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RE: My Favorite Local Blueberry Farm
I'm glad you have some nice U-pick places nearby. I had to stop picking cherries at U-pick places, because I would eat too many of them while I was picking. One nice thing about U-pick operations is that they have different varieties, so we can see what might do well in our own gardens. I hope your kids will be your berry-picking helpers for a while, even as they get older.
Good to know that U-Pick Cherries are your Kryptonite! If a U-Pick orchard grew trees full of amaretto truffles, I'd be in trouble...
LOL! You should see the amount of fruit ingested when we go pick strawberries! The kids are great helpers, not that they are given a choice, for there is a one bucket minimum to be picked requirement from Mom and Dad! 😉
The variety thing is so true! I found my favorite strawberry variety of all time (well, so far!), Mesabi, at a local U-pick farm. We have an entire community of U-Pick farms about 45 minutes from my house, there you can find everything from Bok Choi to Peaches. If I ever get too lazy to grow things it's nice to know that there will always be a bunch of fresh, seasonable produce available just a short car ride away, but the probability of me not growing produce is small; I kinda like to grow things. Like a lot! lol!
There's a GMO project waiting for a bright young Monsanto wizard -- Amaretto truffle trees! ; ) My parents say I used to sleepwalk, when I was about eight. I'd wander around, chanting "Cherry pie, Cherry pie, Cherry pie". I guess I did this regularly. That's better than saying something out of a horror movie, I guess! ; )
So we both are in the camp of gardeners who garden because they like to grow plants. I grow so much more than I can ever eat. Nobody hassles flower gardeners - "What did you do with those flowers?" But with food, we can feel so bad to see it not picked. I try to give a lot to our local food bank. It's a shame that more people don't appreciate how easy it is to grow certain plants -- not every plant, but some are incredibly easy and productive, for most anyone.
LOL! "Cherry pie" That is excellent!
I give away so much produce every year, and you are so right about the yields of certain plants. There are some years that I never want to see another tomato or squash ever again, yet strangely enough I find myself planting a pile of them the next growing season, lol!
We do a big thing at the library every year called "Going to Seed" where we get in presenters that show people how easy it is to do various aspects of food production from container gardening to edible landscaping. We also give away seeds to the community at these events, and there is a pretty good sized seed swap at one of the big library's in a neighboring town. I wish more people realized how easy it is to grow some high yield crops, but the interest is there and growing, and people totally appreciate folks like you with your amazing storehouse of gardening knowledge! 😊
Also, I yearn for the amaretto truffle tree....
How great that your libraries do that! Libraries aren't just for books anymore! :D
It's great to see people take an interest in growing food. It was such a natural way of being in my own family's history. But I know so many people didn't get that advantage. It's great to have programs that can help people share and get started. Here's to Gardening for All and a continuation of the tradition of sharing by gardeners! :D