We have 2- 5 pound bags of green beans available for 2.00 per pound. They’re easy to freeze and a treat to pull out of the freezer in December. First come first serve. Either email pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
Or call 815-467-5259
If we don’t answer, please leave a message. We’re probably out picking more beans or feeding the baby alpaca.
We have beautiful sunflowers in the stand today for $1.00 each!
Also, potatoes, garlic, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, okra, beans, cucumbers and eggs.
Our most recent attempt to prevent our resident owl from having a chicken dinner seems to be working. Yea! They will have to go back to their diet of rodents. Double Yea!
Happy 3 month birthday to Thomas Magnum. He weighed in at 43 pounds this morning!
We are finally getting eggs from our young hens. They start out small so we are putting them in the clear cartons and selling them for $3.00. These hens are Barred Rocks and Easter Eggers. The Barred Rocks lay brown shelled eggs and the Easter Eggers lay blue and green shelled eggs.
Lots of cherry tomatoes in the stand this morning for $3.00 per pint.
Also, sweet peppers, jalapeño peppers, large and small eggplant, beets, beans, okra, garlic and several varieties of potatoes.
Baby snapper covered in mud on the bank of the pond. I almost didn’t recognize it.
Swallowtail butterfly in the hoop house.
My helper and I were checking the milkweed for monarch caterpillars today and just as I was saying that I’ve never seen one on the common milkweed – there it was!
Freshly picked sunflowers this morning. $1.00 each and like everything we grow – never sprayed.
Also new this morning – hard neck garlic and LaRatte fingerling potatoes.
Ready for the 3 French Hens Market in Morris today from 8 until 2. We have several varieties of potatoes, hard neck garlic, baby eggplant, mixed beans, peppers, sunflowers and yarn from our Sri alpacas.
Thanks to some help from Jill and Renee, we dug 128 pounds of lovely Red Gold potatoes yesterday
They are in the stand in 2 pound bags for $5.00
Mixed beans
We have some beautiful mixed beans (green, yellow and purple) in the stand this morning for $3.00 for a 1 pound bag. Also, green beans, beets, kale, swiss chard, purple jalapenos, sweet peppers, eggplant and a few pints of tomatoes
This mornings discovery – when you add yogurt to the milk, the hole in the nipple needs to be a little larger. After trying to give Luna her last feeding last night and first this morning and watching her struggle with the nipple and not drink as much as normal, I finally thought of that! Just before I started to panic
Thomas Magnum is growing quickly and Luna and her mother Eclipse are back home from U of I and happy to be in the pasture.
Although it took Luna a little time to get used to the heat after spending 8 days in the a/c.
the sun has finally come out and we were able to get the hay cut a raked. Now to get it all baled and inside
Our phone will be out of order until sometime on Wednesday so if you need to contact us, please send an email or a message on FB
We have finally gotten enough dry weather to harvest and get the stand stocked with green beans, Swiss chard, lettuce, beets and a few pints of tomatoes. This morning we will be picking flowers and starting to dig garlic.
We have 2 new additions to our farm! Yesterday, our Suri alpaca, Moonglows Eclipse had a baby girl. And we are rooster sitting this handsome Cochin for a young friend until she moves to a farm.
2 Days until our first Sustainable Farm Day of the year!In addition to our main speaker – Dr. John Ikerd (http://www.johnikerd.com) – we will also be joined by Ed Bell from Belfry Bees. He will bring a display hive and information on how we can protect bees. He will also have some honey! You can find more info. on him and his bees @ BelfryBees.com
We will also have a presentation on composting. Renee is a Master Gardener and has offered to share her knowledge.
We have MANY requests from customers wishing to tour our farm and see our chickens, Suri Alpacas, sheep and gardens. We don’t usually have time to stop our work during the busy growing season so now is your chance to see all of the above, ask any questions you may have AND learn from those who have been so kind as to offer their time.
Our Farm Day will run from 10 am until 2 pm with John speaking at noon. John has a long ride home and will be staying for a short time after he has finished speaking to answer questions. If you would like to speak to him, please plan to come well before noon so he can be on his way home in a timely manner.
In order to cover travel expenses for John who will be traveling from his home in Iowa to join us, we will be asking for a $5.00 donation from each adult who attends our Farm Day. John has offered to stay with us overnight rather than in a hotel in order to reduce his expenses and leave more for the charity. ALL donations above John’s expenses will be donated to the tornado relief fund through the Rockford branch of the Salvation Army.
In addition to our main speaker – Dr. John Ikerd (http://www.johnikerd.com) – we will also be joined by Ed Bell from Belfry Bees. He will bring a display hive and information on how we can protect bees. He will also have some honey! You can find more info. on him and his bees @ BelfryBees.com
We will also have a presentation on composting. Renee is a Master Gardener and has offered to share her knowledge.
We have MANY requests from customers wishing to tour our farm and see our chickens, Suri Alpacas, sheep and gardens. We don’t usually have time to stop our work during the busy growing season so now is your chance to see all of the above, ask any questions you may have AND learn from those who have been so kind as to offer their time.
Our Farm Day will run from 10 am until 2 pm with John speaking at noon. John has a long ride home and will be staying for a short time after he has finished speaking to answer questions. If you would like to speak to him, please plan to come well before noon so he can be on his way home in a timely manner.
In order to cover travel expenses for John who will be traveling from his home in Iowa to join us, we will be asking for a $5.00 donation from each adult who attends our Farm Day. John has offered to stay with us overnight rather than in a hotel in order to reduce his expenses and leave more for the charity. ALL donations above John’s expenses will be donated to the tornado relief fund through the Rockford branch of the Salvation Army.
We are less than 2 weeks away from our first Farm Day of the season!
