.

My dad and step-mom, Nancy, live in beautiful Winter Haven FL, right next to the State Farm office building. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is right there! I've contemplated annexing his back yard--Mitchell Farms Produce South Ranch. Here's a shot of his back yard.

I'm jealous that I can't grow pineapples! Guess I'll have to settle for corn and melons!

Tuesday Market

2008-06-10T09:07:00.004-05:00

Argh! I forgot to post last night! Another crazy week with soccer, dance recitals and markets. Oh, and the rain. Did I mention that? Good night nurse--stop with the rain already! We got almost an inch on Sunday/Monday. So far we haven't lost any crops to too much wet, but this is setting up just like last year when we did lose various harvests to rot and disease from too much rain in a short time. That's the life of a farmer: always a gamble with forces that you can't control or change.

By the way......even when it rains on a market day--we are still there to sell produce! Rain or shine! I much prefer the shine part and will even take a cloudy day, but plants still need harvesting even if it's raining. It is a fragile circle with the producer and customer. We both need each other; the farmers need someone to sell their produce to and the customer need to buy their produce from someone. We promise that we will be there, rain or shine with all the summer goodness that you could want. So, find the umbrella or rain jacket, grab your cloth bags and head out. It's just rain! I do understand why the crowds thin out with poor weather, as I HATE to be wet. The only time we would not be at the market is due to severe, dangerous weather when everyone should stay inside!

So, for those of you that weren't at the market Saturday--did you miss out! Not only did you have to go several days without any fresh greens, this heat is not doing many of our leafy crops any favors. Bill reported last night that some of our early lettuce has bolted(gone to seed) as well as the spinach. We may have head lettuce this week and are very unsure about next week, so if you want to enjoy one more really great salad, hop to the Trailside Market tonight. On the flip side of the heat coin is the zucchini and squash are really taking off and we should have some at a market by next week. The corn loves all this heat and rain and is growing well--we are predicting harvesting about mid-July at this point.

What will we have at the Trailside Market? Glad you asked!

Head lettuces: Buttercrunch (far & away the favorite of everyone!), Red Sails, Xena and Giant Caesar Romaine
Spinach: This is probably the last of the spinach as it is going to seed very rapidly.
Leaf Lettuce: still sweet and tender. We will keep harvesting it as long as we can.
Red & white radishes: still sweet, but getting a little more "pepper" taste
Green onions: cool & crisp, not hot or bitter
Turnips: these are just starting to be large enough to harvest; nice and mild taste and you can also eat the greens
Arugula, Mustard Greens and Collards: All good leafy greens to eat raw or cook down

The Trailside Market is located next to the Amtrak station off Linden, behind Wild Country. There is parking in that lot OR park by the Children's Discovery Museum and walk over to the market. I'm in the far west spot, closest to the station! Today looks like a lovely day, so come on out!

Week 4

2008-06-05T07:43:00.005-05:00

Good Morning Friends!

We didn't get any of the severe weather at the farm last night or any rain in Bloomington, so imagine my surprise when I turned the Weather Channel this morning and saw a huge tornado with the caption of Tazewell County! It looks like only minor damage was sustained to some outbuildings. We know quite a few farmers in that area, so we hope that they are safe (most importantly) and that their crops weren't damaged.

We've had over 2.5 inches of rain in the past two days--everything is soggy! Luckily, many of our fields drain fairly well, but when the ground is saturated and there is even MORE rain, it makes planting, growing and harvesting crops very difficult. Bill's most immediate worry other than severe weather that includes hail (hail will make grown farmers cry!) is not being able to get into the field to continue planting sweet corn. Soft, wet ground and big, heavy tractors don't mix. Plus, the seed sits in the wet grounds and will rot. Patience is a farmer's friend, but often times the weather is not but you do what you can.

Bill is taking off work early to go out and plant the 2nd crop of muskmelon today. The first crop is in and doing well and is on schedule. The watermelon are doing wonderfully so far. We are cautiously optomistic about the watermelon and all the rain: last July, we endured 10" of rain in about 8 days and it wiped out our first watermelon crop. This year, they are in a different field that has better drainage to minimize any ponding or water build up.

