Our honey comes from hives on our farm. The hives are located between our organic gardens and our field where we have 30 acres of pollinator & monarch habitat as well as 35 acres of hay. So, while we can’t tell our bees where to fly – they really would have no reason to leave our farm! It is raw (not pasteurized) .
We do not keep honey stocked in our Farmstand. You can pick it up there by contacting us ahead of coming out.
We have finished digging all of our garlic and have it curing in the barn.
It takes a couple of weeks to cure but can also be used in it’s “green” condition.
Curing brings a more mellow flavor and dries the wrapper. It also brings out the beautiful color of the the pink & purple wrappers. Cured garlic can be stores for months in the correct conditions. You can braid it and hang it in your kitchen (lots of videos on line) – just snip off a bulb as you need it. It’s possible to braid some of the softer stemmed hard neck varieties while they are still green, but easier with the soft neck varieties.
We will be selling the green garlic this week and we start with the hard neck varieties.
Large bulbs are $2.00 each
Jumbo bulbs are $3.00 each
We will have our Music variety of garlic separated for those who want this variety.
They will be priced at $3.00 each.
Music garlic is a “Garlic Lovers” garlic! This garlic variety is prized for it’s mild flavor and ease of peeling. Its flavor is well developed without any bitterness, and it does not disappear when cooked. Just one clove can add so much flavor to any recipe, so it is time-saving! This variety keeps well until April or May when stored properly. Most bulbs average 4-5 cloves.
We have fresh cut Lemon Balm in the farmstand cooler. $3.00
Lemon Balm strengthens your body’s defense mechanisms, making you more resilient to colds and the flu.
It is also known to dramatically reduce inflammation, protecting you against disease, and chronic illness.
Other super properties of this amazing natural ingredient include:
Thyroid regulation
Aids indigestion
High level of antibacterial and anti-fungal activity
The easiest way to use it is to make a tea with the fresh leaves. I strip the leaves from the stems and tear the leaves into small pieces. Add the torn leaves to a container of water and put the container in the refrigerator overnight. To speed the process, put the leaves in a small pan and pour boiling water over the leaves. Allow to steep for about 30 minutes. Strain the leaves and dilute with cd water to desired strength.
Lemon Balm Vinaigrette
This is delicious on salads, especially fish or chicken salads. You can also marinate chicken or fish in this mixture before cooking.
The hot weather is perfect for eating a cold salad but not for growing the lettuce. So, we picked, double washed and bagged all of our lettuce. It’s waiting in the Farmstand cooler for you to take it home!
$3.00 per bag (about a half pound)
We also have plenty of eggs. Egg salad?
Posted in2020 Harvest|Comments Off on Mixed Leaf Lettuce
We have a new egg size this week. The hens have stopped laying small eggs for our 18 pk med/small mix. So, we now have a 12 pack of medium eggs for $4.00. We are packaging them in the clear cartons with a price sticker on the carton. They are also on a separate shelf from our regular eggs.
We still have our regular “nest run” mix. They are packaged in either cardboard or foam cartons and are $5.00 per dz.
Our hens have free access to a large pasture area filled with grass, clover and a little alfalfa. While they’re outside enjoying their pasture, they’re also absorbing Vitamin D. Eggs from truly pastured hens are higher in vitamin D and lower in cholesterol because of the green vegetation they eat. In addition to what they find to eat in the pasture, we provide certified organic chicken feed, wheat and oats that we raised here on our farm, and whatever vegetable scraps we produce.
Eggs are in the cooler in our self-service Farmstand. There is not always someone available to provide change so please plan to have the correct amount of cash.
Leaf lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to grow in a container.
We have everything you need to grow your own organic leaf lettuce.
Your kit will include the lettuce seed of your choice from the 2 pictured below ( enough seed for 4 plantings)
1 – 10 inch planter bowl
certified organic potting soil.
Contact us ahead with your lettuce seed choice and the time and day you want to pick it up. We will have it ready for you in our self service Farmstand
$8.00 for the complete kit
Fill your container with soil
Sprinkle your seed
Lightly cover with soil
Lightly press the soil for good seed/soil contact
Water
Place your container in a spot where it will receive about half day of sun (morning is better than afternoon) and where you won’t forget to water it. If bunnies are a problem, place it on a table or somewhere out of their reach.
Water when the top of the soil is dry or any time until the lettuce is growing and established. Continue to water whenever the soil is dry on top or the lettuce starts to wilt. That could be daily in the heat of summer. Moving your container to shade will help with that.
When your lettuce is tall enough to harvest, use scissors or a serrated knife to cut about half inch above the roots. More lettuce will grow from the plant. Depending on the conditions (heat), you can usually get 3 cuttings from 1 planting.