Dr. John Ikerd will be our featured speaker and will be talking about sustainable agriculture.
In addition to our main speaker – Dr. John Ikerd (http://www.johnikerd.com) – we will also be joined by Ed Bell from Belfry Bees. He will bring a display hive and information on how we can protect bees. He will also have some honey! You can find more info. on him and his bees @ BelfryBees.com
We will also have a presentation on composting. Renee is a Master Gardener and has offered to share her knowledge.
We have MANY requests from customers wishing to tour our farm and see our chickens, Suri Alpacas, sheep and gardens. We don’t usually have time to stop our work during the busy growing season so now is your chance to see all of the above, ask any questions you may have AND learn from those who have been so kind as to offer their time.
In order to cover travel expenses for John who will be traveling from his home in Iowa to join us, we will be asking for a $5.00 donation from each adult who attends our Farm Day. John has offered to stay with us overnight rather than in a hotel in order to reduce his expenses and leave more for the charity. ALL donations above John’s expenses will be donated to the tornado relief fund through the Rockford branch of the Salvation Army.
All set up and ready for the market. we will be here at the 3 French Hens in Morris until 2
Everything is picked, washed and packed and ready for the market tomorrow. We will have broccoli, kohlrabi, lettuce and a few bags of Dragons Tongue beans.
We will also have some of our Suri
Alpaca yarn fresh from the mill.
Come see us between 8 and 2
I braved the rain and mud today to pick some beautiful broccoli. It’s in the stand for $3.00.
We also have fresh strawberries for a few more days, kohlrabi and lettuce.
If you would like a frozen chicken, please call or email ahead.
815 467 5259
Pam@creeksidenaruralfarm.com
Kohlrabi tastes like a mild, sweet turnip with a bit of radish tang. Young kohlrabi is juicy and crisp and delicate.Trim, scrub, boil whole or sliced for 20 or 30 minutes, then drain, peel, and serve with melted butter or white sauce or mashed.
Kohlrabi is delicious served with cheese, curry, Dijon mustard, garlic, ginger, potatoes, rice wine, roasted meats, sesame oil, or soy sauce.
Kholrabi, which mean “cabbage-turnip” in German, is a member of the cabbage and turnip family. You can find kohlrabi year-round at some farm markets. Its peak season is mid-spring to mid-fall.
Unlike the turnip, the swollen stem or base of the kholrabi grows above ground. It can reach the size of an orange and can be white, deep violet, or greenish-white in color.
From the base, thin stalks grow out in all directions. The stalks are tipped with large broccoli-like leaves, are edible, and can be prepared just like spinach.
Kohlrabi stalks are crunchy like broccoli and have a hint of radish and cucumber taste to them. The leaves can have the flavor of turnip greens.
The skin of the kohlrabi base is edible when young. It is best to remove the skin of mature kohlrabi. The flesh of the base has the texture of celery root or turnip. Kohlrabi is the most tender when the base is less than 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter.
Choose. Select kohlrabi that is firm and heavy for its size with crisp deeply colored leaves that have no yellowing on their tips. The base should be free of cracks. Small to medium-sized bulbs will be sweet and tender. Overly large bulbs will be tough and strong tasting.
Store. Kohlrabi will keep tightly wrapped for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. If you want to store the base longer, remove the leaves which otherwise will draw moisture away from the base causing it to lose its crispness.
Prepare. When ready to use, remove the leaves, discard the stems, wash in warm water, and then cook. Use the leaves for slow-cooked greens.
To eat kohlrabi raw, remove the stems and then peel. You can strip out the stem by folding together the two sides of the leaf and pulling out the stem.
You can peel kohlrabi before or after cooking, but it is easier to peel once it has been cooked. You can steam the bulb to loosen the skin. Trim the bulb to remove the fibrous under-layer just beneath the skin.
Serve. Kohlrabi can be served raw, grated, sprinkled with salt, or cooked. Kohlrabi can be steamed, added to soups and stews, and stir-fried.
Nutrition. Kohlrabi is rich in potassium and vitamin C. There are about 40 calories per cup of raw kohlrabi.
Kohlrabi facts and trivia. Kohlrabi originated in Northern Europe as late as the fifteenth or sixteenth century although Pliny, the ancient Roman, described a similar vegetable grown by the Romans in the first century.
Today kohlrabi is most popular in Germany and Central Europe. In Italy, it is known as cavolo-rapa, which means cabbage turnip.
The botanical name for kohlrabi is Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes.
Finally got the scale calibrated and Thomas Magnum is 23 lbs. Looks like his mama is feeding him well!
We picked some really nice strawberries this morning an also started picking some kohlrabi. This is our first year for kohlrabi and we are trying out some recipes. We’re picking in small batches so the greens will stay fresh.
They are both in the stand along with leaf lettuce. We are also selling fresh chicken through the weekend. After Sunday, it will be feozen.
Email or call ahead for chicken.
Pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
815 467 5259
We are starting to pick strawberries and they’re in the stand. They will be here for a short time and in limited supply so now is your chance! $4.00 per pint
I have some fresh chickens available today and this weekend only. If you would like to try an air chilled chicken that has never been frozen, let me know when you would like to come by. I’ll be home today and tomorrow until about 4 and all day on Sunday.Our chickens are raised outside on pasture and fed certified organic feed. They average around 5 pounds and are $4.00 per pound.
If you pre-ordered, you can contact us with a time you would like to pick-up. We will be available all day tomorrow until about 4 pm. If that doesn’t work, we will also be home most of the day on Saturday.
FYI – This will be our only batch of chickens until the end of August and more than half are spoken for.
We think it’s finally warm enough to take off the the little boys coat and uncover his beautiful fiber.
Everyone feels the need to check him out – including his big brother Apollo
