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Peasants’ Plot Sustainable Farm |
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Peasants’ Plot Sustainable Farm |
The first market of 2010 is June 8
We sell produce at Lincoln Square Farmers Market
Tuesdays 7am-2pm June through October
The first market of 2010 is June 6
We sell
produce at Wicker Park Farmers Market
Open Sundays 7am-2pm through October
Come as early as 6pm. Bands start at 8pm. Map below
BYO beer and things to grill
(limited space available on the grill, if you have a little portable
you might want to bring it)
Build a Backyard Cob Oven
Saturday - August 22, 2009
(Rain Date - August 23)
12:00 – 12:30 Field Walk with Todd at Peasants’ Plot
This is a great time for our CSA members to meet their vegetables
and see where their food is coming from. Then we’ll give directions
to Nisse Farm just down the road.
1:00 – 4:30 Cob Oven Workshop at Nisse Farm
Pre-registration is necessary for the cob oven workshop! It is
$45 to attend.
If you are planning to attend, you may register
online or call Julie Larsen of Nisse Farm at 708-828-4325.
Learn how to build a cob bread or pizza oven
using clay, sand and straw.
Natural building methods such as cob creatively utilize local, unprocessed,
abundant and/or reused materials to create beautiful, extremely efficient
structures. Building with cob does not use corncobs but is an old English
term meaning "lump" and is the material used for many of the
cottages in the UK. This is a hands and feet-on
workshop so be ready to get down and dirty. The foundation will be in
place and ready to begin work on the oven structure. Topics covered: Foundation,
Sand Form, Clay Plasters, Thermal Cob Layer, Insulative Cob Layer, Roof
Types.
12:00– 12:30 pm Meet Your Farmer at
Peasants’ Plot – Walk the fields with Todd.
*Afterward Todd will direct you to Nisse Farm, just 10 minutes down the
road.
1:00 – 3:00 pm Intro to Cheesemaking (cost is $35) at Nisse Farm
Cheesemaker Deborah Niemann-Boehle says " What makes different
cheeses is the culture and the way the culture is handled at different
stages in the cheesemaking process."
Deborah will bring milk from her own herd of Nigerian dwarf goats and
walk you through the techniques so you can actually see what the different
stages should look like.
Topics included in the talk:
History of milk consumption by humans
History of cheesemaking
How milk from cows is different than milk from goats and sheep
How to turn milk into yogurt and buttermilk
Equipment needed for cheesemaking
How to make queso blanco, mozzarella, ricotta, and chevre
How to use these different cheeses in cooking
Cost of Cheesemaking Workshop - $35
If you are planning to attend the cheesemaking workshop, please register
online or call Julie Larsen at 708-828-4325.
If you are only planning on attending the 30-minute Peasants’ Plot Field
Walk, call Julia McDonald at 847-334-4278.
We are going to be in the Family Farmed Expo on November 22 and 23 selling CSA shares.
Meet, learn and shop at the Midwest’s largest showcase for local food! The 2008 FamilyFarmed EXPO is a three-day gathering of farmers, producers, trade buyers and fans of locally grown and responsibly produced food and artisinal goods.
Growing a Business One Tomato at a Time
Produced by Adriene Hill on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
mp3
audio
see photos below
Transcript from WBEZ:
In spite of the faltering economy and rising food prices, there's still
big demand in Chicago for organically grown vegetables. At least that's
the experience of farmers Todd and Julia McDonald. It's their second
growing season and they often sell-out of their vegetables at the two
Chicago farmer's markets they attend.
As part of our series Chicago Matters: Growing Forward, Chicago Public Radio's Adriene Hill has been following the McDonalds through the season. Today we find out how Chicago's farmers' markets have gone for them.
Back in the spring, these fields were much quieter. But on this warm late-September day, the trills and chirps of grasshoppers and crickets fill the air. Buttlerflies and moths flit around beds of chard and kale. Creepy-crawlies are everywhere, including some arch-enemies of farmers. While Julia and I are talking about plans for the fall Todd plucks an enormous green caterpillar-like-creature from a pretty scraggly—chewed-up tomato plant.
