Polsgrove Hill Farm

Directions Website Contact the business

Polsgrove Hill Farm Wes and Daniela are recent NW Illinois transplants having moved from the Iowa City area in the fall of 2022.

We tended a garden and raised laying hens on our 1/3 acre suburban plot in Iowa, but always had a dream of a bigger operation. The opportunity to move to an acreage presented itself sooner than expected, but we knew better than to let this one pass us by. We find ourselves lucky to be in welcoming Carroll County, IL and will soon be busy tending to a new market garden, along with a bigger flock, and whatever is next at Polsgrove Hill Farm.

Looks like another beautiful Saturday ahead for the Mount Carroll Farmers Market! โ˜€๏ธ We're down to the final TWO markets...
10/23/2026

Looks like another beautiful Saturday ahead for the Mount Carroll Farmers Market! โ˜€๏ธ We're down to the final TWO markets of the year, and there's still plenty coming out of the gardens!

๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค:

๐Ÿฅฌ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐’๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌโ€“ They've had a rough season, so our supply will be limited. Most of the plants struggled, but we had one overachiever that was apparently loving life. It ended up taller than me!

๐‘๐ž๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค:

๐Ÿฅฌ ๐๐š๐ฉ๐š ๐‚๐š๐›๐›๐š๐ ๐ž โ€“ Back for another round! These are a little smaller than our spring harvest, but just as tasty. Great for slaws, stir-fries, soups, or making kimchi.

๐ŸŽƒ ๐‡๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฒ๐ง๐ฎ๐ญ ๐’๐ช๐ฎ๐š๐ฌ๐ก โ€“ We're bringing the last of our Honeynuts! These little squash are incredibly sweet, with a rich, nutty flavor. If you've been wanting a few for roasting, now's the time.

๐€ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ฆ:

๐Ÿฅ— ๐’๐Ž ๐Œ๐€๐๐˜ ๐†๐‘๐„๐„๐๐’!The lettuce is finally enjoying life again, we're well stocked on baby kale, and we've started harvesting a new planting of romaine that's looking great.

๐Ÿ“ ๐’๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ฐ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ! Our tunnel strawberries are continuing to produce, and we're bringing another good supply this weekend. Fresh strawberries in late October are a pretty nice treat!

๐Ÿฅ• ๐Œ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ญ ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ! We finished harvesting our second-to-last bed of carrots, and once again, almost all of them have some interesting shapes. Unfortunately, I'm expecting the last bed to be much the same. Straight, twisted, forked, or downright strangeโ€”they all cook up the same!

Two markets left doesn't necessarily mean two more chances at everything! Come enjoy the warm fall weather and support all the growers, bakers, and makers who make this market such a great part of our Saturdays. See you tomorrow!

๐Ÿ“… Date: Saturday, October 24th, 2026
โฐ Time: 8 AM โ€“ Noon
๐Ÿ“ Location: Market Street, Mount Carroll, IL.

๐ŸŒฑ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐&๐€ ๐ŸŒฑBack to our regularly scheduled Q&A! We've had our first frost, the growing season is windi...
10/18/2026

๐ŸŒฑ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐&๐€ ๐ŸŒฑ

Back to our regularly scheduled Q&A! We've had our first frost, the growing season is winding down, and there are still a few things we're hoping will make it to the Mount Carroll Farmers Market before the end of October. Let's get into this week's questions!

๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐œ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ? ๐Ÿฅถ

The jury's still out on a few things, but the basil and tromboncino squash definitely decided to call it a season!

We covered the peppers and blackberries, and we'll be anxiously watching them over the next few days to see how they fared. The nasturtiums might unexpectedly pull through, too!

Otherwise, most of what we're currently harvesting is either protected in our tunnels (yay for strawberries and ginger!), can tolerate some cold, or actually ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜บ๐˜ด it. Some crops get sweeter after a frost!

๐–๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ?

Yes, but they've had a rough season. Most of the stalks have "lodged"โ€”a term I learned just last year that basically means they've tipped over and are lying on the ground.

