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It’s Pick-Your-Own Strawberry Season
Posted by: Dan Shaw
Posted on: Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Comments
Great post! So true about getting tired and bored at exactly the right time.
Picking berries is one of the highlights of my summer. Every year my neice and nephews come up from the city specifically to reap the bounty. Didn’t know about Taft Farm in GB….we normally go to Samascott in Kinderhook but am looking forward to checking out Taft.
And we love Lygeia’s blog…the warm, just picked, super sweet strawberry is bliss!
I didn’t realize one could PYO strawberries at Taft. It’s a busy weekend ahead, but I’m adding strawberry shortcake to the to-do list. Thanks for the inspiration.
I could not agree more with your friend about overdosing on in-season fruits and vegetables! New poatoes have just arrived at the market just as the “real” asparagus bids us farewell. Great to know a local spot to pick these sweetest of berries_
Greig Farm in Red Hook is great for both kids and parents alike. They have 12 baby goats on the farm, a large koi pond, Gigi’s Market and Grandiflora nursery. And the blueberries are alomost perfect.
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Full Article
A friend of mine has a theory about local strawberries, which are really the only strawberries worth eating. She believes that you should gorge on strawberries while they’re in season and eat them three times a day. She maintains that you should consume nature’s bounty in excess and by the time there are no more strawberries to be picked in our region you will not want to look at another strawberry again for another eleven months. Thus, you will not even be tempted in February to buy California strawberries that have only a vague resemblance to the berries grown at farms in Berkshire, Columbia, Dutchess and Litchfield counties. (My friend applies her theory to tomatoes and raspberries as well.)
The most economical and profoundly pleasurable way to indulge in local strawberries is to pick your own. And there’s nothing quite like eating strawberries in the field as another friend, Lygeia Grace, blogged in Real Simple. “Sweet and still warm from the sun, the fruit has a musky, earthy taste that can never be recaptured once you are back home.” The fortuitous thing about picking strawberries is that you get tired and bored at exactly the right moment when you have picked just enough berries to last a few days. This never happens when you pick apples (you always have way more than you need) or when you pick blueberries or raspberries (which is incredibly time consuming and you eat most of what you’ve picked in the car ride home.) . Our current favorite place to pick strawberries is the Thomspon Finch Farm in Ancram, NY, which is centrally located even though it feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere. Certified organic, Thompson Finch’s berry patch is beautifully maintained with healthy plants that were loaded with fruit this week. Owners Marnie and Don MacLean don’t want you driving unnecessarily so call 518.329.7578 to check whether it’s a good day for picking. If Ancram seems too out of the way, here are some other farms to consider.
Pick-Your-Own Farms
Green River Farms, Williamstown, MA
Taft Farms, Great Barrington MA
Ellsworth Farm, Sharon, CT
Mead Orchards, Tivoli, NY
Thompson-Finch, Ancram, NY; 518.329.7578
If your favorite pick-your-own farm is not listed here, please leave a comment and tell us about it.