I was joking with another farmer at the Uptown Normal market Tuesday about how we work so hard, but what we all excel at is growing weeds! The weeds are becoming a problem with all the rain and warm weather. We don't spray for weeds (save for exceptional outbreaks in the watermelon or sweet corn) and who wants to hand weed 30 acres? We do what we can by hand weeding in the rows while picking or by mowing/weed wacking.

Part of eating locally and seasonally is that items come and go. Just a few weeks ago, we welcomed spring with lettuces, radishes and green onions. If you remember, it also was cold enough to wear coats and long sleeves! The old saw about the Midwest is if you want the weather to change, just wait 5 minutes. So true! Today at 8:09 am, the temperature is 75 degrees with temperatures projected to be in the 90 degree range for the next week.

While we are welcoming warmer weather, it means beginning to say to good bye to some of the early spring vegetables. Consistent temperatures in the 80's and 90's will make most lettuces and spinach bolt and the heat will turn radishes from sweet to hot. However, the heat loving squashes, sweet corn, melons and cucumbers really start to grow fast with the hot, humid weather. One season's end is another season's beginning. The sugar snap peas are just about blooming, with the green beans coming in close behind. Bill is predicting that we might have summer squash in about 10 days!

I am still amazed that there are people on this planet that have NEVER eaten a radish! Often times, their only experience has been a limp, soft disk in a restaurant salad and they don't give that poor veggie a second chance. In the Midwest, you can't have spring without radishes. It's a law, actually! I've always eaten them raw, sometimes with a little salt or ranch dressing. Then, last night, we GRILLED them. Oh. MY. It was a completely different taste than eating radishes raw. One of our CSA members, Nicole, told me that they had grilled their CSA radishes with a meal last week. She convinced me that grilled radishes were the bomb and I really, really needed to try it. This is so simple: clean radishes (red ones work best), cut off root and top. Put in zip top bag with olive oil, salt, pepper and Lawry's Seasoning; shake. Use a grill pan or skewer (like kabobs) and grill until soft on the outside, but still a little crunchy on the inside. There are so many other herb & spice variations that you could try--so experiment this weekend!

So, what will we have this Saturday?

A variety of our loose head lettuces: Red Sails, Green & Red Oak leaf, Xena, Buttercrunch, Giant Caesar Romaine. The opportunity for these delights is ending fairly soon, so if you haven't had any yet, get some!
Leaf lettuce--We've kept the leaf lettuce covered in the raised bed in the back yard, so we may be able to keep it going for a few more weeks.
Spinach--this has been fabulous this spring: crisp, cool and so healthy! A bag will last at least a week in the fridge.
Red and white radishes--these beauties have been so sweet and good, but will start getting a little more "peppery" as the weather heats up. Enjoy them now! Grill them!
Green onions--a spring staple. Use the entire shoot in salads or the greens as a garnish with your meals.
Spring turnips--FINALLY--all you turnip fans can cheer now! Cook down the greens, roast the roots and nothing goes to waste.
Mustard greens--this leafy plant is new to us this year. I've only had it in a salad so far, but is it also good cooked or lightly wilted. Mustard greens have a little more pungent taste than collards or other greens and are high in vitamins A & K.
Arugula--another green that is new and we love it! Bill couldn't get over the aroma while he was picking it for our CSA. Arugula has a rich, peppery taste. I think eaten raw it has a bit of a nutty flavor to it. It can be eaten raw or cooked. An easy way is to mix the leaves with pasta and let it wilt. Bill just can't get over how much he likes the taste and wishes he had been growing it sooner!

This weekend Bill and I will be in St. Louis for a work function for Bill. Duty calls and we try to be team players! :) Bill's dad, Larry, and our very good friend, Kyle, will be subbing for us, so stop by and say hi! Many of you will remember Kyle from last year, but it's been a few years since Larry has been to the market. The market has grown quite a bit since he's been here; in fact, vendors were still facing the sidewalks the last time he came with us. So, don't be surprised to see different faces in the orange shirts.