Unfortunately, the sprouts touching the ground are either starting to rot or becoming dinner for the local critters. Dang critters again! ๐Ÿ˜’

We're hoping to salvage enough to bring to the market next Saturday, but I'm not expecting quite the harvest we'd originally hoped for.

๐–๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐›๐ž๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ?

At some point, yes! They're SLOWLY growing in one of our tunnels and are just starting to fill out.

I'm not sure they'll be ready before the last farmers market, so they may end up going to Jo Daviess Local Foods instead. Either way, when they're ready, we'll have both red and golden beets!

๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฅ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ญ?

๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ๐ฌ๐ญ! That means we only have TWO markets left this season!

The final market is always our biggest, but don't forget about the weekends leading up to it. The weekly vendors really appreciate your support ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ Saturday. ๐Ÿ’š

And that's it for this week's Q&A! There's still plenty happening on the farm even as the temperatures drop. Thanks for following along!

My hands are just about frozen from washing produce today, so tomorrow's forecast of sunshine and light winds is soundin...
10/16/2026

My hands are just about frozen from washing produce today, so tomorrow's forecast of sunshine and light winds is sounding pretty wonderful!

๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค:

๐Ÿฅฌ ๐‘๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐‹๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ฎ๐œ๐ž โ€“ Technically returning! Hoping for another appearance before end of season as well.

๐Ÿฅฆ ๐Š๐จ๐ก๐ฅ๐ซ๐š๐›๐ข โ€“ Another returning favorite, and these beautiful! If you're not familiar with kohlrabi, it has a mild, slightly sweet flavor and a crisp texture. It's great sliced raw for snacking, shredded into slaw, or roasted.

๐Ÿซ‘ ๐†๐ซ๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐‚๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐จ ๐๐ข ๐“๐จ๐ซ๐จ ๐๐ž๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ โ€“ These peppers turn red or yellow when fully ripe, but with the season winding down, there's not much chance of that happening. So, we're picking some green! Use them just like green bell peppersโ€”in fajitas, stir-fries, soups, or anywhere you want a little crunch and pepper flavor.

๐Ÿซš ๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ž๐ณ๐ž-๐ƒ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ž๐ซ & ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ โ€“ Two new additions to our farm-made goods! Both are made from baby ginger grown on our farm and freeze-dried. The powder is great for baking, spice blends, and drinks, while the minced ginger is handy for soups, stir-fries, marinades, and more.

๐€ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ฆ:

๐ŸŒฟ ๐๐š๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š ๐ฆ๐š๐ฒ๐›๐ž! I'm hoping to get some harvested. I prefer to harvest basil when it's dry, and it keeps sprinkling. Hopefully we'll get a break and the wind will be useful for something.

๐Ÿฅ• ๐Ž๐ฎ๐ซ ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐œ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ! Nearly all of them are what we'd call "misfits." We transplanted them a little later than we should have, and carrots DO NOT appreciate having their roots disturbed. The result? Lots of interesting shapes. They might not win a beauty contest, but they're still delicious.๐Ÿ˜‚

๐Ÿ“ฃ ๐‹๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ! This will be your last chance for ๐›๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐›๐จ๐ง๐œ๐ข๐ง๐จ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐š๐ฌ๐ก, ๐ง๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ (assuming we can get that basil harvested!).

Come enjoy a refreshing fall morning at the Mount Carroll Farmers Market, visit all the vendors, and stock up on some last-chance veggies before they're gone for the season!

๐Ÿ“… Date: Saturday , October 17th, 2026
โฐ Time: 8 AM โ€“ Noon
๐Ÿ“ Location: Market Street, Mount Carroll, IL.My hands are just about frozen from washing produce today, so tomorrow's forecast of sunshine and light winds is sounding pretty wonderful!

