Farm Friday at Midnight Sun Farm

This may have been my last day farming at Midnight Sun Farm.  The season is winding down and there isn't quite as much to do.  Today we harvested beets, carrots and turnips.

Dill gone to seed.

Turnips!  I ate all the blemished ones that weren't ok for market....mmm.  Sweet and crunchy.

Thank you Nick and Becky for a great season at Midnight Sun Farm!

Farm Friday at Midnight Sun Farm

At Midnight Sun Farm today, we harvested the last of the peppers, since there is to be the first frost tonight that will kill the pepper plant.  It is sad to see summer ending.  Last week we collected the last of the tomatoes.  But if it was summer all the time, I wouldn't love it as much. 

Then!  We harvested potatoes, my favorite to harvest!  Nick took the tractor across the rows to soften the soil; making it easier to dig and bringing the potatoes up closer to the surface.  Harvesting potatoes is similar to digging like a dog.

 My sister, Katie, has been coming with on Fridays.  She loves it as much as me....maybe we could have a small organic farm together called Short Stuff Farm.

Digging for gold/potatoes.

Before I left, I collected some basil to add to the flour mix for Fried Green Tomatoes!

So, I received the new camera in the mail...but it did not take high resolution images so it is on its way back to Kentucky.  Luckily, my unreliable camera decided to work again...for now.  meh.

Also, I regret that the camera was not working while I finished my new piece "The Feathery Ladies of The Wormfarm Institute."  The piece is now in Reedsburg, Wisconisn for The Wormfarm Institute's 2012 Resident Artist Show, opening Friday, October 12, 5-8pm!

Golly, I missed blogging!

Queen Anne's Lace Jelly!

My friend, Audra, who I work with at the Midnight Sun Farm told me she made Queen Anne's Lace Jelly.  Queen Anne's Lace is a flower that blooms when a carrot goes to seed.  They grow all over the farm from June to August, so I had to make jelly before they were all gone.  I am hoping there will be some flowers left to make one last batch.  This jelly is super delicious!  Thanks, Audra.

The recipe we both used is here on the Farmer's Feast blog.  Make sure to know the difference between Queens Anne's Lace and Poison Hemlock though!

Also!  My friend, Hope and I are planning a canning party soon.  So, if you have ever been interested in learning, but were too afraid (just like I was) and too confused by what you read on the internet, no worries, I will teach you how simple it is!  More details to come!

Farmers Market Bounty!

Today at the Glenwood Sunday Market I went all out.  I have a lot of vegetables I plan to cook!  Half of it is my beautiful CSA share from Midnight Sun Farm.

About 3 years ago I started cooking more seriously.  Now I am starting to feel like I have got the hang of it.  It took a lot of work to get here and I definitely still make not so tasty food...but at least it is always edible.  I learn more about food with each meal I make!

1000 Pound Tomato Harvest at Midnight Sun Farm!

Today, Audra and I helped Nick and Becky of Midnight Sun Farm harvest 1000 pounds of tomatoes!  I loved every minute of it.  Each tomato is so different from the next and they have planted many varieties.  

Going down the rows of tomatoes!

Many, many rows of tomatoes!

I really love the yellow ones.  They taste so good.  I am going to make some salsa with them.

I love my Friday mornings on the farm.

Harvesting at Midnight Sun Farm and Basil Peach Preserves!

Today at Midnight Sun Farm we harvested onions, shallots, okra, zucchini and cucumbers.  Onions are my favorite to harvest.  They make the most lovely sound when I pull their roots from the soil and they smell so strong.  I had never seen okra grow before.  It is very beautiful!  I had no where to put them so I was stuffing them in my pockets. 

A few days ago my friend Jess and I got together to make Peach Preserves with Basil (we used 2 cups of sugar instead of 4).  The peaches were from Hardin Family Farms in Michigan and they we super sweet!  This week I hope to get some blueberries...possibly for jam or maybe a pie.

Farming at Midnight Sun Farm and Sculpting Soybeans

Today I farmed at Midnight Sun Farm.  Audra and I were helping out with weeding the kale.  The kale looks so beautiful and clean of weeds!

Audra, myself, and Nick.  Check out Audra's Tumblr here where she shares her experiences with a new career in urban agriculture.  She is awesome!

Myself, Nick and Becky.

I started sculpting soybeans for my second piece that will be outside in the Monet Garden for Chicago's Twelve at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Once they are completely dry, they will be painted.

Working on the Midnight Sun Farm

I work at Midnight Sun Farm every other Friday and in return I receive a box of fresh, organic vegetables every Sunday.  This is called a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  In the beginning of the season a CSA member can purchase a 1/2 share or a full share.  That money allows farmers to buy equipment they will need to start the growing season.  But this year I am doing a work share, so instead I work for my 1/2 share.  It has been a lot of fun helping out on the farm with Nick and Becky.

Midnight Sun Farm leases 5 acres of land from Prairie Crossing Farm.  It is a 100 acre organic farm in Grayslake, Illinois that helps beginning farmers get started.  "The Incubator program works by providing land, farm infrastructure, and a positive learning environment that helps beginning farmers develop the entrepreneurial skills, farming knowledge and market networks needed to become successful professional farmers." -Prairie Crossing Farm

Prairie Crossing is awesome because their are so many different farmers, farming in their own way and learning from one another.  The animals in these pictures are not Midnight Sun Farm animals except for the hot baby turkeys!

Thistle is so beautiful....yet so painful.  

It is nice to have some chickens around me where ever I go!

Hot baby turkeys!

5 Plushies Down, 2 to Go!

I have finished 5 out of the 7 heirloom plushies for Chicago's 12 at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  The Ruby Red Chard and Blue Hopi Corn are almost done as well.  The plushies are a Zapotec Pleated Tomato, Moon and Stars Watermelon, Purple Cape Cauliflower, Make the Daughter-In-Law Cry Potato and a Parisian Carrot!

Now on to the next piece!  I have bought all the scrap wood I could need and tomorrow I will start building with help from my Dad.  

Special thanks to Andy for giving me this base that he found in the alley a while back!

I made Arugula Pesto with Summer Squash!  Super yummy and raw!  All the veggies are from my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) work share.  I work on Nick and Becky's Farm, Midnight Sun Farm, every other Friday and in return I get a 1/2 share of fresh, organic veggies each Sunday!

Blackberry and Strawberry Jam!

I have finally canned something for the first time - Blackberry and Strawberry Jam!  It was super easy once I figured out all the steps needed.  I couldn't let all those black caps that we picked in Wisconsin go bad.  I received some strawberries in my CSA share from Midnight Sun Farm as well, so I added them to the jam.  

All I needed was blackberries, strawberries, lemon juice, honey and pectin.  And now they can sit on my shelf for a year or so and I can enjoy the blackberries in the winter.  I am going to can EVERYTHING!

On my last day in Reedsburg, I went to town and bought this bright yellow yarn.  My goal is to use the entire thing up on egg yolk related work.  This is a work in progress.