HILL: What is that?
TODD: This is a tomato hornworm.
HILL: Is that terrible?
TODD: Yes. These are really, these are lions of the insect world. This
is what they do. If this guy lives another day there won’t be much left
of this tomato plant.
HILL: And he’s squirting green stuff at you?
TODD: Well, that is because I’m squeezing him very hard. And I’m sorry,
but his life is going to have to end…under my boot here. Because they
do a lot of damage as you can see.
15 or 20 tomato hornworms met similar fates this year at the farm. Todd thinks some crickets…and there are thousands of crickets around…took out some seedlings. Most of their bug problems have been limited.
The weather dealt them a blow back in the spring, when a hailstorm damaged their broccoli crop and destroyed a lot of their arugula and spinach plantings. That was frustrating and sobering for the new farmers. But otherwise, mother nature has cooperated.
TODD: It’s been a decent year. We’ve had our dramas. But it hasn’t been super hot, and generally we’ve had the right amount of rainfall except for August. So I would say it’s been pretty good.
The good weather means abundant crops which mean robust farmers markets. Twice a week, Todd and Julia pack their pickup truck with vegetable filled coolers and make the 50 plus mile trek into Chicago. They sell at two different markets—one on Sunday and one on Tuesday.
Their booth is covered with a bright blue tarp and has colorful, hand-painted signs advertising that their vegetables are pesticide free. At the Lincoln Square market their small space is tucked in next to larger vendors.
JULIA: At this market we sometimes get swallowed up by the other booths a bit. And sometimes our customers will come up and say where were you last week. And we’re here…all the time.
But for the most part, the markets are treating them well. Some people try to haggle for a better deal on tomatoes. And a few people want to know why Todd and Julia’s vegetables cost more—so Julia came up with a flyer to explain why it’s more expensive to grow the way they do. Most people are happy to pay the price.
JULIA: These are a dollar fifty each, the green tomatoes. How much…give me all of them…
And they usually sell out of their veggies…. sometimes pretty quickly.
JULIA: We have a great time. We have a lot of people that like to see us. At this market we’re the only ones growing organically. And people really appreciate that and they make sure they tell us that. So we always walk away from the market feeling good about ourselves.
They also walk away with a fistful of cash--enough to cover gas, and farm costs. It’s not nearly enough to cover all their living expenses. Julia still works and Todd has plans to go back to work when the season ends.
But they make more than they might in other markets—outside of Chicago. That’s the reason many farmers spend the money and tolerate the hassle of coming into the city. Sheri Doyle is the city’s Farm Forager. Her job is to find farmers who are ready to sell their goods at Chicago’s two-dozen city markets.
DOYLE: It has to do mostly with pure population density, the number of people shopping. And then of course also you can charge more. City people are used to paying higher prices. It is the draw. It is the reason to come sell in Chicago.
She says there’s no shortage of demand for farmers and farmers markets but it can be a challenge for Doyle to find farmers.
DOYLE: I was a little naïve about what it would take. The reason it’s
difficult is that it takes a specific type of farmer to sell at a farmers
market.
It’s not that the produce isn’t out there, especially in the Midwest.
She says there are draws for farmers beyond the economic one. Farmers can make important connections at markets—with each other and their customers. It’s personal connection that will keep Todd and Julia coming back to Chicago’s markets. The bustle of the city is a far cry from the isolation of their farm life in Manteno.
JULIA: We’ll probably always have one market. That’s something we enjoy. It’s a way of keeping us connected with people.
They are hoping to one day have a farm business model that’s centered on people paying for a share of the farm’s production in advance. But they’re going to start slowly—selling about 15 shares for next season. For now, they say the markets are a little more forgiving of failed crops or limited supply. The markets let them get their footing—as they continue to grow.
I’m Adriene Hill, Chicago Public Radio.
Peasant's Plot Featured on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio
Todd and Julia were interviewed for Chicago Matters- Growing Foward Series
"Young McDonalds Have a Farm"
Saturday August 30, 2008 Low Down Hoe Down!
PEASANTS ALL OF US!