When the last cutting is finished, pull the plants out – shake off as much soil as possible. You can add the finished plants to your compost. Now you can plant another batch of lettuce!
We picked and washed some leaf lettuce and radishes this morning. Both are in the Farmstand cooler along with a few bags of butter lettuce and asparagus that was picked yesterday.
We also have eggs in the cooler.
Organic seed, plants and potting soil in the stand.
We have had requests for organic seed so we ordered a small countertop seed rack with seed for plants that do well directly seeded (rather than grown as transplants). The seeds came yesterday but the display rack did not. So, rather than wait for the display – I made one. The seeds are in the farmstand in a plastic (pest and moisture proof) tote.
French filet green beans, pickling and slicing cucumbers, patty pan squash, beets, carrots, 2 types of leaf lettuce blend, sweet basil and sunflowers.
$2.50 per package
We finished our tomato planting yesterday and have put the plants we didn’t need in the Farmstand for sale. Here is what we have as of this morning (5/24):
Mountain magic – 1
Purple Russian – 6
Black Brandywine – 1
Lee’s Golden – 1
Copia – 1
Big Rainbow – 2
Sungold – 1
Barne’s mountain yellow – 1
Carbon – 3
Piglet Willie – 2
Bell Pepper – Red Knight – 8
French Tarragon – 6
Cilantro – 1
Native Colombine (hummingbirds love it!) – 6
Lavender – 8
Lavender plants are $5.00
All other plants are $3.00
Both small eggs and our regular large mix are in the cooler – $5.00
Honey and goatmilk soap is available for pick-up in the stand by pre-order
Our young hens are finally producing enough eggs to stock the stand.
We currently have small eggs in 18 packs and our regular mix of large and jumbo eggs in a 12 pack.
All eggs are $5.00 per carton
18 pack of small eggs $512 pack of large eggs $5.
Our hens have full access to grass/clover pasture and are fed a combination of certified organic grain and whole grain that was raised on our farm using organic practices.
Eggs are stocked in the cooler inside our Farmstand as they become available.
If you have already planted you warmth loving plants, there are a few things you can do to try and save them from the cold temperatures that are coming tonight and early next week.
If you only have a few plants in the ground – I would suggest digging them up and bring them into a warmer spot at night for the next week. That is the best way to protect them from the extreme cold that’s coming tonight. The disturbance of moving them will be far less damaging than the cold temperature. It will be very difficult to protect some plants from 28 degrees. The vegetable plants that are in the most danger are tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and basil.
If you want to try to cover them, here are a few suggestions:
If the plants are small, you can put a plastic milk carton over each plant. This will work best with small plants because any part of the plant that touches the cold plastic will be killed.
If the plants are larger and have a cage around them, you can wrap the cage with shrink wrap or plastic wrap. Start at the ground level and end a couple of inches above the plant. You will also need to protect the plant from the top with cardboard or heavy fabric. And, for tonight, I would also wrap the plastic covered part of the cage with some type of heave fabric – folded up sheet, bath towel, ect…
If you have plants without cages, you can cover the bed with a folded sheet or a comforter.
AND – Don’t forget to remove the covers AFTER the temperatures have warmed up the following morning.
We will be selling our Organic plants again today from 9 am until 5 pm
I have updated the plant list on our page with what has sold out.
We still have a nice selection of tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant, lavender & pansies!
We are also selling our excess tomato cages for $5.00 each. They are heavy duty made out of wire mesh – 5 ft tall for the big heirloom tomato plants!
If you have pre-ordered, your order will be in the Farmstand. Otherwise, the available plants will be outside of the stand. You will only need to go into the stand to pay.
It is still too early to plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplant (30 degrees forecast for next Friday night will kill them regardless of covering with a sheet).
When you get your plants home, you can set them outside on a warm day and bring them in overnight. When they are outside, the biodegradable pots will dry out very quickly (we water ours 3 or 4 times per day). So, it’s best to put them somewhere where you can see them so you don’t forget to water and bring them in at night.
We will putting our organic transplants out for sale starting on Friday (May 1st).
In an effort to keep everyone safe, we will be strictly following Social Distancing guidelines.
The plants will be outside of the Farmstand on one of our wagons. You will only need to go into the farmstand to pay or to pick-up something that you have pre-ordered.
No children under 16 outside of your vehicle
No more than 2 people at the wagon at one time. If you see that there are already 2 people when you pull in, please stay in your vehicle and wait for them to finish before getting out.
Please wear a mask or some type of covering for your mouth and nose.
