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This week only - until Friday, August 12th - go to Kilbourn Park and pick your own organic vegetables and herbs - for free.

My sister Annie was there yesterday - they have a huge bed of basil begging to be picked. There's everything from tomatillos to huge purple heads of cabbage - bring a big knife. She swept through the cherry tomatoes but there should be a new, ripe harvest by Friday.

The garden's grown by the park's kids' group - but sadly not really eaten by them. The greenhouse will be closed for maintenance at the end of the week - and access to the garden will then be closed - and all the beautiful produce will go to waste.

When I was there in June I was in a heaven of baby lettuces.

Just go to the park - Addison/Kilbourn - enter the greenhouse, walk straight ahead to the doors to the garden at the back, pick to your heart's content. The park staff have invited us to invite friends/family - of course please be respectful to the greenhouse and the garden.

The park has an organic plant sale every spring around Mothers' Day - this bounty is from some of those plants. For more information about the park - and this year's sale - click here

Please let us know if you go and what you get!

Thanks for the tip! One thing I hate about my Oak Park market is it's Saturday-ness. Of course, Saturday is easy for everyone and all, but we rarely cook over the weekend, and then by Monday it's leftovers from our restaurant adventures. So, I need fresh vegetables starting around Tuesday. This should do the trick!

Rob

We bought our tomato plants there this spring--they've been remarkably productive and disease free, and really nice varieties. The person who picked them out didn't really know what she was getting, but so far they've all been good.

we go to the garden sale every year - its one of the better sources for some interesting varieties of chiles for example around town

thanks for the tip about the plants, at this point though we're just trying to keep up with the produce coming in from my wife's gardens. Finally made it through raspberry season - on to blackberries

Hi-

I stopped by the park to check out the garden and had an improptu tour this morning by the gentleman who ran the program (and now for the life of me can not remember his name). In the past few days he and the kids in the program have sold some of the produce to a few restaurants and are going to donate the remainder to food kitchens. He is trying to partner with a CPS to enhance the program and perhaps expand it into the fall. The garden itself was impressive given the rough weather and the fact they worked on it for six weeks. One of the students was there and talked quite a bit about how this has changed the way she sees food (as in "McDonald's doesn't look as good now"). I am very glad I saw the garden and will plan to support the plant sale next spring.

Thanks for the information about this garden, and thanks to LTH for so much great information (I followed up my garden visit with lunch at La Oaxacena and thoroughly enjoyed the chilaquiles verde with egg).

I'm so happy that you went - and that there's already such great support here for the park! And it's so wonderful to hear straight from one of the students that it's really making a difference. But you're just killing me with the Mexican food talk - I can't get that in Paris!

Yea, but what 'bout my 20 year hankering for a good choucroute garni?

Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse Plant Sale, May 13 & 14

For the eleventh year, the Chicago Park District’s Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse will sell more than 100 varieties of organically grown vegetable, herb and flower seedlings. The annual plant sale will take place Saturday, May 13 and Sunday, May 14, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 3501 N. Kilbourn Ave., just west of Milwaukee Ave. and Addison St. Plant prices range from $2. - $6.

Why come?

* A wide selection of heirloom tomato and pepper varieties and interesting cuttings, many come from Chicago’s Lincoln Park and Garfield Park Conservatories!
* Support this phenomenal resource! Over 14 years ago, community saved this greenhouse and transformed it into a vibrant organic gardening education center. After over 10 years of wear and tear, the kid’s organic garden is need of repair. Your purchases at this plant sale will support the renovation of this space and ensure this resource in years to come.

“We look forward to welcoming gardeners of all levels. You’ll find unusual organically grown plants for your summer garden’” says new greenhouse manager Kirsten Akre. “After you shop, the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners will be on-hand to answer gardening questions to get everyone off to a good start!”

Customers can expect more than 30 varieties of open-pollinated tomatoes, such as “Copia”, “Green Zebra,” “Black Cherry,” and a fuzzy “Garden Peach.” There is a limited supply of tomatoes, so gardeners are encouraged to stop by early. The Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse accepts payment for plants by cash and check only.

Kilbourn Park, home to the Park District’s only organic-teaching greenhouse, offers workshops throughout the year. For questions regarding the organic plant sale or to register for a class, call Kilbourn Park at either 773-685-3351 or 773-685-3359

Thank you Leah for posting this. It really was a great sale. I purchased several herb and pepper plant last year.

My wife received this notice about the Kilbourn Garden. Not quite sure what it entails, but if our kids were a little older, I'd certainly look into it.