Have you ever visited a farm early in the day when the sun hasn’t reached its highest heat and the grass is still dewy? 
A few weeks ago Wendy and I took a visit to Mood’s Farm Market, a place where you can not only buy produce and homemade goods, but also pick your own fruit!
And you can buy corn, but by all means do not shuck it there!
Of course there were some essential rules. And no, this does not mean you get to pick which rules you want to follow 
Before you pick you decide what fruit you will be picking. There is a list which also includes pricing. You then pay for a permit to pick in the respective area, purchase a cardboard container and begin!
We started picking blueberries first.
If you have never picked blueberries before let me tell you that it is not easy! I was definitely confused when I thought it would be a simple task. But there are a lot of berries that aren’t ripe, some that are bruised or wrinkly and others were just downright gross looking! So you’re trying to be quick but careful at the same time and it winds up taking a lot longer than you’d expect.
Wendy and I kept asking each other how we were doing and we knew that we were making progress once we weren’t hitting cardboard anymore. In other words, we had filled the bottom of the box completely and were actually getting somewhere. This made me laugh as we were picking. I think we should coin the term “hitting cardboard” don’t you think!?
Next, we headed to pick peaches.
This might have been the biggest peach I ever saw!
We were warned that they were extremely ripe and they really were! Most were so ripe that you’d touch them and they would turn to mush. And their juices were dripping out of them begging to be eaten. While it was hard to find some that were okay to take home, the few that we did take were so delicious and sweet.
After we were finished picking our fresh fruit we headed back, paid for our goods and were on our merry way. In a few short hours we were able to experience what goes into picking fruit and bring home some juicy berries and peaches. I’d call that a successful summer mornin’.
Enjoy the last weekend of July!
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LOL! I remember when I first thought it would be “fun” to pick our own olallieberries (they only grow on the Pacific Northwest of the US. Let me tell you, after being poked by enough thorns on a hot day, I was glad we were finished. I now pay an extra $10.00 to buy picked berries by someone else! I guess you East Coasters get blueberries, as we don’t have a place where we can pick them. They’re gorgeous, though! As for peaches, I haven’t found an orchard where I can pick my own. I’d probably eat them right then and there. I love peaches, and I need to hurry up and make peach chutney to can for the year. Ironically, even though I live in the burbs in the Salinas Valley- and we are famous for our strawberry and lettuce crops… there’s no nearby place to pick our own. You sure have fun with that, and I enjoy seeing what you are up to!
I know, isn’t that funny that it seems so interesting and fun until you are doing it?! It makes me appreciate those who pick them for me and allow me to just bring them home.I’ve never tried an olallieberrie although I’d love to. Especially because my name is in there :)
That sounds like so much fun! I’d love to go and pick my own fruit..it’s like going to the farmer’s market but even better!
Picking those blueberries was a lot of work. Well worth it in the end but it seems like it took forever before we no longer hit cardboard. My mom is actually swinging by Mood’s today to pick up some more fruit for me. Love that place!