Plants will be available from 9 am until 5 pm – depending on the weather. We will post any changes to that based on weather conditions.
We will be available during the time that the plants are out for sale. However, we may not always be right there since we have lots of other chores.
Please do not leave the area directly around the stand and plants to come find us or for any other reason. We absolutely cannot allow any type of tour at this time!
Now – About our plants!
All of our plants are grown in organic soil in our organic greenhouse. The vegetables and some of the herbs are grown from seed – some starting as early as February!
Most of our plants are heirlooms. The exceptions are the Mountain Magic and Sungold tomatoes and the bell peppers. We grow these few hybrids because the 2 tomatoes are very popular and we have not found a heirloom bell pepper that will turn color early enough in our climate. There is a complete list of plant varieties on our blog and also on our FB page.
Tomatoes and peppers & eggplant are growing in 4 inch biodegradable pots. So, no plastic no root disturbance and quicker planting!
Most vegetable plants are $3.00. We also have some larger tomato plants that are $5.00.
Red Gold
Organic Potato sets (Red Gold and Carola are still available) $5.00 per pound.
We will also have Tri-colored Sage, Chocolate mint & Rosemary plants $3.00
Herb planters make a great gift for anyone who likes to cook. We also have an option for the drink makers!
Italian herbs planter
Cocktail Herbs planter
We have some Herb Planters made up and can also plant them with a mix of your choosing. The planter comes with 7 plants (6 herbs and a pansy) planted in a 10 inch bowl and growing in organic soil.
Herb chioces inclue: Rosemary, Mojito mint, Chocolate mint, thyme, sage, cilantro, parsley, dill and various basil – sweet, lemon & red
The Italian herb planter contains oregano, rosemary, sweet basil, Red basil, lemon basil, Italian parsley & a pansy plant.
The Cocktail herb planter contains Mojito mint, chocolate mint, thyme, rosemary, sweet basil, lemon basil and a pansy plant.
Everyone who grows tomatoes would love to have them ripen earlier in the season. In their quest for this, many people plant them in their gardens at the first sign of warmer weather. If you live in the Midwest, you know there will be more cold before the warm is here to stay.
Here is what I have discovered in the many years I’ve been growing tomatoes:
Plants that are put in the warm soil at the correct time will outperform plants that have been suffering in the cold. I have also had later plants catch up to earlier plants and produce earlier.
Tomatoes are native to central and south America. They won’t be killed by temperatures below 50 degrees – BUT – they won’t be happy about it either.
Earliness of tomatoes can be better achieved by choosing a variety that produces in a shorter number of days. Smaller tomatoes usually produce more quickly than jumbo tomatoes. Determinate plants usually produce more quickly than indeterminate plants. If you have room for several plants, choose a couple of early varieties.
If you have the ability and are willing to make the effort, you can protect your early planted tomatoes with a cover whenever the overnight temperature is forecast to be below 50 degrees. Don’t forget to uncover them in the morning.
Eggplant has similar requirements and peppers are even more particular.
Most of our vegetable plants are planted in a 3.5 inch biodegradable container ($3.00 each). We will also have some jumbo tomato plants available in 1 gallon containers ($7.00 each)!
Herbs
Rosemarry SOLD OUT
Tri-color sage
Chocolate mint SOLD OUT
Herbs are growing in 3.5 inch containers ($3.00 each). We also have some mixed herb containers planted in a 10 inch bowl ($18.00 each)!
Potato Sets
Austrian Crescent SOLD OUT
Carola
Red Gold SOLD OUT
$5.00 per container
Red Gold and Carola are 1 pound
Austrian Crescent is 12 oz SOLD OUT
Succulents
Succulents are growing in a 5 inch decorative green container ($5.00). We will also have mixed containers planted in a 10 inch bowl ($18.00). Mixed containers and large succulents are SOLD OUT
Lavender
Super Blue, Heidcote Blue & Big Time Blue
$5.00 each
All of our plants are grown in our organic greenhouse – most from organic seed. Some herbs don’t grow well from seed so they come to us as tiny plants (plugs) and we transplant them into our organic soil and grow them out in our greenhouse.
Any medium size container that holds at least two or three gallons of soil can be used. Examples include baskets, large paint buckets (drill plenty of holes in the bottom and lower sides & fill the bottom inch or two with gravel), Grow Bags or large plant containers/nursery pots. Make sure there are adequate holes for excess water to drain.
Fill the bottom of each container with a few inches of potting soil, which will be where potato roots will grow. Do not use soil from your yard in a container. It will become compacted and hard – 2 things potatoes hate. Mix in a scant handful of all-purpose or organic fertilizer. Place the container where it will get sunlight but not too much radiated heat from a wall or patio.