Remember, that the market starts at 7:30 am and runs until noon. Don't forget your canvas & recyclable bags!

Trailside market this Tuesday

2008-06-02T11:27:00.008-05:00

Thank you to everyone that checked with Bill on Saturday to see if Allie and I were safe in Indy! It was an interesting and very long night, but the most severe weather stayed to our north. Our team had a good time at their tournament and we got to see our girls play some great soccer!

This week the Trailside Market in Normal will start! We are just getting to the point where we have to start picking during the week, so this market is starting just in time. If you find that you don't have time on Saturday or just like to sleep in, don't miss this opportunity to get some fresh, local produce. We have a good mix of producers, so there should be lots to choose from.

We will continue to have a variety of head lettuces, spinach, leaf lettuce, radishes and onions. The season for these spring goodies is quickly coming to an end with the consistent warmer weather, so now is the time to enjoy a really good salad.

The Trailside Market is beginning its fourth year in Normal. The first two years we pretty rough, as word didn't spread as quickly as we thought it might. Last year was a very trying year trying to sell produce in between large earth moving equipment! The town quickly found us a nice spot next to the Amtrak station--we're the only market in Illinois that has a rail stop! We really do get some passengers from the train that take advantage of the stop to get some fresh, local produce. Once the Uptown Normal project is complete, we will be moved to yet another location, but I'm sure it will be nice! The Town of Normal is committed to the Market and is working hard to make it a success.

The Trailside Market is located in the Parkinson Street parking lot, next to the Amtrak station. Market hours have changed for this year: the bell will ring to open the market at 3:30 pm and the market will stay open until 6 pm. A new addition to the market is entertainment! There will be musical performances at the east end of the market, right next to our stand. So bring your re-usable bags and stay for a bit to enjoy our musical entertainment.

See you tomorrow at 3:30!

Week 3

2008-05-30T08:33:00.003-05:00

The time is just flying by! I can't believe that we are already into our 3rd week of the season. It looks like the weather will be cooperating a little more by warming up and being sunny. We could use a little less rain--and no severe weather!

Bill will be flying solo this weekend, as Allie and I go to a soccer tournament in Indianapolis. Unfortunately for me, there will be no sleeping in. Her team is scheduled for 8am games Saturday and Sunday, plus IN is an hour ahead of us.

Not much new happening on the farm front. The plants need warmth and sunshine!! The snap peas and green beans are starting to bloom, so it won't be too much longer before we start picking them. The squashes and cucumbers are making some slow progress, but once they start producing, they won't stop!

We'll have the usual suspects this week:

Leaf lettuce

Spinach
Buttercrunch lettuce
Red Sails lettuce
Green Oak Leaf lettuce
Red Oak Leaf lettuce
Curly endive
Bok choi
Red radishes
White radishes
Green Onions

The warm weather does bring changes, too. I noticed last night that some of our very early Simpson lettuce had already started to go to seed. Unfortunately, warmer temperatures mean the demise of the cooler weather crops like lettuce, spinach and radishes. We should get a few more weeks from these crops before it gets too hot.

Did anyone notice the big red "Be A Locavore" bill board on South Veteran's Parkway? Facing west, you CAN'T miss it as you head east. Be a Localvore this weekend and bring a friend to the market and check out all the great spring produce we have downtown. Don't forget to bring your canvas bags and show all of Bloomington/Normal that you support local, fresh produce.

Slowing down

2008-05-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

You've seen him: the older gentleman, usually in a plaid shirt with a free seed corn hat on. He's not in a hurry; moving at a moderate pace in his pick up truck as he checks out his fields. That gentleman is usually a farmer and there is good reason why he isn't in a hurry. You can't farm fast and I found that out this weekend.

There isn't much on our farm that I haven't done or helped with. I've crawled on my hands & knees planting cantaloupe, watermelon and tomatoes; pulled plastic up in the spring; weeded never ending rows of beets and turnips, moved hoses and equipment. One chore that I haven't been a part of is planting sweet corn.

