Heat Waved Bye in Time for Weekend Markets
Plus, a hot visit to a garlic farm, and an event reminder
The Heat is Off, Just in Time for Market Weekend
Man, it was roasting outside yesterday. But a front, accompanied by some pretty serious storms, blew through last night and took the heat wave with it. Saturday market day in Chicago dawned with beautiful sunshine and much (much!) lower temperatures.
Fans of Green City Market in Lincoln Park responded appropriately, filling the aisles by mid-morning.
My market haul in the top photo consisted of: carrots from the Growing Home non-profit (Chicago); cremini mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin); apricots and my first white peaches of the year from Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, Michigan); my first melon of the year, a jalapeño and Pristine apples (described as the crispiest and sweetest of the summer apples) from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); and Italian eggplant and SunGold cherry tomatoes from Froggy Meadow Farm (Beloit, Wisconsin).
An eScape to the Country
Speaking of Friday’s heat… I journeyed to Woodstock in north-central Illinois to visit Garlic eScape, which grows… you guessed it… garlic.
It was my first opportunity to meet Dr. Silvia Abel-Caines, a veterinarian who farms the fields while maintaining her full-time job as a ruminant nutritionist for the Wisconsin-based Organic Valley dairy cooperative. This article is a sneak preview of the longer one coming soon based on my interview with Silvia.
Silvia — in the photo above explaining the details about a row of garlic — is a beneficiary of funding from The Conservation Fund’s Working Farms Fund, which purchased land to help her expand her production under a “lease to buy” plan that, if all goes well, will enable her to own the land within five years. Silvia is dedicated to regenerative agriculture and has obtained the USDA Organic certification for the farm.
We were joined by Kelly Larsen, who joined Working Farms Fund in May as its Chicago-area specialist; I have known Kelly for years from her previous role as operations director for Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest program.
It was a short walk through the fields, a good thing given the day’s enveloping heat (the reported feel like index in Woodstock was 107 degrees). Along with rows of garlic, there were vegetables such as cherry tomatoes and poblano peppers, along with medicinal plants such as the calendula in the photo below.
I look forward to publishing the interview story about this dedicated and environmentally conscious farmer.
Reminder: Avrom Farm Party is Next Weekend
A reminder that Avrom Farm — a regenerative livestock farm in Green Lake, Wisconsin that now partners with the 99 Counties meat home delivery company — is holding its 5th annual Avrom Farm Party next weekend (Friday, August 4 through Sunday, August 6).
The event sounds great, with a long lineup of music acts (I love the groovy ‘60’s vibe in their promo art), camping, farm tours, workshops, family-friendly activities, and food, glorious locally and sustainably produced food. Green Lake is a bit of a haul (about 180 miles north of downtown Chicago) but couldn’t you use a weekend in the country?
Click the button below to learn more and buy tickets.