August 30th is fast approaching. Buy your tents and take your vitamins:
You are welcome to come as early as 4:30 or 5:00 (give a call if you'd like to come even earlier to set up). Music will start around 8:30. If you are coming with lots of folks (one and all), you might want to bring your own smoky joe although grill space will be available. A portapotty has been secured. Dogs are welcome. Bugspray is necessary.
Click on image to see large flyer
See map below (may take a second to load)
Weather Trouble for Veggie Farmers
Produced by Adriene Hill on Wednesday, June 11, 2008
mp3 audio
see photos below
Transcript frow WBEZ:
The stormy weather has been tough for area vegetable farmers. Rain has
slowed planting. And hail stunted the crops of Julia and Todd McDonald,
newly minted farmers in Manteno, Illinois. The McDonalds are among
what seems to be a growing number of new farmers trying to make a life
on the land. Chicago Public Radio’s Adriene Hill is following them
this year as part of our Chicago Matters series Growing Forward. She
brings us this update.
When I talked to the McDonalds in the spring, they were excited about the growing season. Todd had just started planting. Julia was scheduling volunteers and working on getting into two Chicago farmers markets. This was supposed to be the big week, the week they kicked off their selling-season. But, right now they don’t have nearly enough vegetables. Todd says there was a hail storm a week and a half ago.
TODD: That wiped out a lot of our crops. Not completely, they are coming back pretty well. But it destroyed like 60 % of our broccoli. We had lettuce and chard and stuff that looked terrible.
He says they also lost most of their arugula and spinach crops. And it’s frustrating, really, really frustrating.
TODD: Like the day after, I went out to work in the field. And there’s always things to do, there’s always weeding. And um, I worked for like 3 hours or something and that’s all I could handle. It’s just so depressing to see a couple months work undone.
And the storms aren’t just depressing, they’re also scary. When Todd and Julia moved to Manteno from the city they created their new home in a trailer in the middle of open farm land. They don’t have a basement. And their farm, Peasant’s Plot, is not the place you want to be in a tornado.
So this weekend, when a tornado warning was issued for the area, Todd hightailed it to a neighbor’s basement.
TODD: The warning was over at 11:15 or something. So I headed home…but
then there was a watch till 3AM so I couldn’t sleep well. Like I wasn’t
ready to go to sleep and have that be my last good night or whatever.
It’s a concern that has shifted their priorities.
JULIA: Now our next dream is to have a storm cellar, combination root cellar. Maybe before we do anything with the house. Because it just feels so vulnerable.
On Monday of this week, it’s still too wet to do much work outside. Julia lets me borrow a pair of boots as we walk around to look at the field. Todd still needs to plant his peppers and tomatoes. He thinks he can salvage some of his broccoli. He’s giving farm volunteers the beat up arugula and spinach. And he’s looking forward to the markets.
TODD: We were hoping to make our booth twice as big. Three weeks ago I thought twice as big as was good…right now I don’t know if that’s possible.
They expect to be in the markets starting this Sunday. And they’ve still got most of the growing season in front of them.
Young McDonalds Have a Farm
Produced by Adriene Hill on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
mp3 audio
see photos below
Transcript frow WBEZ:
More and more farmers are embracing organic and sustainable practices.
One indication—the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the number of
acres of certified organic cropland more than doubled in the region
between 1997 and 2005. There are some signs the trend is being driven,
at least in part, by new farmers with a desire to escape the 9 to 5,
grow their own food and cash in on increasing demand. But starting
a farm isn’t as easy as putting a few seeds in the ground. As part
of Chicago Matters: Growing Forward, Adriene Hill follows a young farm
through the growing season. This is the first part of the story.
Todd and Julia McDonald are new farmers; this is only their second season. With a last name like that, it seems worth dispensing with the obvious joke straight away.
HILL: Do you guys get 'McDonald had a farm' jokes?
TODD: I did growing up you know. My whole life it was like, 'Old McDonald
has a farm' and it’s like, 'Well, yeah.' I didn’t grow up on a farm.
It used to anger me, but it’s the truth.