That changed this weekend. We needed to plant our 4th crop of sweet corn before it rained again. This crop will be ready about the middle to end of August. Bill needed someone to drive the truck with the corn planter while he drove the tractor to the other farm. Since our kids can't drive (legally), I was drafted for the task. Our "new" tractor is a John Deere 4020. It isn't fancy-open cab, no GPS, AC, radio or electronics. It is geared differently than a car and I just couldn't figure out exactly how to change gears. It occasionally gives Bill fits by not shifting as it should. Top cruising speed is 20 mph and the Manito farm is about 2.5 miles from the Green Valley farm. We load up with our corn and some water and head out. Very. Slowly.

He's running all out and I'm barely idling, even pulling the planter.

Finally, we get to the Manito farm. First, before planting, the ground needs to be disked up, so we pull into the farm yard to hook up the disk. The disk is an intimidating contraption consisting of two rows of steel plates that are very sharp, set at opposing angles from each other. Dropped into the earth, the first row lifts up dirt in one direction, while the other side flips it back the other way. On the tractor, you do feel as if you are really going fast (!) and watching the soil move like water is very hypnotic. It is fairly dry and we are quickly covered by a fine layer of dirt. As we move across the field, red winged blackbirds, robins and grackles land behind us, picking up seeds and insects that are exposed.

Then, back up to the yard to hook up the planter. Did I mention tractors don't go very fast? Also, we just can't cut across the field--we have to go around what has already been planted. Slowly.

Bill checks out the planter, hooking up the chains that release the corn seeds and putting seed in the seed boxes. There are chains to hook up to the gears that allow the corn to drop out, hydraulics to hook up and make sure they work and the marker arms to unlock. Finally, we head back out to the field and now we can begin planting!

Bill is pouring in the corn on the left; on the right is what the corn looks like in the seed box. It does not resemble the final product at all! It's very wrinkled and hard. It's pink from a grub protectorant otherwise the grub in the soil would eat all our seeds! With this, they stay away and eat something else.

Here we are--ready to go! Bill puts the tractor in gear, lowers the planter and moves ahead.

The arm sticking out from the side of the planter marks where Bill needs to line up the body of the tractor to plant his next rows. We plant 4 rows at a time in rows that are just short of a quarter mile long. It's easy on a tractor. Picking it this August will be a different story!

Something that is very important when you are planting corn is to make your rows straight. It looks easy, but is is so easy to lose concentration or move the wrong way when you look behind you to check on the progress of the planter. Bill has done this so many times, that he is pretty good and all the rows were very straight. Crooked rows are no fun to pick and your picking crew get very cranky!
Here's how it looks right before we turn around and make another pass. On the left in the distance, are the trees that mark the house. We're only about 3/4 of a mile from the house, but it seems much farther. The ground immediately to the left of the ground that we've just planted is the crop that we will pick in early August. Farther over to the left are crops one & two that should be ready in July.

By now, I'm bored, my butt hurts from sitting on the wheel well and it is well past lunch time. We've planted 1.5 acres and it only took a little over 2 hours. Now, we have to go back to the yard, empty any corn out of the boxes, make the planter ready to go on the road, hook it up to my truck and take it to Congerville (long story). We finally get to our destination almost 3 hours later.

This all unfolded s-l-o-w-l-y. Farm machinery moves at a snail's pace. You can't pull a planter through the ground fast or your seeds won't land in the right spots. There are parts that break or come off at the wrong time. I cannot imagine doing this as my full time job, driving back and forth from one side of the field to the other, even with the newer tractors with AC and a radio. I have a new appreciation for the farmers that don't seem to be in a hurry--they aren't.

Picnic, parties & BBQ, oh my!

2008-05-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

Rain, rain--go away! Not a good way to start week 2 of the market season, but Saturday is supposed to be very nice. Don't stay away; come down to the market! Sorry this update is late; Allie & I were cheering Normal West's Girls Soccer team at their sectional game last night! Allie is very into soccer and has been playing travel soccer for the past year. She and her U9 buddies were on the sidelines cheering on the "big" girls and watching some very good soccer and hopefully learning by watching. It won't be too long before they will be the "big" girls.

