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New Research Project

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New Research Project
This Week's Vegetable Harvest:
  • Tendersweet Cabbage
  • Fresh Cilantro
  • Fresh Dill
  • Poblano Peppers
  • Colorful Bell Pepper
  • Summer Crisp Head Lettuce
  • Scallions
  • Broccoli
  • Heirloom Tomatoes
  • Celery
This Week's Fruit Harvest:
  • Ever-Bearing Strawberries
  • 'Fuji' Apples
  • 'Bartlett' Pears
  • 'Jupiter' Red Seedless Grapes
Last Call -- Final Week! Bulk Tomato Cases Available for Preserving and Enjoying

We are selling bulk quantities of our certified organic tomatoes for eating and canning. The prices are as follows: 
  • 20 lb Beefsteak Tomato Cases are $50.
  • 20 lb Heirloom Tomato Cases are $72.
  • 20 lb Paste Tomato Cases - $52.
  • New! 20lb Mixed 'Seconds' Cases - $42 - These imperfect tomatoes will need to be processed quickly as the tomatoes will not hold. Despite their imperfections, these tomatoes are delicious! 
To place a reservation for tomato case(s), please fill out the following form. You are welcome to submit multiple orders.

On the week of your delivery/pickup, we will send a confirmation reminder email to you. We are unable to provide replacement tomatoes if your case is not picked up. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!
Reserve Your Local, Pastured-Raised Thanksgiving Turkey 

Reserve a local, pasture-raised, organically-fed heritage turkey for Thanksgiving dinner from our friends at All Grass Farms.

Farmer Cliff raises Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys which are moved to pasture at 3 weeks of age.  They are free-range in and around portable shelters with their shelters being moved daily.  They are fed certified organic, non-GMO feed mixture from day one with no antibiotics or growth hormones.  They are processed at 17-19 weeks for maximum flavor and they are humanely processed at local, family-owned USDA-inspected facility.

Weights range from 12-25 lbs. We will do everything we can to provide you with a turkey in your desired weight range. Turkeys are frozen and packaged in a vacuum-sealed bag. Heart, liver, neck, and gizzard included inside each turkey.

Reservation: $35 deposit per turkey due at time of order.
Final Price: You will be invoiced with your total at $7.50/lb (less your deposit) due upon pickup.

Turkeys will be available for pickup from the Grayslake farm on Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13 from 7am to 7pm. 

Place your reservation here. Thank you for supporting local farmers!
Farm Journal
Hello to you, from your farm!
Recently, we contributed to an article entitled, "We're Not Farming Naked" for the Prairie Crossing neighborhood newsletter. While the headline was giggle-inducing, it was a thoughtful piece sharing the care we put into building and keeping our topsoils in place through the use of cover crops. While not planned, we have a beautiful demonstration of cover crop successions in the field closest to the entrance of the farm. The four successions include buckwheat (aka the honey bees feast!), sudan grass and cowpeas in the middle, and two plantings of cowpeas and oats on the northern edge.
Occasionally, a sunny sunflower seed makes its way into the mix, too!
To further our cover crop work, we're embarking on our third active research project with a soil scientist and educator from Washington State University. (Our two other research projects are studying the impact of local compost on perennials, cover crops and its impact on the circular economy, and studying the makeup of our hoophouse insect populations within our various crop sets.)
The new research project is a place-based study of urban and peri-urban soils in the context of urban and peri-urban agriculture. The soil scientist will test a suite of parameters at the different sites, including a soil food web analysis. We, as well as other Chicago growing sites, will be part of a larger study including sites in Seattle, Washington and Medellín, Colombia. We were thrilled to join this research project as a way to learn more about our own soil and the soil of colleagues throughout the world who farm in a similar context. As we learn more, we will (of course) share it with you, too. More to come!
In the meantime, we, our team, and our farming partners and friends are working hard together to prepare for the upcoming seasons. After a great carrot harvest today and plenty of chopping in the kitchen, we're well on our way to filing freezers and coolers with food for fall and winter shares.

Please stay tuned for next week's Winter Farm Share registration announcement and for the 2023 Farm Share announcements coming in October. For now, enjoy the late summer harvest!

Warmly,
~ Jeff, Jen, Owen, Gavin, Arlet, Cleto, David, Yamany
Notes from the Farm Kitchen
Tendersweet cabbage is a beloved variety in our farm kitchen as it's sweeter in flavor and we only grow in the summer season. We consider tendersweet seasonal because it is known to store for weeks rather than months (like many fall cabbages do) so its flavor is well worth enjoying in the late summer months. You can use as you normally would other cabbage varieties in soups, stews, salads and slaws.

Berries are always a treat this time of year, and luckily, the Klugs ever-bearing strawberries are having a great season! These late-season berries are more delicate in flavor than their early summer counterpart and make a great companion to your favorite apple recipe. 
The broccoli harvest continues! We've had a lovely season for growing broccoli and it will only get better with cooler evenings on the way. To make the most of your broccoli, place it into plastic, and use it within a week. Or, chop and briefly blanch in boiling water or lightly sauté before tossing it into your freezer for winter.
Seasonal Recipes in the Farm Kitchen

Rajas Con Crema

Broccoli Rubble Farro Salad

Herbed Green Slaw

Heirloom Tomato Ketchup

9 Things to Pair with Apples
 

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