We finally have some really nice cherry tomatoes. For those of you who were here last year – we again have the Sungold & Black cherry. We also have added a red cherry that’s very sweet. $2.00 per pint
We picked sweet corn this morning and it will be in the cooler in the vegetable stand. It is $6.00 per DZ and it usually sells out quickly!
Sweet Corn
We sold out of beans, beets and onions today. We will have more green beans on Wednesday morning.
We now have beets in the cooler. They will make a nice salad with the green onions.
Since we have such a great crop of green onions, I made a dip with them and thought I would share the recipe.
Fresh Herb Dip
1 C sour cream, 1/2 C real mayo, 6-8 green onions (white & green part minced), 2T fresh parsley (minced), 1 T fresh dill or tarragon (minced), 1t sea salt, 3/4 t freshly ground black pepper.
Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate. You can make it ahead and it will be even better the 2nd day. You can also add minced garlic or different herbs. If you don’t have fresh herbs you can use 1/2 the amount dried.
I used it as a veggie dip
More strawberries this morning. This will probably be the last weekend.
I picked strawberries, sugar snap peas, lettuce and green onions this morning and as of right now, there is still some of each in the cooler.
We sold all of yesterdays picking of strawberries today. I will be picking more on Wednesday morning.
Whole Chicken
We are taking pre-orders on whole or cut-up chickens that will be ready around the end of Oct. The price will be aprox. $3.75 per pound. If you would prefer your chicken cut-up, you can request that when you pre-order for an additional .55 cents per chicken.
Our chickens are fed exclusively on organic feed and raised on pasture where they are free to eat grass and get fresh air. We take them from the brooder room in the new barn to the pasture and they really enjoy being outside.
We take them to Arthur IL where they are processed in the only USDA inspected facility in the state of IL. After they are chilled, they are vacuum sealed in a heavy freezer bag and we bring them home in a freezer.
If you would like to try some before ordering, we have several whole frozen chickens from the group that was processed 3 weeks ago.
We are picking strawberries and getting enough to put them in the cooler in the vegetable stand. They are in pint containers and are $2.00. Like everything we sell, they are picked ripe and not sprayed or gassed.
I picked strawberries again today and put 12 pints in the cooler.
We are continuing to pick beautiful lettuce and radishes and are also getting some spinich & green onions. This will be the last weekend for the radishes.
Continue reading 
We will have some of our organic plants for sale starting next weekend. The tomatoes that are ready will include heirloom varieties – Black cherry, Mortgage Lifter, Myona, Black Heirloom, Delicious, Hillbilly, Amish Paste and Pineapple. We will also have a few plants of Defiant and Sun Gold. These are both hybrids. Sun Gold is the orange cherry that we sold last year and is a very sweet cherry tomato. We are trying Defiant this year because it is said to resist blight and we had a problem with that the past 2 years – probably from all the rain.
Within the next couple of weeks we will also have some Cherokee Purple, Arkansas Traveler and Genovese plants available.
We will also have Genovese sweet basil, Nadia and Bianca Eggplant, Ace and King Arthur bell peppers, Holy Mole pepper and poblano pepper plants.
If you would like to reserve plants, please send an e-mail. They are in a 3 1/2 inch pot and will be acclimated to outside conditions.
$2.00 each or 6 for $10.00.
Happy Easter to you and your family from Creekside Natural Farm! Here’s a new photo we took today. What’s wrong with this picture??
Baby tomato plants
We have added some new varieties this year to go along with our favorites from last year. Some of the new varieties are Cherokee Purple, Arkansas Traveler, Valencia, Myona and Hillbilly. These are all heirlooms and were chosen for outstanding flavor!
We have started putting eggs from our pasture raised hens for sale in the cooler inside the vegetable stand. They are $3.50 per dozen or $5.00 for an 18 pack. We will only offer the 18 pack when we have an abundance of eggs.
Eggs from hens raised outdoors on pasture have from three to six times more 
vitamin D than eggs from hens raised in confinement. Pastured hens are exposed to direct sunlight, which their bodies convert to vitamin D and then pass on to the eggs.
Vitamin D is best known for its role in building strong bones. New research shows that it can also enhance the immune system, improve mood, reduce blood pressure, combat cancer, and reduce the risk of some autoimmune disorders.
This latest good news about eggs comes from a study just released by Mother Earth News, a magazine that plays a leading role in promoting health-enhancing, natural foods. The editors found that eating just two eggs will give you from 63-126% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D.
Note that this benefit comes only from hens that are free to graze fresh greens, eat bugs, and bask in the sun. Most of the eggs sold in the supermarket do not meet this criterion. Even though the label says that the eggs are “certified organic” or come from “uncaged” or “free-range” hens or from hens fed an “all-vegetarian” diet, this is no guarantee that the hens had access to the outdoors or pasture.
Look for eggs from “pastured” hens. You are most likely to find these superior eggs at farmer’s markets or natural food stores.
Better yet, purchase them directly from your local farmer.