๐Ÿซš ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ž๐ง๐ ๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ญ: ๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ž๐ณ๐ž-๐ƒ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ž๐ซ & ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ!We're finding even mo...
10/15/2026

๐Ÿซš ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ž๐ง๐ ๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ญ: ๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ž๐ณ๐ž-๐ƒ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ž๐ซ & ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ!

We're finding even more ways to put our farm-grown baby ginger to use! This time, we've freeze-dried it in two different forms, making it easy to enjoy ginger long after the fresh harvest season ends.

One of the things we love about freeze drying is how well it preserves the flavor, aroma, and nutrients of fresh produce. Unlike traditional dehydrating, which uses heat to remove moisture, freeze drying removes moisture at very low temperatures. This helps retain more of the ginger's fresh flavor while creating a lightweight, shelf-stable product that doesn't require refrigeration. It also means less waste on the farm and more ways to enjoy what we grow throughout the year!

๐Ÿซš ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ โ€“ Perfect for savory cooking when you want those little pieces of ginger rather than a powder. Add it to stir-fries, soups, curries, marinades, sauces, or salad dressings. You can rehydrate it with a little warm water before using or add it directly to dishes with plenty of liquid.

๐Ÿซš ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ž๐ซ โ€“ Finely ground and packed with ginger flavor! Great for baking cookies, muffins, quick breads, and other treats. You can also add it to smoothies, tea, oatmeal, soups, curries, or spice blends. A little goes a long way!

Both are made from baby ginger grown on our farm, with no added ingredients - just ginger!

We'll have both at the Mount Carroll Farmers Market this Saturday, 8 AMโ€“Noon on Market Street! ๐Ÿ’š

Over the past few days, we've received quite a few questions about the announcement that Molly's and Market Street Pizza...
10/11/2026

Over the past few days, we've received quite a few questions about the announcement that Molly's and Market Street Pizza will be closing, so instead of our usual Sunday Q&A, we thought we'd take a few minutes to share some thoughts and answer the biggest questions we've been hearing.

First, we're genuinely sad to see the restaurants close. Molly's has served the area for 12ยฝ years and earned a well-deserved reputation for amazing food. Market Street Pizza came along almost three years ago, and Wes has been part of that adventure, working there on the side since they opened.

Molly has also been a big part of our story at Polsgrove Hill Farm. She believed in what we were doing and gave us opportunities to grow our small farm business. That kind of support means more than we can put into words. We're incredibly grateful for the role she's played in helping us get to where we are today, and we'll always appreciate that she gave us a chance.

We're happy for Molly and Ben as they look toward whatever comes next, but we're also sad for them, their employees, and the community. These restaurants have been a part of life in this area for years, and they'll certainly be missed. We wish the entire Molly's family all the best in whatever their next chapter holds.

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ž๐š๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ?

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ ๐จ๐ง! โค๏ธ

Wes has accepted a full-time position with the Carroll County Soil and Water Conservation District, pending a government background check. We're excited for Wes as he takes on a new role in the community. I'll continue farming full time, so Polsgrove Hill Farm isn't going anywhere!

We're grateful for the support we've received from so many of you, and we understand why people have questions. Changes like this can bring a lot of uncertainty, especially when local businesses and the people behind them are involved.

For now, we'll keep doing what we do: growing good food, figuring things out as we go, and making plans for the next season.

Thank you for checking in, for caring about our little farm, and for supporting the people and businesses that make this community special. โค๏ธ

Looks like tomorrow is coming in hot, and so is the produce! โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿฅ• ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค:๐Ÿฅ• ๐‚๐€๐‘๐‘๐Ž๐“๐’! The wait is finally over! Thes...
10/09/2026

Looks like tomorrow is coming in hot, and so is the produce! โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿฅ•

๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค:

๐Ÿฅ• ๐‚๐€๐‘๐‘๐Ž๐“๐’! The wait is finally over! These are our fresh-eating carrots, not the l***r storage carrots. We're expecting those next week. They'll keep for a while in the fridge, but they're best enjoyed fresh. Snack on them, shred them into salads, roast them, or just enjoy the fact that we finally have carrots again! ๐Ÿ˜„

๐ŸŽƒ ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐š๐ฌ๐ก โ€” they've had a good curing period and are ready for the market. A bit of a bummer to report: we had an awful squash crop this year, and what we're bringing tomorrow is all we have for the season. We'll be making the most of what we got!

