Gathering Real Food
(Page 3 of 6)
April/May 2004
By Linnea Johnson
Besides growing and selling apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots and blueberries, the people at County Line Orchard raise Jerseymac, Prima, Gala, Honeycrisp, Ozark Gold, Cortland, McIntosh, Empire, Jonagold, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Rome, Winter Banana, Stayman, Keepsake, Braeburn, Fuji and Suncrisp apples. All the varieties of each crop are labeled so you can be sure to find favorites to look forward to from year to year.
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Then, too, a few years ago the orchardist's young daughter showed me a baby peacock she was raising. Besides returning for the astonishing fruit, that summer I returned a bit more often to hear the latest tales of the orchard's peacocks, and to watch the peachick and the daughter flourish.
It's almost impossible to buy just what I need when the fruit is all so scrumptious, so inviting, like the open arms of a luxuriant, favorite auntie. So, I buy extra, share with friends and invite them along the next weekend.
The one place I always visited was James and Alma Weavers' Meadow View Farm near Bowers. I scarcely know what are my favorite things at Meadow View! Maybe it's the bouquets from the cut-your-own, "Patchwork Quilt" flower garden behind the shop, next to the tall stone home. I especially loved cutting armfuls of brilliant purple larkspur and late-season asters.
During the year of the super-sweet bumper crop of local peaches, I would have said—juice dripping down my chin that, certainly, peaches were my all-time favorite. That peachy summer, I'd buy two or three bags of peaches, one to slurpily enjoy on the way home, the others to actually get back home with me, for pies and supper.
Each September, Meadow View Farm showcases their crops at the Chile Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Festival in the village of Bowers, just one-fourth of a mile from the farm. People crowd the town park full of food stands, musicians and artisans. Visitors stream down the road to tour the farm and even to pick their own peppers. There are pepper wreaths crafted by some of the Weavers' daughters, homemade habanero pepper jellies, pepper plants, dozens of kinds of spicy ripe peppers, plus all kinds of other veggies and herbs.
Everything is more than delicious, James there with a knife, cutting into melon and tomato alike, samples laid neatly on ice and free for the tasting. He is always eager to chat about his produce and offer recommendations, and he has become an expert on growing and waxing eloquent about heirloom vegetables.
Finding Local Farmers in your Neighborhood
Many cooperative extension offices publish lists of local farmers who sell directly to the public; some even publish maps and sponsor tours. Other ways to find fresh, local Real Food include:
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