This is the kickoff for the summer and most people have picnics, parties and barbecues to attend, often several over the weekend. What will you take as your "dish to pass"? Why not come to the market, get some inspiration from the wonderful produce and take a dish made from local ingredients?

It's been a quiet week on the farm. Bill's dad is in WI for his annual fishing trip, so Bill has to pick up the slack with some of the little daily chores, like turning water off & on, monitoring growth progress and dog feeding. Scoot & Sam are Dad's dogs and they are full time farm dogs. Both are bigger (and stronger!) than Skipper and stay in their dog runs while we work. Boy, when we let them out--get out of the way! Skipper tries to keep up with them and they all tear off into the fields to do whatever it is that dogs do. We don't seem to have much of a problem with varmints like rabbits or deer--wonder why!

Bill reports that all the crops are coming along; albeit slowly with the cool temps. Beets, turnips, squash and peas are just on the verge of a growth spurt and we should be seeing more veggies in the coming weeks.

This week, the farm is providing us with:

Red Sails loose head lettuce-this is the most popular lettuce we have, great taste and very pretty!
Red Oak Leaf lettuce--we had this last year for the first time. It has a very distinctive oak-like leaf and deep burgundy color. It is a perfect counterpoint in a green salad. Nice nutty taste.
Green Oak Leaf lettuce--just like the Red Oak, but with green leaves.
Endive--new this year. We had several customers ask for endive (or ON-dive, if you prefer!).
Buttercrunch head lettuce--a variety of the Bibb-style lettuce, this is also a very popular lettuce. Very soft velvety texture and great taste. One head makes a lot of salad!
Giant Caesar romaine--this is a variety of romaine that you won't find in the store. The head is a little more open and the leaves are more tender and soft, but will still hold up well to a Caesar salad!
Xena--another wonderful loose head lettuce. Xena is showy with very ruffled edges.
Bok choi--one of my new favorite greens! I like it added to a salad, stems and all, or cooked down, Southern-style.
Napa cabbage--this isn't your round Irish cabbage! Mild cabbage taste and smell, you can add it easily to a salad.
Red radishes & white radishes--we have two types of red radishes this year: Cherry Belles and French Breakfast. The Cherry Belles are the round red radish that you are familiar with. French Breakfast radishes are oblong, mostly red but fading into a white tip. Yes, I've eaten radishes for breakfast. No, I don't think that's strange!
Green onions--You can't beat fresh green onions. Perfect for eating alone or in a salad.
Spinach--You all are some spinach loving folks out there! Once it warms up, the spinach will go to seed, so enjoy it while it is in season.
Leaf Lettuce--the perfect lettuce for a spring salad--small leaves, soft and tender. Like the spinach, leaf lettuce doesn't like hot weather, so it will only be around a few more weeks.

I don't have many good ideas for using lettuces or greens, other than salads. What is easier than some fresh leaf lettuce and a little olive oil/balsamic vinegar or a milk dressing! I remember as a child the dressing my mom would make for leaf lettuce. I'm sure it has a proper name and actual measurements, but I've never run across it in any of my cook books--and I even have a cookbook that is ALL salad dressings! Combine about 1/4 cup mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip--it will not work!) with enough milk, thinning it, but not runny. Add about 1 tsp sugar and mix until the sugar dissolves. Add vinegar (cider vinegar works best) to taste--I like it pretty sharp, so I add about 1 TBS or more. TASTE AS YOU GO! You can add more milk or mayo to achieve your desired consistency. Gently mix with leaf lettuce and enjoy!

Start the first official holiday weekend of the summer right by coming to the market! See you there!

Ready, Set, Go!

2008-05-14T20:14:00.001-05:00

Are you ready for the first market of 2008? We are! So much is starting and we just can't wait to get going.