Our pastured hens are now laying eggs. They are $3.50 per dozen. Since we do not have the vegetable stand open yet, we are only selling the eggs when we are home, so please call before you come out. 815-467-5259
Today I started some seeds in the greenhouse – some tomatoes to plant in the hoop house for an early crop and some onions. It’s nice to work in the greenhouse on a sunny day. The temp was about 85!
I ordered lots of interesting heirloom vegetable seeds and plants today. Can’t wait to get started! I tripled the sweet potato order – hope to have a better year with them.
The outside is finished!
New home for the hens
May your Christmas be filled with joy and laughter!
Merry Christmas from Pam and Bill
(and Baron and Bud)
at Creekside Natural Farm
We are now closed for the 2010 season. Thank you for all of your support and patronage this year. We have been a family farm working 500 acres for many years, but the natural produce stand side of Creekside Natural Farm started only recently as our hobby. At the request of friends and family the stand has grown into a small business. Thinking on e-Commerce? Here you will find why first-time and established merchants are turning to eCommerce as a main source of revenue, for example on this Amzscout review will help with product research, take a look! The work is intense, but very rewarding to us. We love to hear stories and see photos of the dishes you create with our products, so feel free to post them here on the blog or on our Facebook page. It feels great to connect with people over quality chemical-free, sustainable, delicious foods!
Although we are closed for the season we will continue to post farm photos or interesting recipes, so stay tuned! If we don’t see you until the spring, please have a happy, safe and rewarding fall and winter.
-Pam & Bill Kunke
Creekside Natural Farm – Pam Kunke and Bill Kunke. Photo credit 2010 to Michael R. Schmidt, Staff Photographer, Joliet Herald News
We are open from sun-up until sun-down on a self-service honor system. We are usually here in the afternoon and evening during the week and most of the day on the weekends if you prefer to come when we’re here.
Article from today’s Joliet Herald News:
http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/1697904-417/farm-pam-bill-creekside-kunkes.html
MINOOKA — Bill and Pam Kunke are wondering what the sweet potatoes are up to.
This is the first year they’ve planted the crop, and Pam said last week that she was ready to grab a fork to probe the potato patch.
If they’re ripe, the sweet potatoes will be added to the Kunkes’ vegetable stand, which is in their driveway at Creekside Natural Farm, 1221 W. Bell Road.
Creekside opened a year ago, and the Kunkes are thrilled with the response from customers who are clamoring for chemical-free foods grown closer to home.
“One customer took a picture of (her produce) and put it on Facebook because she loved it so much,” Pam said.
Others seek out the natural produce because they have allergies or health problems.
The fruits and vegetables are grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Pam uses heirloom seeds whenever possible.
Heirloom plants aren’t hybrids. The seeds produce food meant to be eaten right away, not shipped thousands of miles to grocery stores, she said.
The self-service vegetable stand is convenient for Ridge Road motorists who can travel a short distance west on Bell Road to buy a few items and serve them for dinner that night.
“Everything is handpicked when it’s ripe, not green, and put into the vegetable stand within an hour,” Pam said.
Veggie tales
The season started with lettuce, radishes, strawberries and snap peas, moved on to onions, cucumbers, sweet corn and tomatoes and will end with sweet potatoes, garlic and pumpkins.
Also in the mix were five different kinds of peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon, okra and wonderfully fragrant basil, which is being used by a local restaurant. The couple also is selling flowers, including mums, and hay bales for fall decorating.
Last year, customers lobbied for beets. “The beets went over really well,” Pam said.
Also a hit were eggs, which won’t be available again until spring when a new batch of chicks is mature enough to start laying.
The Kunkes’ chickens are allowed outside to roam the farm each night and eat insects in the garden. Sometimes they wander into the flowers though and start digging because they’re bored, Bill reported.
“People are very surprised by the difference in the taste,” he said of the eggs.
Creekside also features sustainable agriculture techniques.
A large tank captures rainwater from the garage roof. A 1.5 inch rainfall will produce 1,100 gallons of water for the garden, Bill explained.
Labor of love
Bill and Pam grew up growing things. Pam, 48, always had a big backyard garden in town. During summer vacations she worked on her grandfather’s farm in Arkansas.
Bill, 49, grew up on the Kunke farm where Creekside is now. And he and his brother farm 500 acres.
The Kunkes would like to open their farm for agri-tourism — possibly with a miniature donkey for kids to pet because “chickens aren’t that cuddly,” Pam said.
And Bill wants to install a drip irrigation system and plant more native Illinois prairie grass as part of a conservation program.
The Kunkes both work day jobs, so running Creekside is sometimes exhausting. But it’s worth it, they said.
“It can be very hectic at the height of the season in July and August,” Bill said. “But we’re winding down now and already thinking of what we can do next year.”
For more information, go to www.creeksidenaturalfarm.com or call 815-467-5259.
Comment at www.heraldnewsonline.com
Maris Piper Fingerling potatoes
We have pumpkins, winter squash, bundles of cornstalks with decorative sourghum, full and mini bales of straw in our fall stand. We also still have tomatoes, peppers and potatoes.
