Harvest Week 17, October 9th – 13th, 2018

Your Box This Week – Saturday Deliveries:
Please note: this summary is written before we pack your box—be aware that some guesswork is involved. Share contents often vary over the course of the week. And, as always, be sure to thoroughly wash all of your vegetables.

Fruiting Crops — Popcorn

Root Crops — Potatoes, Beets

Stem Crops — Kohlrabi

Salad Greens — Head Lettuce

Cooking Greens — Kale, Chinese Cabbage

Your Box this Week
There are a few stray vegetables that will go into the boxes this week—not enough to give to everyone, so it will be hit-or-miss if you get any of them: squash, eggplant, carrots, celeriac.

Popcorn
You will receive an ear or two of popcorn this week. It seems like it is cured enough to pop right away, but you might want to put it on a window sill to dry it a bit further. You can shell the kernels by hand and pop them in a pan on the stove. You can also pop your popcorn on the cob in the microwave. To learn more about popping corn, visit www.tinkerlab.com/corncob-popcorn-experiment/.

Weather
Last Friday night and Saturday morning, we had one of the heaviest rains to hit this farm since I was born. Many inches fell, flooding the Kinnikinnick Creek like I have only seen it flood two other times. Bridges were under water. Roads were washed out. As I write this two days after the flooding, the fields are soggy and parts of them are still underwater.

The World of Tomorrow Recap
The World of Tomorrow, a spectacular Rockford ArtScene event hosted by the farm last Saturday, is now history. Hundreds of people attended, many of them in time travel attire. Check out photos at the World of Tomorrow Facebook page.

Bagels and More of Beloit catered the event with a fabulous spread of food, mostly supplied by Angelic Organics. Owners and longtime shareholders Joan and David Siekierski were most helpful and did a superb job.

Prairie Street Brewing Company served beer and wine.

Enchanting lanes of pumpkins and radiant luminaries guided guests from building to building.

(Most photos below by David Crogan.)

The barn loft/gallery was filled with inspiring sculpture, paintings, drawings, and interactive art.

I presented to a large, engaged audience on Biodynamics, gave 3 tours of my Inner World in a Cavernous Partition in the Loft of the Big Barn, and gave 3 performances about Electricity and Egypt in the Farm Power House.

Caravan Fabrics staged a very successful fashion show in the corn crib.

Lincoln Flowers and Skye Garcia delighted the audience in the barn loft with their musical sets.

Ben Fairweather (ens) beamed music to outer space from the silo. An enraptured crowd occupied the mini-amphitheater seating in the silo’s perimeter. Lights bathed the silo. Red velvet was draped on the floor.

Shawn Williams rocked the crowd with live music and a vibrant light show in the barn loft.

From a Shareholder
We have received many very appreciative notes from shareholders this season. Here’s an example: “my family is loving our CSA. You’ve encouraged us to keep eating whole foods and eating healthy by stocking my kitchen with gorgeous produce. Particularly as of late the plethora of winter squash.”

Grow Your Own?
This innovative $7,000 ‘indoor farm’ may change how America eats forever: www.moneyish.com/upgrade/this-innovative-7000-indoor-farm-may-change-how-america-eats-forever/ Hard to know where this might go.

Roundup & Monsanto
Monsanto got handed a big bill for Roundup damages—many millions. Or is it Bayer’s bill?  Learn more here or just google Roundup. 

Warmly,
Farmer John

 

Angelic Organics Learning Center
Help support the Learning Center at the Mayor’s Hunger Luncheon in Rockford, IL on Tuesday, October 16. Tickets are $30 per person and net proceeds will benefit Roots & Wings, the youth leadership and urban agriculture program led by Angelic Organics Learning Center, in partnership with Zion Outreach, the Rockford Housing Authority and residents of Blackhawk Courts. The programs engage youth and adults in farm-to-table activities to provide healthy food options in our community. Learn more at https://www.gorockford.com/event/mayors-hunger-luncheon/15908/