Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Pick Your Own!

The cool breeze brushes along the water reserve and crescendos in my face harmonizing with a sun beam chorus as I stand hidden among the blackberry bushes. I am transported to a world full of music orchestrated by the elements and earth's minuscule inhabitants that can not speak my language, but sing for me just the same. It is here that I reach for their creations, born from the soil, the rain, the sun and on the backs of my new little friends. Gently I pluck their labor from the bush before me, and with the warmth of the sun's embrace still emanating from within, I partake in the composition. Each drupelet explodes with a sweetness and richness on my palate in a symphony, conducted by nature's maestros. I am transcended, and it is here that I hope to leave my worries behind.

Homestead Farm
15604 Sugarland Road
Poolesville, Maryland 20837

The Peach trees and Blackberry bushes are calling you! Nature is calling you! Last weekend we headed out to one of our favorite local farms where you can pick your own fruit. The season going on right now is White Peaches and Blackberries. It's a wonderful time to escape the city and enjoy all that nature has to offer. The Peaches were ready to be plucked, but need a few days to soften in the fridge. We have not been eating them yet, though I'm sure they are delicious. The blackberries are amazing, so juicy and sweet, so full of flavor, we've nearly finished all that we picked and are thinking about heading back to the farm this weekend for more.

The key to blackberry picking is to get the ones that need nearly no effort to pluck from the bush. They are generally the really large ones, and you can tell the leaves have matured on the bush, they shouldn't be dainty or new looking. You can certainly taste test areas till you get the hang of it. When they're not quite ready they are a little sour, but the ready ones have an amazing sweet taste! We learned that blackberries start by being red and are hard, which you'll see on the bushes along with the ripe ones.

Homestead farms also has a full farmers market type shop. Home grown sweet corn, peppers, eggplant, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, the list goes on and on. They also have their own preserves(jams), pickles and local honey to name just a few other things. If you can't head out and pick yourself, they have also done some of that for you.

This truly is an amazing time of year to head out and do some pick your own travels. This is a great site to find farms in your area that have it, or you can head up to ours in Poolsville.
 The people there are a great help and will give you tips on what to do and what to buy. Thanks Sandie for all your help and generosity, couldn't appreciate it more!



Homestead also has some farm animals to check out, for the kids and the kids at heart, like myself!

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