Last year, Todd and Julia moved from Chicago to Manteno, Illinois, about an hour south of the city, to start a farm. They set up shop on 20 acres of land that was passed on to Todd from his family and decided to try growing vegetables. Their farm, Peasant’s Plot, is off a country road, tucked between huge tracts of commercial farmland.
There’s a barn on their property, a small silo, some large storage and work buildings. And, there's a small white trailer where they live. Julia’s inside making coffee.
The trailer looks like the apartment of a hip-couple in Chicago, brightly
painted walls, cleverly mismatched furniture, musical instruments, art
on the walls. These are city folks, who’ve decided to make a go of it
in the country.
JULIA: I mean it’s kind of fun. You know, it’s sort of exotic. Still
like walking around outside. Walking the grounds Sometimes going on a
walk, feeling like this is our land.
TODD: I like the quiet. I have a woodshop I can walk too. I can make
noise at all hours of the day. I have a skateboard ramp I can ride at
3 am. Have you been doing that? No, but I can. I can do it at 3 am. I’m
getting pretty old. The possibility I like.
The farm was Todd’s idea. It’s something he’s wanted to do for a long
time. He used to drive down here to garden. This year, he’s planning
to farm 6 months of the year. The other time, he builds sets for photo
shoots. Julia makes it into the city at least twice a week. She works
as a yoga instructor and massage therapist. She’s responsible for the
marketing and book-keeping side of things at the farm. The two plan to
grow their vegetables organically.
Todd and Julia are among a growing group of people, trying to make it on the land. A couple years ago they went through a business planning class coordinated by Angelic Organics farm which runs training programs for farmers-to-be. I stopped by on the last class of this year’s session. Students are presenting their business models.
Parker Forsell leads the class. He says he’s seen all sorts of career-changers,
like the McDonalds, turn to farming. They range from 20-something farm
interns to older lawyers and engineers.
FORSELL: The organic movement really started more as a hippy, back to
the land thing. It’s become serious business now. And so, people see
that too and say this is not just a throw away, I’m going to throw everything
away everything and go back to the land. They see it as I could go live
on the land, but I could also make a living as a farmer.
Forsell says there are a lot of reasons people are getting interested. There’s a huge demand for sustainably grown produce and people are paying more attention to where their food comes from and how it’s grown.
FORSELL: One of the things going through the whole planning class did for them was taking it more from this is just a dream—which a lot of people have the dream about the rural lifestyle and the little white picket fence and the red barn kind of thing—to hearing a lot of people talking about it as a business and really realizing, hey this is possible.
There are a lot of challenges new farmers face, some the class tries to address, others are struggles that farmers like Todd and Julia have to figure out on their own.
TODD: I mean it was really humbling. I worked all this stuff out on paper about how I could make a good living doing this. Realistically it would take like eight people to do what I had in mind.
This year, they’re hoping to double their production from last season. And that bump requires man hours that Julia and Todd can’t pay for right now. So they’ve booked volunteers—who’ll help at the farm for a share of vegetables.
Todd is putting in 12 hour days—nearly every day. Things are going pretty well the day I visit. About a third of the beds are already planted. The weather is good; it’s not too hot. Todd is cutting beautiful blue organic fingerling potatoes into pieces that he’ll plant.
TODD: They’re seed potatoes. I mean think the only thing that makes them seed potatoes is that they have been tested, there aren’t supposed to have pathogens or any disease problems. You could eat them? I may eat them. They look good actually.
Last year he harvested about 700 pounds of potatoes. He had a problem
with his crop—some of the plants died earlier than he thought they would.
This year he’s hoping to get 3-thousand pounds of fingerlings.
TODD: That’s my goal which is really small. A potato farmer wouldn’t
be impressed.
He’s going to plant the potatoes out in the field later on.
TODD: It’s pretty much full on. In the middle of the season I’m going
to be overwhelmed with weeding pretty soon. And whenever one thing slows
down there are other things that take it’s place.
Todd and Julia hope that in 4 to 5 years they’ll be able to get a majority
of their income from the farm. They want to build a house one day and
get some farm animals. They both say they miss parts of city life—miss
their friends. But now, they’re focused on the weather and hoping critters
don’t hassle their growing crops.
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