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News from Garfield Farm |
On Sunday August 26th from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm Garfield Farm Museum
will host the 18th annual Heirloom Garden Show that features historic
varieties of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and antique flowers. Gardeners
from the Great Lakes region are invited to
bring, display, offer for tasting or sell their favorite historic varieties.
Although consumers have the choice of over 100
styles of running shoes or dozens of designer jeans, the consumer has
little opportunity to buy, much less learn about the great diversity of
vegetables and fruits that exist. Difficult farm economics for a
mass-market means only the most profitable tomato or lettuce
variety is grown. Yet over 500 varieties of tomatoes that come with
different colors, shapes, sizes, cooking characteristics, taste, and
shelf life exist. With the growth of the organic and
specialty foods market, demand for these different traits is on the upswing.
This is in large part because of the Seed Savers
Exchange of Decorah, IA that has endeavored to preserve the great
genetic legacy of our gardening and farming ancestors. With Seed
Savers, the Slow Food Movement, organic, and sustainable farming
interests, the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and
Garfield Farm Museum?s show, today?s consumer is better educated and
desires more choice in the varieties of fresh produce.
To portray an 1840s Illinois prairie farm, Garfield
Farm must constantly research and find sources. Often finding mention
of a particular variety grown in the 1840s is easier than finding the
actual plant. The Seed Savers Exchange and the Center for
Historic Plants have been instrumental in providing the sources for these old varieties.
Featured at this year?s show will be John Swanson
from Glenview, IL and his garlic. Joe Cimmarusti and his family with
their wonderful tomato display will be in front of the museum?s 1842
Barn. For those who like it hot, Jimmy?s Chilies from Tinley
Park will be attending with his homemade chili pepper recipes.
The Travis Family from Spence Farm, who have their own educational
downstate historic farm. Many other gardeners shall also be on the
museum?s grounds.
All this does not include the hard work of museum
volunteers who have generously donated their time to fight the
weeds in tending to the museum?s Heirloom Vegetable Garden and Antique
Flower Garden grown specifically for the show. Tours of this and the
inn?s kitchen garden and the prairie will also be offered.
The focal point of the museum, the 1846 brick tavern
will be open for tours as the museum?s volunteers share the unusual
history of the site, which once was filled with teamster and farmers
hauling their wheat to the 1840s Chicago port.
Food and refreshments will be available from the
Inglenook Pantry of Geneva, IL. The show is $6 for adults and $2 for
children under 13 years of age. For information contact 630 584-8485 or
email info@garfieldfarm.org. The Museum is located 5 miles west
of Geneva, IL off Rt. 38 on Garfield Road. Donors and volunteers
from around the country are restoring this historically intact former
1840s Illinois prairie farmstead as an 1840s working farm museum.