The Weblog
The local foods movement is alive and well in Champaign County! Here are some updates on other projects while we finalize our virtual market:
Local Producers Map:
Our local producers map is ready for publication and you will soon be able to find it on gochampaign.com. Copies will be distributed around the community, in the local telephone book, and other “hangouts”. The guide lists the location and contact information for nearly 50 local producers within our county. The map was a project of the Local Food Council and printed with the help of some local sponsors including the Monument Square District, Champaign Bank, the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and others. It is a great start to finding a local source for Champaign County’s finest!
Precious Time with Katie
This post expired on February 27, 2023.
I can honestly say I really haven’t spent much time in a greenhouse. However that changed Friday during the thaw of the ice event when I spent a few afternoon hours with Katie Hoover. I could not believe how nice and summery it was in there. I realize obviously it would be warmer but I had no idea how it would make me feel to be in there. It was a very happy place, full of bright potential and… color. The contrast was the ice just outside the plastic walls which kept folks hunkered down inside their homes and our children home from school for a few extra hours of most-likely brain-stunting video usage. Blah!
We played in the dirt and talked about life amongst the blooms and it felt like a different time of the year. It was sort of puzzling to me as the plants which produced like in late spring did not know it was only February. I felt like they were being tricked somehow.
While Katie worked up flats and slowly shook the tiniest of seeds into their new soil home, I cut shoots from their mother plant to begin life anew on their own. It seemed so harsh but Katie promised me they would be fine. Pruning always seems to be hard for me to do even though I know it is how new life begins. I can’t stand to do it to my fruit trees, and give that job to the husband, but feel like this is the year I have to get tough and “just do it”. I’ll keep you all posted on that later.
Let’s just say I wish for everyone to find a greenhouse, especially on the bleakest winter day, and peek in for an out-of-body experience. You see nature’s beauty when you’ve forgotten how pretty things can be. You smell the work of nature in the air and on your blackened hands. You feel the warmth of the sun, whether real or slightly man-made. Take a few minutes to experience a greenhouse this late winter day.
If you need a suggestion, I can highly recommend Franklin Park Conservatory to help aid the winter blahs. Especially now as they have their orchids and a fantastic exhibit featuring art made of waste materials found in public waterways, beaches and streams. It’s amazing how beautiful the female artist makes it look even as she is highlighting the destructive force of littering and plastic on our world. It’s a beautiful use of plastic, if I might put those two words in one sentence.
Have a wonderful day and keep watching for signs of spring, either man-made or real!