Saturday morning, raspberries will be plentiful at the Princeton Farmer’s Market, Peoria Riverfront Market and Sterling Market. At Princeton and Peoria, you can also find a good supply of watermelon, green beans and eggplant. Tomatoes and herbs will be available to the early shoppers.

For Princeton Farmers’ Market, on Saturday we will have lots of watermelons and raspberries for Labor Day weekend. We also have a fair amount of tomatoes, including delicious (but funny looking) heirloom tomatoes, but don’t come too late. We also have grapes, onions, herbs, and other vegetables, and of course, Plow Creek Bakery goodies. Sorry, the last planting of sweet corn will not be ready until next weekend.

We plan to be at the Princeton Farmers’ Market Tuesday, July 10. You can get under our tent with us if it is raining. We plan to take blueberries, blackberries, red raspberries, tomatoes (cherry and full size), cantaloupe, onions, potatoes, garlic, kale, cucumbers, zucchini, and green and yellow wax beans. We will also have Plow Creek Bakery goods.

Sorry, we are between plantings of sweet corn. I expect to have more Saturday.

We picked some sweet corn for Monday lunch. Delicious! I will be bringing a small load of sweet corn to Princeton Farmer’s Market Tuesday. Market opens at 8:30. I will also have blueberries, blackberries, red raspberries, cherry tomatoes, muskmelon, fresh garlic, green beans and other vegetables, and Plow Creek Bakery goodies.

A good supply of Red Raspberries will be available at the Princeton Farmer’s market on Tuesday June 26th. They join the blueberries, peas, bok choy, chard, kale, lettuce, radishes, beets, green onions, herbs and green bell peppers. This lineup will also visit Spring Valley Thursday morning.

A small amount of red raspberries may be available for U-Pick during blueberry u-pick sessions, but picking is still scattered and during this early season we will hold most of our raspberries for market and CSA.

The blueberries will be out to play, rain or shine Saturday. Find them for sale at the Princeton Farmer’s Market, the Peoria Riverfront Market, the Bartonville Market in the Park and the Twin City Produce Market in Sterling. We also have a good supply of peas, bok choi, lettuce and radishes.

Blueberry U-Pick is open with excellent picking at the farm in Tiskilwa from 7AM to 1PM Saturday and 7AM to Noon on Monday. Next week’s picking will likely be some of our best of the season, and picking conditions are already excellent, with lots of happy customers. Some have gone home with a cooler full and come back for more!

Strawberry U-Pick continues with enough quality berries to provides several dozen pickers with a few quarts each following their visit to Blueberry Hill. We will mark the best section of the field, and patient pickers may fill a six-quart flat in 60 to 90 minutes.

Good news for Princeton Market shoppers Tuesday morning! Portions of our strawberry field are still harboring tasty Jewels, and we expect a good supply of strawberries for the Tuesday Farmer’s Market. They will accompany the blueberries, peas, herbs and salad greens for a colorful display from 8:30 to 2:00 at Darius Miller Park by the train station.

The blueberries will be everywhere. U-Pick or We-pick. Tiskilwa, Princeton, Peoria, Sterling. Call us crazy, but it’s the berries’ fault. When they say go, we have to snap into action to spread the colors and flavors.

On Saturday, Blueberry U-Pick will be open from 7AM to 1PM. They are a beautiful crop this year, and although the field is not yet up to full production, it should support several dozen pickers at a medium to fast picking rate. Many of our own pickers have been taking 9 or more pints per hour. Although some bushes are not ready yet, nearly every row in the field has enough ripe berries for a satisfying harvest. The U-Pick cost is $2 per pound.

Pickers looking for large quantities and large clusters of uniformly ripened berries should consider waiting until next week. The heat in the forecast is bound to bring out some serious blues.

Strawberry Season is Here!

Farmer’s Market: We wonder how many of the Saturday May 26th farmer’s market customers woke up expecting fresh Plow Creek strawberries in their fridge by day’s end. Whether by diligent berry sleuthing, navigational accident or divine guidance, on this beautifully rainy morning they went home with a total of seven flats. Next week we expect a full market supply. Spread the word! The wait is over for fresh-picked locally grown berries. Come visit us at the Princeton Farmer’s Market on Tuesday and Saturday beginning at 8:30 for your own taste test.

U-Pick will be open Wednesday morning May 30th from 7AM and the following Thursday evening, Friday morning and Saturday morning. As of May 26th, ripe berries are not plentiful yet. Until the Jewels begin ripening in earnest, the field will only support a small number of pickers; consider coming early or wait a few days if you need more assurance. Check back frequently for updated field reports and schedules. The U-Pick price is $1.35 / pound.

Orders: We are taking orders for strawberries by the flat for pickup at our Market Barn on the following days: Monday June 4th, Tuesday June 5th, Thursday June 7th. Call 815-646-4862 or use the online Order Inquiry Form. The cost is $2.50 / pound.

Consider forwarding this message to any friends or family who may enjoy Plow Creek strawberries or the U-Pick experience.

The Princeton Farmer’s Market opens this Saturday May 26th from 8:30 to 2:00 at Darius Miller Park in Princeton. Note that our 2006 and 2007 newsletters list an incorrect start time. We apologize for that mistake. Join us at the park each Saturday and Tuesday from 8:30 to 2:00 for fresh veggies and berries in season.

This Saturday we will have some beautiful lettuce and spinach, and probably enough strawberries to garnish your salad. More red is showing each day so we expect a lot more next Tuesday and Saturday.

I found the first couple ripe strawberries today.  Delicious! There are quite a number of Earliglows that are showing some color.  No promises yet whether we can bring a small quantity to the first Princeton Farmers’ Market.  The first market is Saturday, May 26, opening at 8:30.  I would estimate we can be open for limited strawberry picking the first week in June.

This Saturday will be our final showing at the Princeton Farmer’s Market at Darius Miller Park from 8:30 to 1:00. Stock up on butternut squash, which typically store in a cool basement for several months. We also have a moderate selection of peppers, root crops, cooking greens, lettuce, herbs and pumpkins.