Our Self Service Farmstand is fully stocked this morning.
Tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, beans, beets, broccoli, garlic, potatoes, sweet basil plants, flower bouquets, dried blue butterfly peas, eggs and a few bags of sweet corn.
We have been extremely busy! Come out early for the best selection.
Busy picking day today!
We have Green beans and Dragon Tongue beans
Slicing, salad, roma and cherry tomatoes
Potatoes
garlic, summer squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, beets, okra, Genovese basil plants,
Fresh flower bouquets
and eggs.
All ready in our Self Service Farmstand!
We had a busy picking and packaging morning!
Broccoli, Dragon Tongue beans, summer squash (zucchini, lemon and patty pan), eggplant, bell peppers, beets, okra, cucumbers, garlic, plus tomatoes (cherry, roma and slicers) and a few bags of sweet corn.
And 3 bouquet choices:
Mixed flowers are $8., sunflowers and zinnia bouquets are $5.
We have fresh beets in the Farmstand cooler this morning
$4 per bunch
Also – cherry & roma tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, garlic and eggs
Calico corn
Organic seed
Never sprayed
Non GMO
Picked this morning
Half dozen bags are in the cooler for $3.00 per bag
We will pick in the morning and put what we have available in the Farmstand cooler.
Will not be picking later in the day so – when that days corn is gone – it’s gone.
We will have a very limited amount for sale.
Mix & Match – $3.00 per pint
Large are $1.00 each
small/medium are 2 in a bag for $1.00
mini pickle cucumbers are 1 pound in a bag for $1.00
Also in the cooler:
Flower bouquets – $8.00, Zinnia bouquets – $5.00,
Beets – $4.00 per bunch
Summer squash (zucchini, patty pan and lemon), broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant – $2.00 per bag
Dragon Tongue beans – $3.00 per bag
Hard neck garlic – $2 large or $3 jumbo
Genovese basil plants – $3.00
Eggs – $5.00
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.
$13.00 for a 1 pound jar
Send us a PM on Facebook
email pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
call 815-467-5259 & leave a message
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.
All cut fresh this morning and waiting in the cooler to brighten someone’s day or dinner!
We also have eggs, kale, Swill chard, kohlrabi and broccoli.
Kale – picked washed, spun and bagged this morning. $3.00 per bag
We also have eggs in the farmstand cooler.
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:
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.
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?
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.
Peoney bouquets
Cut to order
We can only cut them in the morning so will need your order the prior day or before 8 am on the day you would like to pick up.
It is a very short season. We will have them this weekend until sold out.
9.00 per jar
Email pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
Or send us a message on our FB page
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!
email: pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
Call 815-467-5259
Send us a message on our FB page
Radishes $1.00
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
email – pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
Call – 815-467-5259
Message us on our FB page
Our remaining plants are in the farmstand. We have a few tomato varieties, red bell peppers and eggplant 3.00 each
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
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 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.
Still looking for a gift for Mom, Aunts, friends or yourself?
Choose from our list of products and we will have it ready (In a gift bag)
for you to pick up in our self service farmstand.
Creamy Body Butter $14.00 Available in Lavender, Sweet orange Ylang-Ylang, Lilac or Wild Rose
Lotion Bar $14.00
Lavender or Sweet orange Ylang-Ylang
Facial Oil Meadowfoam, Evening Primrose, Pomegranate seed, Rosehip seed, jojoba, Vit E and Rose absolute $24.00
Goat milk Soap Lavender/Rosewood
Check our soap list post for all of the options
$5.00 per bar
Dry Clay Facial mask (Just add liquid) Rose & kaolin clay, rosehip seed, chamomile & wild rose fragrance $6.00
Dry clay mask with water added
Calendula & comfrey infused whipped salve $10.00
Honeycomb honey $20.00
Raw honey from hives on our farm $13.00
Honey Bear – 2 oz $3.00
To place an order for Farmstand pick-up:
E-mail pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
Send us a message on FB
Call 815-467-5259
All of our soap is made with local milk, skin loving oils & our own honey. We use either essential oils or phthalate free fragrance oils.
$5.00 per bar
All soaps can be added to gift sets
Lily of the valley SOLD OUT
Sweet orange/ginger/patchouli with Rhoussel clay
Black Raspberry/Vanilla
Oatmeal with no scent SOLD OUT
White Tea & Ginger
Brambleberry
Peaches & Cream
Bergamot/patchouli/ylang-ylang with chamomile SOLD OUT
Lavender/Rosewood SOLD OUT
Rosemary/ Lavender/Spearmint
Almond with sweet almond oil SOLD OUT
To place an order:
E-mail: pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
Message us on FB
call 815-467-5259
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.
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.
In an effort to keep everyone safe, we will be strictly following Social Distancing guidelines.
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!
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
Lavender plants – $5.00
Rose Scented geranium – $5.00
Small aloe vera plants in clay pots $5.00
Small succulents – $3.00
Pansy planters – $10.00
Pansy plants – $2.00
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.
$18.00 each
I made my first ever video! Take a virtual tour of our greenhouse and see what we are growing.
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.
Cherokee Purple SOLD OUT
Blue Beauty SOLD OUT
Gold Medal SOLD OUT
Dr. Wyche’s Yellow
Big Rainbow SOLD OUT
Barne’s Mountain Yellow
Copia SOLD OUT
German Pink SOLD OUT
Carbon SOLD OUT
Woodle Orange SOLD OUT
Tappy’s Heritage SOLD OUT
True Black Brandywine
Mortgage Lifter SOLD OUT
Moskovich SOLD OUT
Nepal SOLD OUT
Mountain Magic SOLD OUT
Piglet Willie SOLD OUT
Black Vernissage SOLD OUT
Roma/plum:
San Marzano SOLD OUT
Purple Russian
Cherry:
Sungold SOLD OUT
Black Cherry SOLD OUT
Pink Bumblebee SOLD OUT
Citrine SOLD OUT
Tommy Toe SOLD OUT
Tomatoes suitable for Container growing:
Amber
Cyrril’s Choice
Urlasiky SOLD OUT
Sweetie SOLD OUT
Sweet Cheriette SOLD OUT
Cornito Giallo
Cornito Rosso SOLD OUT
Round of Hungary SOLD OUT
Sweet Sunrise SOLD OUT
Islander SOLD OUT
Red Knight
Glow SOLD OUT
Lemon Spice Jalapeno SOLD OUT
Craig’s Grande Jalapeno SOLD OUT
Eggplant
Rosita
Pandora Striped
Little Fingers
Prosperosa
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)!
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)!
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Email pam@creeksidenaturalfarm.com
call 815-467-5259
Send a private message on our FB page
