Oh, shiitake!

Love mushrooms? Wish you could grow your own? Join Jill Niewoehner at this year's conference for an exciting overview of growing shiitake mushrooms in logs in the urban landscape.

"With a little TLC, a little shade and a healthy dose of water you will have mushrooms in six to twelve months that will continue to fruit for years to come," says Jill. "Homegrown mushrooms are delicious and fun to grow!"

Jill and her husband, Daniel have been raising kids, chickens and veggies in their yard in Oak Park since 2006. You can visit her online at www.MamaGrows.com

Want to sell your homegrown veggies, meat, milk, or other products?

It is virtually impossible to produce exactly the amount of food that you need, whether you are talking about tomatoes, eggs, or meat. What can you do with the dozens of extra eggs or zucchini you have? Can you just sell the eggs and zucchini, or can you make zucchini bread and make a better profit? Even if you have only one sow, she will have eight or more piglets, and most families can't consume that much pork in a year -- and a sow could have two litters a year! What can you do with the other piglets or pork? And what if you have more manure or compost than you need for your garden?

Wes King, executive director of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance and co-author of Guide to Illinois Laws Governing Direct Farm Marketing: For Farmers and Other Food Entrepreneurs will give you the scoop on what you can sell and where you can sell it, as well as the legal requirements. Beyond executive management functions, the focus of his work is developing and monitoring sustainable agriculture and local food related legislation in Springfield and at the Federal Level. In addition, Wes is working on organizing and building the capacity of grassroots stakeholders to influence food and farm related policy decisions.

Mark your calendars!

The Third Annual Mid-America Homesteading Conference will be held Saturday, August 30, at Joliet Junior College. This is again Labor Day weekend. We are currently working on getting speakers and putting together the schedule. Stay tuned for more details soon!

It's a wrap!

The 2013 Mid-America Homesteading Conference is now history, and according to the evaluation forms, informal conversations, and Facebook comments, it was a success. Speakers and attendees (who came from as far away as Louisiana) enthusiastically shared information with one another. Thanks to the generosity of local Big R and Tractor Supply stores, as well as Baker's Creek Heirloom Seeds, a few lucky attendees also took home some cool prizes.

The DIY track was popular, as everyone learned about canning, soapmaking, making sorghum syrup, and more. We were excited to have a camera that gave every attendee an up-close-and-personal view of exactly what was being demonstrated. Here is a picture from the session on making mozzarella --

Many thanks to our volunteers Karen and Jane, who did everything from registration to making last-minute copies and helping with set-up and break-down.

Plans are already underway for 2014, so if you have suggestions for changes, as well as speakers and topics, be sure to let us know by commenting below!

Last minute details!

In less than two days, we'll all be at the conference! Here are a few things you might want to know ...

• We will be providing a continental breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks.


• If you haven't registered by tonight (Thursday night), we ask that you wait and pay when you arrive at the conference Saturday morning. We can take cash and credit cards. 


• To make it easier for you to find the conference, we will have signs on Houbolt Road and on campus. The conference center will be on your immediate left as soon as you walk into T building.


• Remember to bring your extra seeds for the seed swap!

And another great bonus for all attendees -- Mother Earth News magazine sent us enough copies of the August/September issue for all attendees to get one!

If any questions come up for you, just ask in the "Comments" below! We're looking forward to meeting everyone and learning a ton!

Swag and freebies and registration

Although we think that the great variety of speakers and information is the best reason to attend the Homesteading Conference, it is just a bonus that we are getting samples and raffle items for attendees. Baker's Creek has donated a variety of seed packets so that everyone can pick their favorite or perhaps something completely new that you've always wanted to try. Food Saver has donated the coolest little bag openers so that you no longer have to stab your vacuum-sealed freezer bags with a knife to open them.

Those who attend the gardening sessions will have the opportunity to win a variety of prizes such as gardening gloves from Ryobi or a copy of Heirloom Gardener magazine. And we are continuing to work on getting more donations of great products for you to sample.

Don't forget! The deadline for the early bird registration discount of $75 is tonight at midnight, so register now to save $14.

If you were planning to attend Sunday's post-conference Goat Workshop, there are only two spots still available as I type! If you attempt to sign up and the workshop is full, Paypal will not let you know until you attempt to pay, at which point it will tell you that the inventory is at 0.

If you happen to have visited the Contact page on our website in the last few days, you may have seen nothing on the page! It came to our attention yesterday that our contact form had disappeared. Apparently the company that made the form has disappeared from the planet, and their forms disappeared from the Web. We now have a brand new form on that page so you can contact us privately. But as always, you are also welcome to comment on each of our posts on here or on our Facebook page.

Early bird deadline approaching

The deadline for the early bird registration discounted price of $75 is Wednesday, July 31, which is only one week away. On August 1, the price will go up to $89. Click here to register now.

Your registration includes admittance to six, one-hour sessions throughout the day. During each hour, you'll have the opportunity to choose between three different tracks: livestock, gardening, and do-it-yourself. In the livestock track we'll be covering everything from bees to cattle. In the gardening sessions you'll go beyond the basics to discover what you need to know for successfully growing your own produce, such as companion planting, composting, pollinators, and extending the growing season. And the do-it-yourself demonstrations will include soapmaking, canning, and making mozzarella. Click here to check out the complete schedule.

We're also providing morning snacks, lunch, and afternoon snacks. If you prefer a vegetarian lunch, be sure to put that in the comment section of the registration.

And don't forget about the seed swap we're hosting this year. Bring your extra seeds to share with other attendees!

The room block and website conference discount at the Hampton Inn also expires on August 1. After the first, you will still be able to get the discount if rooms are available, but you will have to call the hotel directly. Click here to go the Hampton website and make your hotel reservations now.