Plant the Seed Pieces
Cut your seed potatoes into chunks with at least 2 sprouts/eyes on each chunk. Smaller potatoes can be planted whole.
Plant your potato seed pieces in the soil. How many pieces you plant will depend on the size of your container. You can plant 4-6 seed potato pieces in a 10 gallon container or 2-3 in a 5 gallon container. Water well to get the plants started. Continue to water as needed to keep plants moist, not wet.
Cover Plant Stems as They Grow
Once plants begin to grow, gently pile new soil around the lower stems to keep them in total darkness. Continue weekly until the containers are almost filled. Continue to water down deep around roots, but do not keep the plants wet.
Harvest
When the leaves and stems start to turn yellow its time to cut back on the water. Your plants are finished growing. You could also move your containers to a more shaded spot – especially it they are in full sun and it’s hot outside. When the stems are totally yellow, you can harvest your potatoes!
Carola
Red Gold
Austrian Crescent
Starting tomorrow we will have certified organic seed potatoes available! All containers are $5.00 Carola and Red gold are 1 pound and Austrian Crescent is 12 ounces
Contact us with your order ahead of coming out. We will have everything ready for you at the time you choose. You can pick up your order from our self service farmstand. Total self Distancing!
Succulents! We have a variety of succulents growing in the greenhouse. We will sell them as individual plants in 3.5 inch pots and also will have some 10 inch dish style planters available. Succulents are one of the easiest plants to grow. They require very little water. Let them enjoy the outdoors during the summer and bring them inside in the fall. They are pretty amazing little plants. You will find baby plants growing where leaves have dropped around the Mother plant. Some varieties sent out new plants (like in the bottom picture) that you can easily press into the soil so it can take root. They will be ready for sale the beginning of May.
Growing potatoes is a fun project for kids and adults. They can be successfully grown in a large container or directly in the ground. I’ve even seen them grown in straw bales! If you are interested in trying that, you will need to find organic straw.
Soil preparation is very important since potatoes like loose soil and our soil is naturally heavy. Compost is the easiest and fastest way to loosen your garden soil. You can even get herb seeds to combine them with potato and make delicious organic meals.
The first step is to cut the potatoes into chunks with at least 2 sprouts in each chunk. Our sets are just starting to sprout, making it easier to do. As you cut the potato, place the cut pieces in a container in a single layer – being careful not to break off the sprouts. We usually do this the day before we plan to plant so the cut part of the potato can seal over.
We plant ours in the ground and start by marking off the row with a string line – not necessary, but we like straight rows. Use a hoe to make a furrow in the soil about 12 inches deep. Start placing potato pieces in the furrow 12 inches apart. My hand trowel is 12 inches long so I usually use that for measuring. Carefully press the potato piece into the soil – still being careful to not break off the sprouts. I try to place the potato piece so that the cut side is facing down and the sprouts are facing up. After you have all your pieces in the furrow, fill it in with about half of the loose soil that you took out. The potatoes should be covered with about 1 inch of soil. As the potatoes begin to sprout through the soil, you will go back and fill in the furrow with the rest of the loose soil. Before I fill in the final time, I sprinkle some granular organic fertilizer in the furrow then fill in the soil over the top. I use Dr Earth.
When your potatoes are all up and out of the soil, you will need to check them every couple of days for Colorado potato beetles ( I do this while I’m hoeing weeds). If you can destroy the adults and any eggs you find early in the season, it will make a big impact on the health of your plants. They’re 2nd favorite crop is eggplant. So, if you’re growing eggplant, try to keep it as far from your potatoes as possible and check them for beetles too. This is also a good time to hill your potatoes. I use a hoe and pull soil up onto each side of the row. The benefits of hilling are you will get more potatoes as the plants send out roots into the loose soil and you are removing the weeds at the same time. After your final hilling, you can put down a mulch to keep the soil moist and reduce future weeds. Organic straw is my first choice. If you can’t find that – you can use crass clippings from a trusted source (the herbicides that many people use on their lawn will kill you garden vegetables) or chopped leaves.
I feed my plants with a spray of liquid seaweed 2 or 3 times throughout the season.
At the end of the season, the plants will start to turn yellow. Before the vines totally die (and you loose track of where your plants are) start digging your potatoes! This is the exciting part! We use a garden fork and loosen the soil about 12 inches away from the base of the plant. Nothing makes me sadder than to find a stabbed beautiful potato on the end of my fork.
We will have certified organic potato sets available starting Friday.
Contact us to place your order and we will have it ready for you in our self service farmstand. You can pick it up and pay with no contact!
