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

Who: Terra Brockman, Author
What: Book Signing
When: Saturday, December 19th 2009
Where: Community Winter Market at Inglenook Pantry, 11 N 5th St Geneva IL 60134

Terra Brockman was raised in central Illinois, where four generations of her family have farmed. Terra’s younger brother, Henry, grows 650 varieties of vegetables on about 12 acres (between Peoria and Bloomington). There, he and his family with apprentices have bucked the traditional agribusiness conventional wisdom by farming in a way that’s sensible, sustainable and focused on producing healthy, nutritious food that doesn’t damage the land.

Terra Brockman tells the story of her family and their life on the farm in the form of a year-long memoir that takes the reader through each season of life on the farm.

For more information about Terra Brockman or her book, please visit her website at www.terrabrockman.com

Community Winter Market at Inglenook Pantry
11 N 5th St
Geneva IL 60134
630-377-0373
http://www.genevagreenmarket.org/directions

Nancy’s Way brings the market full circle. You’ll find fruits and vegetables sold at the market in Mark and Connie’s pies and quiches. Meat in their hot lunches have been purchased locally. Whatever they can’t find at the market, they purchase from organic sources. They also provide chemical free vegetables as well.

Inglenook is also hosting the Geneva Winter Market starting its third season in November on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Peaches that you are currently seeing at the Green Market, will show up in pies and cobblers throughout the winter. Even if you haven’t been canning and freezing this season, you will still be able to eat locally year round.

O’Leary Farm is one of our new vendors this year. The Geneva Green Market, NFP is pleased to have them this year as they are a like-minded addition to the market. Below is their sustainability statement, which provides excellent reasons for doing as much of your weekly shopping at the market as possible.

“We wish to be a force for positive social and environmental change by offering a variety if naturally-grown heirloom vegetables and herbs to the people of Northern Illinois. Tomatoes are our specialty and during the season we offer over twenty varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Harvested at the peak of ripeness our vegetables are brought to market for sale within 24 hours. We start most of our plants from organic and heirloom seed. We recycle, compost, and use green products whenever possible. Our customers appreciate the superior flavor and freshness of these foods, along with the good feeling they get from supporting a small-scale, family run, environmentally sensible operation. By choosing to grow our produce naturally, without chemical pesticides or fertilizers we promote a healthy relationship with the natural world. By choosing to purchase goods from our farm, you support a local farm family, actively help to protect our natural resources, and build community!”

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

About three years ago, Mark and Connie Weaver decided to extend their commitment to feeding their family with locally grown, organic foods to Inglenook Pantry patrons. They believe that good quality, healthy foods should be as readily available when dining out as they are when choosing what to eat at home. Inglenook offers this standard of quality in a variety of venues from concession stands to deluxe catering. Each week at the Geneva Green Market, NFP, Inglenook Pantry offers a variety of foods made from locally grown foods including quiche made from local vegetables and Rob Murphy’s cheeses and pies made from Hillside Orchards’ fruit.

Mark and Connie are continuously active members of their community. They support local farms and businesses by not only purchasing local products for their restaurant, but also providing a space and running the Geneva Winter Market, co-running the Geneva Green Market, NFP and supporting the Geneva schools in numerous ways. The Inglenook Pantry is truly the definition of a sustainable restaurant.

INGLENOOK PANTRY
Connie & Mark Weaver
N 5th Street
Geneva IL 60134
630.377.0373

September brings not only cooler weather with it, but a new variety of produce to the market.

Vegetables:

• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Green Peppers
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Kale
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Turnips

Fruit

• Apples
• Peaches
• Melons
• Grapes