Down River Farm

Our farm is home to two separate businesses working symbiotically together, Kira's Flowers and Down River Farm. Down River Farm manages 2 acres of vegetables right beside flowers grown by Kira's Flowers. This encourages pollinators and creates an environment that mimics nature in ways other farms cannot. Down River Farm offers a 25 week vegetable CSA for $500 with 3 pickup locations in Peoria; East Peoria, West Peoria, and the Peoria Riverfront. This farm is not certified organic, as it is a very costly process, but we refuse to use synthetic fertilizers or chemical sprays of any kind. We have an open-door policy and welcome folks to come out to the farm and actually see how we are farming at any time. We aim to keep as much of our dollars local as possible. This includes buying compost from Peoria, buying cover crop seed from local seed stores/farms, offering CSA pickups only in Peoria, and selling to a market just 10 minutes away from the farm. We want to remain as local as possible so as to stimulate our local economy and minimize our reliance on fossil fuels. For that reason, we also only use a two-wheeled tractor for preparing our beds and do not use plastic as mulch for our potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc. Only straw mulch. We will be growing a total of 410 varieties of vegetables next year including garlic, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, green beans, corn, lettuce, mustards, radishes, turnips, kale, collards, carrots, snap peas, and many more. We aim to keep the farm very diverse so as to deter pests and minimize the potential for diseases. For those wanting to buy veggies from our farm, purchase a CSA from our website downriverfarm.com/csa , come visit us at the Peoria Riverfront Market come May, or check out our farmstand open every Wednesday from 5-8 PM starting at the end of May with veggies, eggs, honey (soon), and herbal teas and jams grown and processed by Sunny Lane Aronia Farm.