News & Views:  Farm Headlines

Bookmark this page for easy return. Please check shortly before making a long drive here. Crop or weather conditions may cause us to be closed at times we previously planned to be open.
Please check the weather before coming. Try the National Weather Service or the Weather Channel hourly forecast.


Regularly updated field reports and schedules will be posted here throughout the harvest season.

Farmers' Markets Schedule
Saturday July 4 Princeton 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Saturday July 4 Peoria 8:00 AM - Noon
Saturday July 4 Woodhaven Lakes 10:00 AM - 2 P.M.
Tuesday July 7 Princeton 3:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Tuesday July 7 LaSalle 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Blueberry Field Report - updated 03 July 2009, 11:54 AM

Berry Quality: Good Picking Ease: Moderate Stage: Ramping Up

Cool temperatures earlier this week and heavy picking has temporarily reduced the blueberry supply.
We will be open this Saturday, but you should not expect to pick large quantities.
The bushes are loaded; it should be a great blueberry season, but you need to watch for not-quite-ripe berries.
We haven't reached peak picking yet.


Blueberry U-Pick Scheduleupdated 29 June 2009

Please check after 9 P.M. the evening or in the morning before coming!
Sometimes we need to cancel the u-pick at short notice.
There may not be enough ripe blueberries, or weather conditions or road conditions can cause us to close.
Tuesday June 30 closed
Wednesday July 1 7 A.M. to noon
Thursday July 2 4 P.M. to 8 P.M.
Friday July 3 closed
Saturday July 4 7 A.M. to 2 P.M.
Bring a picnic!
Sunday July 5 closed Sundays
This schedule is subject to change.
Please check back shortly before heading this way.

Strawberry Field Report - updated 01 July 2009, 8:14 PM

Quality: Good Picking: Moderately hard Stage: Almost Done

There still a good number of berries ripe and ripening,
but it is almost time for us to do the renewal process,
which ends the season.
The berries are mostly small to medium size, but tasty.


Strawberry U-Pick Scheduleupdated 02 July 2009

Tuesday June 30 6:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.*
Wednesday July 1 6:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.*
Thursday July 2 6:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.*
Friday July 3 6:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.*
Saturday July 4 6:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.*
Sunday July 5 closed Sundays
This schedule is subject to change. Please check back shortly before heading this way.

*Self-serve. Instructions at the farm, but probably no one to help you.
Please come prepared to give exact change or a check.



Black Raspberries ready to pick We now have a limited supply of black raspberries available for picking. You will find instructions at the Market Barn and picking supplies near the berries. Cost is $3.00 / pint. Come when we are open for picking strawberries or blueberries.


Flats full of blueberries for marketSerious blueberries are here. We plan to bring lots to both Peoria and Princeton on Saturday.


blueberries ready to pickBlueberry U-pick will open Saturday morning at 7:00. Most rows are not fully ripe, but there are some berries ready in lots of rows. If you aren’t among the first to arrive, you may have to pick over a number of bushes to get what you want, but there are pretty good quantities available. Please read how to pick blueberries before coming.


A family picking strawberriesThe rain is over, at least for the morning, and picking conditions are great. The rows are full of strawberries.


Almost ripe blueberriesAs we were weeding the blueberries today, we found an occasional ripe berry. Very good! We might well have enough for me to bring a few half-pints to Princeton market on Saturday. It looks like it will be a great blueberry year, with many branches bending way down under the weight of the berries even though they mostly haven’t reached full size yet. I expect it will still be another two weeks before we will open for u-pick.


Abundant strawberries filling many flatsThe strawberries are ripe for the picking. This should be an excellent week. After a rest from picking on Sunday, the rows are thick with ripe berries. The warm weather in the forecast should make all week a fine time to pick lots of strawberries.


Here’s the schedule for the Tiskilwa Strawberry Festival. On Friday, June 12, at 7 PM there is music by the Generics at Tiskilwa West Park. On Saturday, June 13, there are garage sales throughout town from 8 until 3. Tiskilwa Historical Society has Kids’ Activities at the museum on Main from 9 AM to 2 PM. At West Park on Saturday the 4-H is selling pork sandwiches, taco boats and more from 11 until 2, Plow Creek is selling strawberries, strawberry shortcake with ice cream, and Plow Creek Bakery goods, also from 11 - 2, and more children’s activities.


We now have enough strawberries ripe and ready for you to come pick some. These are very nice berries, but still fairly scarce. It will take several full rows to fill a flat. We are opening this evening from 4 P.M. until 8 P.M.


We will make our first CSA distributions this week. People will receive some of the following: rhurbarb, popcorn, salad greens, herbs, radishes, and bread from Plow Creek Bakery. I will try to post the week’s list on the Peek in the Box page weekly.


Saturday is our first Farmers’ Market. We will be in Princeton with salad greens, radishes, mint, rhubarb, popcorn, stinging nettle, and Plow Creek Bakery goods. We might have a few strawberries; if so we will limit them to one pint per customer. We hope for larger quantities in a week or so. Market opens at 8:30 A.M. We probably won’t stay until official closing time of 2:00 P.M. so come early.


We saw our first few ripe strawberries today. Most are not close to ripe, so we probably won’t be open for picking until the second week of June. I’ll announce it here if we end up opening sooner. We might have enough berries to take a few to farmers’ markets the first week of June.


Little green blueberries on the bushLittle green strawberry on the plant Yesterday I saw my first strawberries and blueberries of the year. They are small and green, but growing. I’d estimate our first strawberries for sale at either the June 2 or June 6 Princeton Farmers’ Market, with the first blueberries available about two weeks later.

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2009 Prices

Crop U-Pick Orders Market Comment
Blackberries $3.00 / pt. $5.00 / pt.
U-Pick: $2.50/pt. for 10 or more
Blueberries $2.20 / lb. 6 pints for $30 $6.00 / pt.
2 pints for $11
6 pints for $30
Concord Grapes $22 / bu. $1.60 / lb. Limited quantities
Red Raspberries $3.00 / pt. $6.00 / pt. U-Pick: $2.60/pt. for 10 or more
Black Raspberries $3.00 / pt. $6.00 / pt. $6.00 / pt.
Strawberries $1.60 / lb. $3.00 / lb.
8 lbs or more
$5.00 / qt. U-Pick 10% discount on > 50 lbs.
Ready-Pick 10% discount on additional 10 lb flats over 2
Prices of additional crops are sometimes listed on the Crop Calendar page.

Call 815-646-4862 or check this page for current schedule and field conditions before coming to pick here. Weather and farm conditions are unpredictable and we'd like to spare you a trip if we will not be open.

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