Geneva Green Market: Geneva, Illinois – A Local Food Green Farmers Market

The Natural Garden offers a butterfly gardening class.

Who is that in my garden? How can I attract more?! Some butterflies, like the Monarch, are so easily recognized.  But who else is visiting your flowers?  We’ll talk a bit about identifying other common butterflies and how you can attract more to your garden.  If weather permits, we will have some live butterflies to help us in our learning.

Enrollment Deadline: Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Class Date: Sunday, August 23, 2009
Time: 1:00 pm – 2: 00 pm
Location: The Natural Garden
Fee: free
Instructor: Janie Grillo

Home-grown in Kane County Found at the Geneva Green Market
In April of 2007 a group came together to form the Geneva Green Market, Not for Profit Group, a 501 (c) 3 that is devoted to education of the health-giving nature of locally grown food, sustainability and conservation of resources.

Local farmers offering locally grown food from within a 200-mile radius.  Diverse arrays of products are offered, from organic baked good to free range eggs, hormone-free beef, pork, lamb, chicken, flowers, seasonally vegetables and raw/artisan cheeses.  Free cooking demos and kid’s educational events.

When: June 4, 2009 through end of October 2009, every Thursday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: 75 N. River Lane, Geneva IL Read more

Learn how to create, grow, and maintain your garden. Specialists and master gardeners will be here to answer any questions and give advice. Topics include herbs, flowers, vegetables, heirloom plants and table scrapes.

• Who: Gardenology Merchants (with the support of Gardenology Sponsors)
• Where: Downtown Geneva, Illinois
• When: May 9, 2009, 11:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m.
• Cost: Free!
• More Information: Deb or Sue at Country Naturals 630-232-1172 or visit www.genevadowntown.org

Learn about attracting birds and butterflies, wildlife control, composting, pest control, organic fertilizers and more. Kids can have fun too by planting seeds in biodegradable pots and creating sprout necklaces. Win a watering can from participating shops that will be raffled off at the end of the day.

We started our farm in 2001 in a very small space to grow flowers, herbs, fruit, vegetables, and perennials for the local markets around St. Charles, Illinois. We named the farm Erehwon after a mythical place where most everything was backwards: we were surrounded with large farms growing crops for distant markets using large doses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We, on the other hand wanted to be small, to grow in an environmentally friendly way for local markets. Hence the name Erehwon.

Beth Propst and Tim Fuller are working very hard this 2009 spring to bring fresh vegetables from the field to your plate. Check out their web site at erehwonfarm.com and make sure to read the past newsletter. They give you an insight about the last couple of years with the CSA.

Be sure to check out the great picture of Bucky, the farm dog!

Start a Seedy Relationship with your yard! Thinking about planting a garden, we are here to help you. The GGM, NFP membership is launching a series of courses to help you in gardening, health and living a little greener. All ages welcome!

The kick off workshop series brought to you by the GGM, NFP membership:

Get a jump-start on the gardening season!  Save money by starting your own vegetables or flowers.  The GGM, NFP is offering a workshop on how to start seeds indoors, how to buy supplies to transplanting out into your garden. You will have seeds planted and knowledge on how to be transplanted in the ground. Working with vegetable and flower seed.

You will receive seed starting supplies and will take home starts and seeds planted in the workshop. If you have seeds bring them, but seeds will be provided also. Craig MacLean from The Pure Gardener, 502 W State St, Geneva IL. is also talking about sprout, onions, and garlic.

Please register by emailing us here, include your name and contact info or simply call 630.208.9321.

Many farms offer produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or any sort of different farm products.

A CSA, (for Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people become “members” (“shareholders” or “subscribers”) of the CSA. Most CSA farmers prefer that members pay for the season up-front, but some farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSAs also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season. A CSA season typically runs from late spring through early fall. The number of CSAs in the United States was estimated at 50 in 1990, and has since grown to over 2000.

Here in Geneva Illinois, and the Fox Valley, we have many choices with CSAs. Some continue into the fall.

Erehwon Farms:
Seven weeks of wonderful fall produce such as winter squash, pie pumpkins, carrots, radishes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, parsnips, tatsoi, Read more

Heritage Prairie Farm Camp for Kids – don’t miss out on the opportunity to enroll your child in hands on experiences that give children the knowledge to begin his or her journey into understanding food and farming, tolerance and self-respect, community and responsibility. Children will have fun while experiencing productive and worthwhile work, in turn feeling a sense of accomplishment. Our peaceful and engaging environment is a great place for new friends and experiences with our knowledgeable and friendly staff. Sign up today!

Camps for ages 7 – 12: Camps run for 2 weeks, Monday thru Thursday 9:00 a.m. – Noon

Garden Explorers: (July 21 – 24 & July 28 – 31) *Sign up by this Friday!*

In this fun outdoor camp children will experience planning, preparing, and planting a garden. We will get our hands into soil testing and bug exploration, as well as the life cycle of plants; from a seed to seedling to a full grown plant. The campers will experiment planting with seeds, transplants, fruits, and trees. Enroll your child now and lay down the roots of life with the hands on, fun, and educational experience of Heritage Prairie’s Garden Explorers Camp.

Fun With Food: (August  4 – 7 & August 11 – 14)

Campers will harvest ingredients from the ground and then engage all five senses with the art of cooking. Campers will be evolved in the processes of cooking from helping select ingredients to measuring, mixing, cooking, and then of course sampling. Also, your child will become a certified food detective and learn how to make healthy food selections while shopping in the grocery store. We want to connect children to their food and to their community by introducing food system maps, which cover important social, economical and environmental concepts. Where does my food come from? How does it get here? Who am I really paying? How do my choices effect others and the environment? As a grand finale, we will take a field trip to the Geneva Green City Farmers Market and experience local farmers and local buyers.

Camps for ages 4 – 6: Camps run for 1 week, Monday thru Thursday 9:00 a.m. – Noon

Farm Critters: (July 21 – 24) *Sign up by this Friday!*

Campers will experience and explore the animal life on the farm. Come and join in the fun of the feeding, care, and responsibilities involving the animals on our farm.

Nature Crafts: (July 28 – 31)

Using nature as our inspiration and palette, campers will enjoy making creative functional items as well as original works of art. Campers will learn about famous artists as well as discovering the artist within.

Budding Farmers: (August 4-7)

Children will enjoy the outdoors while learning responsibility and sensitivity to the natural world. Activities will include animal care, picking vegetables and flowers, stories, games and crafts.

Garden Explorers: (August 11-14)

This camp is all about getting your hands dirty and having fun! Campers will join in with peers and counselors planting, weeding, and harvesting gardens throughout the farm. Learn about the bugs in and around the farm, and dig into composting.

See attached for registration forms, pricing, and detailed descriptions.
Download a registration form here
For a printable brochure of camp programs, click here.

Heritage Prairie Market
hpmfarm.com
630-443-8253