๐Ÿฅฆ ๐‚๐š๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข โ€” technically returning, but it's been a while! This is the nutty cousin of cauliflower, with tender stems and a sweet, mild flavor. Roast it, sautรฉ it, or toss it on the grill.

๐Ÿซš ๐‚๐š๐ง๐๐ข๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ & ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฎ๐ ๐š๐ซ โ€” two of my favorite ginger products are making their debut! The candied ginger is sweet, chewy, and full of ginger flavor. The ginger sugar is a fun way to add a little ginger sweetness to tea, coffee, baked goods, or your favorite recipes. The biggest challenge with the candied ginger so far has been keeping Wes from snacking on it all. ๐Ÿ˜‚

๐€ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ฆ:

๐ŸŒฟ ๐ˆ๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž!If you've been putting off making and freezing pesto for the winter, now's the time to get your basil. This weekend or next will likely be our last harvest, so don't put it off much longer. Future-you will appreciate having some summer pesto tucked away in the freezer!

It's going to be an oddly warm one, so come early, enjoy the morning, and see what our fellow makers, bakers, and growers have on their tables, too. We'd love to see you at the Mount Carroll Farmers Market! โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿงบ

๐Ÿ“… Date: Saturday, October 10th, 2026
โฐ Time: 8 AM โ€“ Noon
๐Ÿ“ Location: Market Street, Mount Carroll, IL.

๐ŸŒฑ ๐“๐ฐ๐จ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ: ๐‚๐š๐ง๐๐ข๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ & ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฎ๐ ๐š๐ซ!Both are m...
10/09/2026

๐ŸŒฑ ๐“๐ฐ๐จ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ: ๐‚๐š๐ง๐๐ข๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ & ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฎ๐ ๐š๐ซ!

Both are made with baby ginger grown on our farm, and we've got some ideas for putting them to use beyond eating them straight from the jar (which is pretty tempting with the candied ginger!).

๐Ÿซš ๐‚๐š๐ง๐๐ข๐ž๐ ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ is a sweet, chewy treat with a little ginger zing. We love eating it as-is or chopping it into small pieces to add to baked goods like cookies, muffins, quick breads, and scones. It's also great stirred into oatmeal, sprinkled over yogurt, or added to homemade granola.

๐Ÿซš ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฎ๐ ๐š๐ซ adds a little sweetness and ginger flavor wherever you'd use regular sugar. Stir it into tea or coffee, use it to sweeten oatmeal, or add it to the sugar topping on muffins, cookies, and quick breads.

Both are especially good with fall and winter dishes. Try adding chopped ๐œ๐š๐ง๐๐ข๐ž๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ or a sprinkle of ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐š๐ซ to roasted winter squash or sweet potatoes for a little extra sweetness and warm ginger flavor.

We'll have both at the Mount Carroll Farmers Market tomorrow, 8 AMโ€“Noon on Market Street. ๐Ÿ’š

Love the fancied-up drink! ๐ŸŒผ
10/06/2026

Love the fancied-up drink! ๐ŸŒผ

๐ŸŒฑ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐&๐€ ๐ŸŒฑWe're back with more questions! This week there is a LOT of carrot anticipation, some freez...
10/04/2026

๐ŸŒฑ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐&๐€ ๐ŸŒฑ

We're back with more questions! This week there is a LOT of carrot anticipation, some freeze-dried kale inspiration, and a change of plans involving strawberries.

๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐›๐ž ๐›๐š๐œ๐ค? ๐Ÿฅ•
Love the carrot excitement from so many of you! I had considered bringing them to the Mount Carroll Farmers Market yesterday, but...I really didn't want to deal with the mud. So, ๐ง๐ž๐ฑ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ž๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ!

