Farmhand for Hire

Hello all!

This is a quick one … I’m heading into my second of three after-work meetings this week. Last night was a great work session with the Town Council, where we discussed the upcoming development of a “community-wide sustainability plan.” Tonight, I’m talking to an IWU class about Town sustainability initiatives. And tomorrow night, it’s the Planning Commission. Whew! I’m tired thinking about it!

This past week was a doozy with our new farmhand … Ben. At four years old, Ben has funny ideas about how to help out. He begged to use the dangerously sharp snippers to cut down the delicate heirloom tomatoes. Bill agreed, thinking that would give Ben a real stake in the harvesting process. Well, that didn’t turn out as planned. Although Ben did a great job harvesting the tomatoes, he later thought it would be fun to throw them one by one out of the crates into the field. That’s right … 40 pounds of beautiful heirlooms smashing onto the grassy lane of the farm field. He would’ve done the entire truck-load had our other farmhand Pete not heard the suspicious splatting sound in the distance. Brings a tear to my eye. Bill, on the other hand, came momentarily unglued and yelled at him, finishing with, “Why would you do that??!!” Ben answered, honestly, “I like throwing tomatoes.” Hard to argue with that.

This week will be different. Bill has started locking the truck and hiding the tools! I don’t have Bil to consult with, so I’m going to assume it’s much the same as last week …


Green Beans, Yellow Wax Beans, and French Filet Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Carrots
Garlic
Leeks
Radicchio
Tomatoes
Okra
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Grapes

And what are these historical photos? It's from our first ever farmers market in Oak Park, Illinois. Have I ever told you the story of our first market? What a train wreck (aside from the great wad of money we made!). Bill didn't know how to load the trailer, so it swayed back and forth dangerously the whole trip (3 hours). I drove behind him with my mom in her minivan, watching the trailer lurching around. We got pulled over just before getting on to I-55 because our tail lights weren't working. Noah was only 8 months old. Truly a nightmare. Since I'm stuck here at work right now, these are the only pictures I could find.

But back to business. Please do join us this weekend! We are amazed at the continued strength of the market even after the start of the school year. We don’t seem to have the annual drop-off in customers that we typically see. It’s been AWESOME! About this time every year, Bill starts wearing down a bit. He starts thinking about next season, which is a bad idea when you’re really tired. So having such strong crowds makes it that much easier for Bill to keep his batteries charged. He really loves this part of the season, too. The fall is like spring in reverse … wonderful greens, crisp carrots, and more. We hope you like it as much as we do!!

See you Saturday!
Mercy