If you got hail in the storm Tuesday night--raise your hand! We did, several times! Allie and I just got in from soccer practice, got the rental car put away (long story there!) and the hail started coming down! Now, I've lived in Illinois all my life and have only occasionally seen hail and then it has only been pea-sized. We got quite a bit that was nickel sized! Fortunately, we didn't even get rain at the farm and I hope that any of our farmer friends here locally didn't get any damage. The kids thought it was pretty cool and Carson actually ran out in it. He came right in after he realized how much hail hurts! Good thing it wasn't golf ball sized!

Bill has been working hard getting plants into the ground and doing the spring clean up that we always seem to be doing. This has been a long and difficult spring, farm-wise and we just got through a week of work/personal stress when Bill got a call from his dad: our 100 year old greenhouse/former chicken house burned to the ground. Our farm is one of the oldest farmsteads in Tazewell County and while cleaning the greenhouse out this spring, I found dates etched into the concrete foundation: 1908. We are the 3rd family to occupy this farm and the first family, the Weyrich's erected the chicken house 100 years ago. The house is a few years older.
So, after moving everything out of the greenhouse and sweeping the accumulated leaves and dirt out AND moving everything back in (by myself) and organizing it (the men in my family are NOT organized), we had a great space to start out the year. The greenhouse is where most of the plants live until they go into the field. It gets toasty warm and the plants really take off! This time of year, we do have propane heaters running-----you can see what happened. So, we have a mess and less space to put plants. Fortunately, we do have two other buildings that we use, they just are small. On the bright side, the house didn't burn and we will be installing a much needed storage shed on the site and a new green house in a better location.

Greenhouse after 5 hours of cleaning--see the boxes? Yeah, they burn for a long time when they are full of plastic bags. Bring your canvas bags!

What a mess! Old wood burns fast!

But, enough about us, what about the market? What in the world will be ready?

PLENTY!

This Saturday, we will have:

Bok choi
Napa cabbage
Simpson elite loose head lettuce
Red Sails loose head lettuce
Green Oak Leaf loose head lettuce
Leaf lettuce mix
Buttercrunch loose head lettuce
Red & white radishes
Green onions
Spinach

Everything else is still growing and really wants some sun and heat. In the following weeks, we'll have beets, French Breakfast radishes, kohlrabi, turnips and more lettuce.

Some items of note for this year:

The market is starting LATER and staying open LATER. The starting bell will ring at 7:30 am and the market will be open until 12:00 noon. The time change should allow more people to get down to the market and to allow everyone to get a few more minutes of sleep!

BYOB! I'll copy-cat Mercy of Blue Schoolhouse and encourage everyone to bring their own bags, boxes or wagons to the market to carry their loot home! It is truly amazing how many cases of bags we plow through in a season and we appreciate everyone that brings a canvas bag for their produce. The canvas is much gentler on produce and easier to carry. As an incentive, the Bloomington Market is going to give away bags at the first market, so get down early and get one! We have Mitchell Farms Produce canvas totes for our CSA members--see below how to get one.

We have a few openings for our CSA--if you are interested or know someone that is looking for a CSA, go to our website, www.mitchellproduce.com, for all the information! There will be items for CSA that won't make it to the market. CSA is a fantastic way to eat better, guarantee a steady supply of fresh, LOCAL produce and get a super durable canvas tote to show off to everyone at the market. Concerned that you might have too many veggies? We do have a few half shares available as well.

I can't wait to see all our farmer's market friends this weekend. We will be doing a give away for a Mitchell Farms tote bag and a Mitchell Farms t-shirt. Stop by, get some salad fixin's and put your name in the drawing!

See you Saturday!

Hungry? Really hungry?

2007-11-08T18:50:00.000-06:00

How hungry have you ever been? Missed any meals lately? Cupboards bare? I would wager that like many here in B-N, you have never been truly hungry. I know I haven't ever been without a meal. I have no idea how hard it is to go to bed each night with very little to eat. It's one thing to skip breakfast, not have lunch because of a work crisis, be running around too much for much of dinner. My kids complain all the time that they are "starving". They conveniently forget that they just had a chunk of cheese or a bowl of cereal. In keeping with my mom contract, I remind them that they are far from withering away. Even though I keep the junk & candy to a minimum, they feel they are deprived, but really the don't know how lucky they are.

