Ida & Sal Produce & Nursery

I visited Sal’s 2 years ago and it’s gone downhill. They had very little local produce which was mixed in with produce obviously from a store, as the vegetables had stickers on them. Nearly all the produce was old, but I managed to find 6 ears of corn that didn’t look too bad. Outside the door was a tub full of horrible old, rancid water. In general the place looked neglected. Better to stop at a small roadside stand in front of someone’s house, which I did later in the day.

About a week before Christmas, my husband and I bought a live Christmas tree from Ida and Sal’s. The man who sold us the tree at about 7:00 at night, didn’t come out of the trailer until we were there for about 10 minutes — unfortunately, he stunk of alcohol when he greeted us and didn’t end up being very helpful. We were looking to spend no more that $ 50 for a 6 – 8 ft tree. He pointed to the trees that were leaning against a fence (not standing up nicely like the other trees) and said, you should be able to find one for $ 35 over there. As we looked at the trees, I noticed they did not smell as nice as the pricier trees. We didn’t have a lot of money to spend and decided on a $ 35 tree and took it home.
As soon as we began to set it up, I smelled a fowl odor. We filled the tree holder with water and left undecorated overnight. As soon as I walked downstairs in the morning I smelled the worst odor — it was a disgusting smell similar to old urine. I was absolutely disgusted and told my husband that something was wrong with the tree — after all, a live Christmas tree should smell like pine, not urine! We called Ida and Sal’s. I asked if we could bring the tree back and get a refund — they said no. I explained that the tree smelled fowl and was not soaking up any water. They still refused — and rudely, may I add.
I googled this perplexing situation, «live Christmas tree smells like urine» and found that some lots try to sell trees that they have stolen off of other people’s property. Trees are purposely sprayed with a synthetic urine and are then tagged with a warning of the odor for those who try to steal them. I suspect that this is what happened. Perhaps Ida and Sal’s thought the smell would go away, but it did not.
My husband and I ended up trying to live with the tree for a few days, but we ended up disposing of it — the fowl-​smelling odor in the house became unbearable. We ended up going to Home Depot and found a beautiful, 8 foot Frasier Fur for about $ 40. Similarly-​sized Frasier Furs at Ida and Sal’s were over $ 100!!! I really like to support my local vendors, but I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM IDA AND SAL’S AGAIN! It was such a disappointment to have to go through this ordeal during the busy holiday season.
When I called Ida and Sal’s to explain, the woman who answered was rude and also pretended like she couldn’t hear what I was saying or understand the situation. I was disgusted by both the drunken man who scammed us and the rude woman who I tried to work with to rectify the situation. What a poor display of character!

Well, I’m not sure about the previous review, but I have been to Ida & Sal’s on plenty of occasions to buy plants in the spring. I found their prices to be reasonable and the stock of good quality. The owners are very accommodating and friendly. Also, the tomato plants I purchased from them did really great this summer, as a matter of fact, the cherry tomato plant was still flowering and bearing fruit when I pulled it up last weekend. (it was crowding the mums).

Again, the damn Tribune has led me astray with their «recommendations». Sigh. When will I ever learn.
Ida & Sal’s was written up in an article not too long ago with a glowing review about the produce and the flowers they sell. They are a semi-​permanent produce stand with (as of right now) tons of pumpkins and gourds littering the yard and a small trailer that houses other vegetables and the cashier station.
I am *guessing* if you live in Lake Villa, specifically at the junction of 45 and 132, and don’t have any means of transportation to get to any other grocery store or farm stand, this might be the place for you. Otherwise, someone over there got it into their head that «quaint roadside joint = big profits» and «people in this area have more money than brains» because every time I laid eyes on a price it was like getting hit in the chest with a thrown brick. TWENTY DOLLARS for a SINGLE gourd? FIFTEEN DOLLARS for a pumpkin no bigger than the ones you see in front of any Jewel for $ 4?
Hey, I am all for supporting local businesses, but COME ON people.