Family takes farm in new direction

FRANKFORT -- At a tiny farm on the fringes of Frankfort, Steve Eager is trying to undo decades of farming techniques he believes are harmful to your health.

Eschewing synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, Eager and other family members are hitching their wagon to the rising consumer interest in organically grown produce.

They've owned the 10-acre farm for just a year, and this summer had to rely on other growers to stock their farm stand with fruits and vegetables.

"It will probably take us three years to get organic production certification" from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Eager said. "The soil needs to leach out whatever chemicals are still in there."

On a small patch of land, however, the family raised a crop of pumpkins and gourds without the use of chemicals. They've also planted some fruit trees they hope will bear apples and cherries next season.

"Ninety percent of the pumpkins we're selling were grown here," said Eager, who grew up in a small Kansas farming town. "Anything we produced here, it wasn't sprayed."

All the pie pumpkins have been spoken for, but Eager said it was important to keep all the pumpkins free of pesticides and herbicides because some families like to bake and eat the seeds inside, Eager said.

The public apparently likes the idea.

Some customers who've bought pumpkins have returned the same day to snap up more, Chris Wallace, Eager's brother-in-law, said.

Simply called "The Farm," at LaGrange and Monee-Manhattan roads, it's owned by Eager along with his aunt, Diane Orlak -- she also owns Aladdin Landscaping in Frankfort -- and his uncle, Ken DeLuc.

Eager, who studied horticulture at Joliet Junior College, said family members are big believers in organic farming and sustainable agriculture. However, they're not on a mission to convert any of their neighbors who farm much larger spreads, he said.

"But the farmer next door to us did leave a decent amount of space between his field and ours when he sprayed his soybeans, which was pretty nice," Eager said.

Comment on this story.

heraldnewsonline.com