All potato sets are $5.00 per container. Carola and Red Gold are 1 pound in the container – Austrian Crescent is 12 ounces.
email pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
Message us on FB (Private message is easier for me to keep track of than commenting on on our post)
The garlic looks like every clove came up and will turn into a beautiful bulb in late June!
Bill went over the rest of the back garden bed with a disk and I planted it with a cover crop mix – buckwheat, medium red clover, forage beets, kale and Austrian peas. This garden is very close to our bee hives so the bees wont have to go far for dinner! I may but some late sunflowers in the garlic bed after harvest. This garden has really suffered from the past 3 years of flooding rain events and will benefit from a year of rest,
Now is the perfect time to be working on getting your garden beds or containers ready for planting!
Cool season crops are very happy to grow in these temperatures – Spinach, kale, lettuce, radishes and peas are all great for direct sowing in cool damp conditions.
1. Focus.
What are your favorite flowers or vegetables? Make a short list and start with those, to ensure you will want to eat and enjoy what comes up in the garden. Starting out with a smaller garden will also prevent you from becoming over-whelmed with the maintenance required. You will get a larger harvest from a small well tended garden than you will from a large garden filled with weeds that compete with your plants.
If you need organic soil to fill containers or add to your beds, we have bags available for pick-up in our farmstand. $8.00 per bag
Yesterday I worked on a recipe that is a little less challenging than the wild yeast sourdough that I usually make with our flour. I started with a recipe from my favorite Williams-Sonoma baking book and made an adjustment to the flour. I used 4 cups of our sifted Turkey Red stone ground flour and 2 cups of organic all purpose flour. It rose beautifully but ended up a little too fluffy for our preference. So, if you like fluffy bread – this is perfect. Next batch I will try 100% whole wheat.
Our Flour is available in 5 pound buckets for $10.00
Contact us ahead of coming out to Pick-up in our farmstand
Call 815-467-5259
Email: pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
FB message us
We also have stone ground cornmeal in a 3 pound bag for $5.00
This part came from Vermont Valley – an organic potato grower in Wisconsin. We ordered extra so we could offer some for sale. Potatoes are easily grown in containers or in the ground – kids love the “surprise” of finding the potatoes at harvest time AND who doesn’t love potatoes!? We choose varieties that grow well in our soil and have a fabulous flavor. The great flavor means you don’t need to use lots of toppings. Actually, they are so good that less is better!
Potatoes growing in totes with drainage holes drilled in the bottom & lower sides
We will be selling seed potatoes in our farmstand along with our other transplants.
The varieties we will have available are Carola, Red Gold and Austrian Crescent.
I’ve been baking more bread than usual while we have been staying home so had used all of our flour. So, this morning we brought the stone grinder out for grinding some of our Turkey Red wheat into flour. We do not sell the bread but we do sell the flour. We also have lots of food grade buckets that come with our oils for soap making. They originally held coconut oil and have a nice tight fitting lid. We’ve washed them and are re-purposing them to hold flour.
Each bucket holds 5 pounds. $10.00 per bucket
I make a 100% sourdough (no additional yeast) with our flour & have found that this flour works best for me with a long (overnight) rise. There are several recipes for no-knead bread that use regular yeast and are far less complicated for a beginning baker. Breadtopia is a great resource for recipes as well as supplies. I would suggest starting with their No-knead recipe. Also, sifting at least half of the flour gives me a better rise.
breadtopia.com
Stone grinding our Turkey Red wheat into flour.
Stone ground Turkey Red whole wheat flour
Heritage Turkey Red Whole Wheat Flour
Our whole wheat flour contains 100% of the vitamins and minerals naturally occurring in wheat. Turkey Red is a heritage variety of wheat that was brought to the U.S. in the 1870’s, and was widely grown in Wisconsin a century ago. This flour has moderate protein, and excellent all-around baking qualities.
Why Stone Ground?
Our flour is produced simply by grinding grain between two stones, a technique that is centuries old. Stone milling maintains the grain’s integrity to produce flour that is more fresh, flavorful and nutritious.
Store in refrigerator. Best within 3 months – freeze for longer storage.
Contact us ahead of coming out and we will leave your order in our farmstand.
No lines and no crowds!
call 815-467-5259
email pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
message us on our FB page
We also have Cornmeal, liquid honey, comb honey, hand-made goat milk soap and hand-made lotion bars (great for your excessively washed hands!)
Heirloom Yellow Corn Stone-ground Cornmeal $5.00
Raw honey from hives on our farm $13.00
Raw Comb honey $20.00
Goat milk soap $5.00
Lotion Bar $14.00 Lavender or Sweet orange Ylang-Ylang
