| About Us |
| Our Story 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. In 2001 we experimented by growing vegetables, herbs, and perennials at our home near St. Charles and attended one plant sale where we earned a total of sixty-five dollars! The next year we expanded our production of vegetables and herbs and Tim created a CSA pilot project for two families. Beth expanded her production of perennials, added flowers and designed a booth for farmer's markets in St. Charles, and Batavia. In 2003 we expanded our CSA to 15 vegetable shares which we delivered to Geneva, Lombard, Glen Ellyn, and Wheaton. We also added a third farmers' market in Elgin and attended more local plant sales. This was a year of intense learning as we struggled to learn better techniques for growing, harvesting, processing, and preserving our products until we could get them into the hands of our customers. In 2004 we added a delivery point in Elgin and dropped the one in Glen Ellyn. In 2005 we relocated to the Mongerson Farm (part of the Campton Historical Agricultural Lands associated with Garfield Farm Museum). At Mongerson we were able to farm about 3.5 acres, which allowed us to expand to 75 subscribers, most of whom picked up at the farm. In 2006 we reached an agreement with Mike Konen, a farmer in Sugar Grove, to grow our sweet corn for us. Mike's family has farmed in Sugar Grove since the early 1950's, and Mike has made the decision to switch from conventional agriculture to growing organically. In 2007 and 2008 Mike grew a few additional crops for us, like broccoli, winter squash, pumpkins, and gourds, but the complexity of harvesting in two locations, and having one of those locations a twenty minute drive from the farm, was more difficult to manage than we thought, so in the fall of 2008 we requested and received four additional acres at the Mongerson property. Mike will continue to grow our corn for us. Also in 2007 we dropped the Elgin Farmers' Market when they expanded it to 8 hours. The logistics of servicing that market became too complicated. This allowed us to pick up the Geneva Green Market on Thursday mornings. This market is more local and a better fit for us. In 2008 we implemented a fall share, which was a great success. We offered it again in 2009 and will continue to offer it as we get better at off-season growing. In 2009 we decided to drop the St. Charles Market because of staffing and logistical issues associated with doing markets on three consecutive days. We focused on bringing a good supply of quality produce and flowers to our two remaining markets--Geneva Green Market and Batavia despite the cold, wet weather we experienced during the summer months. Most of the subscribers continue pick up at the farm, but we do maintain a core group of delivery subscribers in Wheaton, Lombard, Bartlett, and Elgin. We also began farming on 4 new acres we acquired adjacent to the land we are already farming. The soil needs a lot of work and will take several years to develop to the level of our existing land. The winter of 2009-2010 finds us growing a much larger supply of greens and root crops during the colder months. We sell them at the Community Winter Market, held on Saturday mornings in Geneva at Inglenook Pantry, 11 N. 5th Street. This market has grown twice over from previous years as we are getting the hang of growing crops during the winter and as other farmers are doing the same. In 2010 we continue to work the new field as well as enlarging our season extension techniques beyond our 3 permanent hoop house structures. Time has developed a temporary hoop structure that can be put up over existing beds during the cold months and then removed as the weather warms up. We are hoping that this will be the year we can offer a pre-season share to subscribers. Keep your fingers crossed. |
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| Links to Friends, Supporters and Subscribers' web sites: Art by Joseph Joe Gagnepain IV is a talented local artist who has helped us in many ways. The logo picture on our home page was done by Joe. Geneva Green Market The Geneva Green Market is the Kane county version of the Green City Market in Chicago. Here you can find a large variety of local (within 250 miles) food, including fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, and baked goods. Come check us out. |
| Erehwon in the News Farm Fresh: Community-supported agriculture concept gaining popularity; Daily Chronicle Cutting Out the Middlemen, Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms; NY Times Erehwon Farm; Reveries |