It really surprises me that here in our fairly affluent appearing Mid-western community that there are any families that have to go without. Talk to any school principal or food service director in the area and they can give example after example of the numbers of children that come to school hungry, not because they skip breakfast (like some lazy Mitchell kids), but because there simply isn't any food in the home.

This problem of people going hungry in this country just stupefies me. Even with the cheap food choices, some people still don't get enough to eat, not to mention not enough good, healthy food. Often times in the summer, driving down one of main streets in town, I go past the Clare House. Twice a week, there is a line of people waiting for a bag of groceries. One time, I actually slowed down and LOOKED at the people in line. There were a few senior citizens and mothers with children. These folks I expected to see and wasn't too surprised. What bothered me were the well dressed folks. This I wasn't expecting. They looked like me, dressed for the office. I don't care why they need free food; they just do. I don't want to address some of the issues as to why some people go hungry. Many of us are just a personal disaster away from being in that line.

I don't want to get into why seemingly prosperous persons are standing in line for a sack of groceries. There are a thousand reasons why, good, bad and otherwise. But for the grace of God, it could be me in that line.

So, what is the point of all my rambling? Simple. In a few weeks, as Americans we will be celebrating our national holiday of gluttony and over-eating. It's the only day where food is the object of the holiday (ok, Halloween is a close second) and so far, retailers haven't convinced us that Thanksgiving gifts are necessary.

As you think about this holiday and how it started by giving thanks for NOT starving to death, think about what you can do for others that are not as fortunate as you. Both of our workplaces, District 87 and 1St Farm Credit, are gathering non-perishable goods to give to Clare House and the Midwest Food Bank. If you are a late comer to the Saturday Bloomington Farmer's market, this year, the MFB collected produce that wasn't sold. Many of the vendors happily filled the boxes that the men from MFB provided. After the first week, they brought the BIG truck--farmers are a generous bunch. As a family, Bill & the kids took flyers around our neighborhood to collect for the MFB.

This is my challege to you: if you live in Bloomington-Normal, donate time, food or money to one of these operations. If your work place doesn't have a food drive, start one. Many churches have a donation box as well. If you are in our neck of the woods, drop off a donation on our porch. Bill will take the donations to MFB on 11/13.

Since I deal with food, the thought of someone going hungry, especially on a holiday dedicated to over-eating, really bothers me. I live in the richest country on the planet; I wish I could feed everyone that is hungry.

Info on Clare House:
http://directory.ic.org/records/?action=view&page=view&record_id=4213

www.midwestfoodbank.org

End of the season--a post-mortem

2007-10-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

Something Bill and I are really good at is discussing something into the ground. We can talk about a topic for hours, analyzing minute details over and over and over again. While it can strangle a relationship, this kind of musing for a business is pretty good. We try not to make the same mistakes over and over and are always trying to work smarter, not harder and finding a better way.

So, the season of 2007 is over. Done. Although, with the rain this week, we both thought about one more time......nah, I am done (for a while) with getting up at 5am on Saturdays. How did this season work out? Was it better than other years? What worked and what didn't?

Just to be clear, we only recently started keeping records of stuff that didn't matter to our tax lady. She doesn't care how many tomatoes we sell, just that we record everything correctly. She keeps us on track and out of jail!

In 2007 we:

planted more acres than in previous years--we bumped up to the 25 acre mark
brought back our CSA and started with 18 members
opened markets in Peoria and Pekin as experiments
were present at the market in Decatur all season (we only went about 7 weeks in '06)
grew more varieties than before (I think about 30 or so--can't find my seed orders)
planted 1,000 tomato plants-by hand
germinated all transplants (in other words, everything except the corn) from seed at our house in Bloomington. Once large enough, plants went into the greenhouses at the farm
welcomed my other brother, Jim and outstanding helper, Brenda as day laborers. They joined Shawn, Karen, and Kyle P. These five people (and some others that worked a few days here & there) are the reason all the produce got picked and ready for market.
Had mostly women running the show! I got to be in charge for about 3 whole days while Bill was in Canada fishing and Larry was in WI fishing. Karen & Brenda picked sweet corn early in the morning and then came back to help with melons and all the other stuff. They rock.
lost most of our early crop of watermelon and almost all but a handful of squash and pumpkins to the rains in July. We got about 8" in a weeks time and all this water sat in the low spot where these crops were planted

