Prairie Produce

The Farm Plan

Green section represents what was planted in 2025 (0.1 acres)

  • Nine rows of 100 feet each

  • Planted onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, lettuce, three sisters, beets, radishes, among others

  • Harvested over 600 pounds of potatoes

  • Harvested enough tomatoes to can 50 jars of tomatoes

  • Also canned peppers, and other value-added products

  • Planted 2500 cloves of garlic, to be harvest in June, 2026

  • Hügelkultur also being built across entire 200 ft wide field

Yellow section is what will be planted in 2026 (0.5 acres)

  • Saved thousands of seeds from ‘25 to be planted in ‘26

  • Planning to more than double the vegetable diversity

  • Will be following very specific crop rotation plan to maintain soil health

  • Starting seeds indoors in February to maximize season

Beginning nut grove from above

Other Agroecology

Native fruit and nut trees

  • 91 nut trees planted in 2025 (native walnut, chestnut and hazelnuts)

  • Land already flush with elderberry and mulberry.

  • Planning to plant pawpaw, serviceberry, fig, peach, plum, persimmon, heartnut, etc. in coming years

Woodland understory

  • Planning to plant American Ginseng and ramps in various areas on land

Other garden spaces

  • Herb and mandala gardens planned

What to do with all this food!

In our first season growing food on the land, we weren’t yet established in the community to effectively distribute food to all those in need. We donated as much as we could to friends and family, and preserved the remainder by canning, pickling, fermenting or freezing.

In the coming years, we fully intend to have a presence in the community at farmers markets, but also as a free food distributing entity. Our farming operation is funded by donations, and in order to expand to keep growing good food for the community, the income from selling food at markets will go directly into the community supporting fund. Our intention is to have the farming operation fully support itself and be sustainable so that and additional funds or donations we receive can be applied to building community gardens, performing outreach, empowering other growers by helping with start-up costs or expanding our own operation.

Distributing it

Our mission from the start is to donate everything we can to help people in need.

However, we also need to eat. This is why we are using the Jeavons method to grow more food with our space.

We are connected to the Freeport, IL, Monroe, WI, and Woodstock, IL farmers markets, as well as the Jo Daviess Local Foods Collective.

We will give everything we can to folks in need starting in Freeport, and wherever else we can connect.