Just to set some expectations, though: I'm nervous about how they're going to look. We haven't actually peeked underground yet, and I've seen horror stories out of Iowa about carrots rotting in the field from all the rain. And, as if that wasn't enough, some of our carrots decided to flower. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ

I'm also worried about a lot of forking because we made a slight change this year. So we're hoping for the best, but also setting our expectations low. We'll see what happens when we actually pull them!

๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐œ๐ก ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ฐ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ? ๐Ÿ“
Well...I thought we were going to rip them out next week because we have lettuce ready to transplant the following week. But then I convinced Wes that we should just buy our next caterpillar tunnel a little early and fill it instead! ๐Ÿ˜„

So that's the plan. First, we need to clean up the area where the new tunnel will go. That means finishing up our outdoor ginger harvest and saying goodbye to the cherry tomatoes, which had already decided their season was over anyway.

Assuming we can get everything cleared and the new tunnel up, strawberries get to stay a little longer! ๐Ÿ“

๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ž๐ž๐ณ๐ž-๐๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐ค๐š๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ž๐ซ? ๐Ÿฅฌ
Since it's a powder, it's really easy to sneak into all kinds of things. Add it to smoothies, soups, stews, sauces, scrambled eggs, pasta, or even casseroles for a little extra green. You can also mix it into dips or dressings.

And you don't need much - a little goes a long way. It's an easy way to add kale without having to prep a whole bunch of it.

That's it for this week! If you've got a question about something we're growing, making, or figuring out on the farm, send it our way

After a dreary week, the sun is FINALLY out just in time to usher in October! โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿ‚ Celebrate by getting outdoors tomorrow...
10/02/2026

After a dreary week, the sun is FINALLY out just in time to usher in October! โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿ‚ Celebrate by getting outdoors tomorrow morning and heading to the Mount Carroll Farmers Market.

๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค:

๐Ÿฅฌ ๐๐š๐›๐ฒ ๐›๐จ๐ค ๐œ๐ก๐จ๐ฒ - it's back after a pretty short spring season thanks to the heat. Turns out baby bok choy is much happier with this cooler weather! Halve it and roast or grill it, toss it into a stir-fry, chop into a salad, or add it to soups and noodle bowls.

๐Ÿซš ๐†๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฒ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ - made with ginger grown on our farm! My favorite way to use it is mixed with sparkling water for an easy homemade ginger ale, but it's also great in cocktails, mocktails, tea, or anywhere you want a little sweet ginger kick.

๐Ÿซ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐’๐ฒ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ - also made with fruit grown on our farm. Add it to sparkling water or lemonade, drizzle it over pancakes or ice cream, or use it in a cocktail (I'm looking forward to seeing what Wes comes up with!). We have a ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ฆ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ, and I'm not sure if we'll be making another batch this year.

๐€ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ฆ:

๐Ÿฅ— ๐‹๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ฎ๐œ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฎ๐ฉ! After several weeks of limited harvests, we're finally starting to see a little more of it coming out of the beds.

๐Ÿซš We harvested a ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ก ๐›๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐›๐š๐›๐ฒ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ. If you missed it last Saturday, we'll have more tomorrow.

๐Ÿ”ด And apparently you all were ready for radishes to come back - we're bringing ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐š๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ฒ ๐š๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค!

October market mornings are some of the best, and after a week of gray skies, tomorrow is looking like a great excuse to get outside. Grab a coffee, wander through the market, visit all the vendors, and enjoy a little sunshine while you're at it. โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿ‚

๐Ÿ“… Date: Saturday , October 3rd
โฐ Time: 8 AM โ€“ Noon
๐Ÿ“ Location: Market Street, Mount Carroll, IL.

Address

Mount Carroll, IL
61053

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Polsgrove Hill Farm posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Polsgrove Hill Farm:

Shortcuts

Share

Category