Next year, I am going to try to keep track of how much of something we haul around. During the peak season from mid-July to September, we picked an average of 500 tomatoes on a Friday night. Since at that time we had 4 truck going to different markets (Bloomington, Springfield, Decatur & Pekin), it got divided up according to market size. By the way, Bloomington far & away is our best market, dollar wise. All the markets are great, which is why we keep going to them and they all keep improving. We know other farmers who keep track of the poundage that they bring to market. This is something that I am going to attempt to try next year. I probably won't get everything, but it will be close.

So, all in all, it was a pretty good year. In farming, there is always something to worry about and once you think you got a problem licked, another one pops up to take its place. We'll have a short period of down time, then the seed catalogs start coming and we'll start ordering! I already have my garlic for next year and will be getting that in the ground after the weather cools off. Apparently Bill and I still have a lesson or two to learn from our garlic guru, BD.

If you've stayed with me this far, whatcha doing this Saturday? If you need pumpkins or other fall decor, run, don't walk to ISU's Horticulture Center's Autumnal Festival, Saturday, October 6 from 9 am to 4 pm. Our very dear friend, Jessica Chambers, is the woman behind this fabulous area and event. The Hort Center will have pumpkins and gourds, scarecrows and a corn maze. This is a great family outing with activities for the kids and lots of room to run and get up close to all kinds of plants. What Jessica, her students and other instructors have done the last few years to this little corner of ISU is just amazing. If you can't spend the day, drive by sometime. The Hort Center is located just off of Raab Road, past Lincoln College. Proceeds from the sale of the the pumpkins, gourds, and other fall items benefit the Hort Center. I'll be there and I hope to see all of you!

Is this on?

2007-09-30T20:20:00.000-05:00

Anyone there?

Not sure just what I'm doing--I know enough about computers to be dangerous. We'll see how this goes for a while.

If you've just stumbled across my little slice of heaven here, I'm Patt. Nice to meet you, too. If you are here for drama or a trainwreck, well, you might want to keep looking.

So, who am I? I live in Bloomington IL with my husband, Bill and three of our four kids: Carson, Emily & Allie and the dog, Skipper. Our oldest son, Kyle, is serving in the Marines in Iraq, otherwise he lives in NC with his lovely wife, Ash and daughter, Kaylee.

Why are the weeds winning? Because there aren't enough hours in the day to pull them. We have a produce business, Mitchell Farms Produce, located in Green Valley/Manito, IL. We started this venture about 7 years ago and it took on a life of its own and now consumes our lives from mid-March to the end of September. Bill & I both work full-time, year round and commute almost daily to our farm. Bill's dad, Larry, lives on the farm and is part of our business, too. If you want to know more about what we grow and why we farm, go here: www.mitchellproduce.com. I don't know if the link will work--I know just enough to make a mess of this.

Mostly, this blog is a forum for me to voice my opinions on food, eating, our society's view toward fresh food and why everyone who has access to fresh produce should take advantage of that opportunity. During the season, I send out an e-mail update before each of our markets to customers on our lists. A few times, I would rant a bit and the e-mails would get a little long and a touch off topic.

What pushes my buttons? Glad you asked!

The lack of awareness of where most of our food comes from
People's confusion of what fruit and vegetables grown in their region
Cheap people
Wonderful food and wine--shared with good friends, of course!

That's a short list, but I'm sure it will grow. I can't think of much more to really say. I'm exhausted--in the last 48 hours I've harvest for the market, worked our last farmer's market (starting at 5:15 am), drained & cleaned our swimming pool, went to a wedding & reception, went to Mass WAY too early and spent 6 hours at soccer. This is why I work: I go to my office to rest!

Thanks for stopping by (and reading to the end!). I'm sure that I'll put up something worth reading soon.