In the heart of summer we all want our vegetables as fresh as possible. It’s great when we can go into town to the Ansbach Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but it’s even better when we get to pick our own!
Yesterday a friend brought me to the largest Pick Your Own Farm that I have ever been to. It’s called Huckepack. Not far from my home, and not close either; it’s well worth the trip. In the midst of so much dirt and edible vegetation the inspiration and joy are hard to endure; but it’s a necessity if one is to leave the farm without having picked more fruits and vegetables than can be eaten in a reasonable amount of time. Luckily, I maintained composure and Phil won’t be hearing the sentence, “Who wants green beans (on their last leg) for breakfast?”
Upon arrival we picked up our wheel barrel, mini knife, and buckets, and headed straight for the berries. I find picking berries to be very soothing (dare I suggest meditative as well) and it’s hard to stop. Consuming the berries is heavenly. I believe that in a blind fold taste test, anyone could discern a supermarket berry from a fresh picked berry…even if they only had half of their taste buds.
After the raspberries and the blackberries I braved, what I like to call, the Huckepack Tomato Jungle. I have never seen such an assortment and abundance of tomatoes…you could make sauce and salsa for days! You could build a fort out of tomatoes from all that was lying on the ground. After the tomatoes I grabbed some squash, peppers, and lettuce. I had to refrain from picking any cabbage, strawberries, blueberries, potatoes, carrots, kohlrabi, beets, or plums. I could continue naming all of their heavenly pickables, of course. The list is endless. I was on overload. For those brave enough you can even stick your hand in the coop and pick your own chicken eggs.
In addition to the fields of abundance, Huckepack also has a delightful grocery store. Of course they sell already-been-picked produce, but they also offer fabulously fresh dairy products, pickled products, fresh bread, and gourmet gifts like make-your-own asparagus noodles.
If you’re in the area, I recommend a visit for yourself. The fields are open from Tuesday to Sunday. the store is open from Tuesday to Saturday.
Happy Summer!
