THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406010179
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Long
On one recent morning, the customers waiting to pick their own produce from the fields was Dorothy Scott of Portsmouth, her delicate skin slathered with suntan oil and wearing a wide-brim hat.
{REST} ``She has excellent stuff all year,'' Scott said, ``and her strawberries are lovely.''
By now, strawberry season is down to its final days. Williams said the berries first come in at the end of April and may last until the first week of June. But like other family owned farms throughout the city, Williams Farm offers more than pick-your-own strawberries.
``We have everything,'' Williams said as she reeled off a list of fresh vegetables that would delight anyone . ``We're also noted for growing some of the biggest and highest-quality peppers in the area.''
\ AN ABUNDANCE OF pick-your-own fields mainly offering strawberries, blueberries and pumpkins in season and an array of vegetable stands offering bounties from fields only a few feet away are what bring in health- and taste-conscious consumers to Chesapeake.
``I can't say exactly how many people come to Chesapeake from other cities, but they do come to buy fresh produce,'' said Robert Pilch, agricultural extension agent for the Chesapeake office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. ``The number of pick-your-own fields and fresh produce stands in Chesapeake has increased over the years.''
In the past, Pilch said local farms mainly grew soybeans, wheat and corn, but now they have diversified to appeal to a South Hampton Roads population bent on finding fresh and flavorful produce.
``This gives local farmers the opportunity to benefit from the city's and area's population increase,'' Pilch said. ``Selling either through a pick-your-own system or by a roadside stand allows the farmer to realize more income per acre. Half the cost in producing fruits and vegetables is in the picking, so this enables many farmers to reduce their overhead.''
Pilch said planting different kinds of produce allows farmers to extend their growing seasons. He said many of the local farms also sell to local supermarkets.
``They all do a good job,'' Pilch said. ``The ones currently in business have been doing it for several years and have gotten the kinks out of the system. They all seem to be doing well and usually sell all they produce.''
\ ON ONE RECENT SPRING DAY, the fields at Hickory Ridge Farms seemed to be bursting with sweet, juicy strawberries.
People of all ages, sizes and races, hailing from all over Chesapeake and South Hampton Roads, descended on the Hickory Ridge fields.
Pickers were everywhere, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
A group of a dozen 4- and 5-year-olds from the College Park Day Care School, led by teacher Nancy Hennesey, spent the better part of the morning filling baskets with fruit. The children filed back to the weighing station, all bursting with smiles and toting huge, sweet strawberries.
``They kept asking me, `Can I eat one? Can I eat two?' '' Hennesey said. ``They had a great time and all picked a bunch.''
As the kids gathered around the weighing station they chattered about what they would do with their loot.
``I'm gonna share with my family,'' 5-year-old Marcia said. ``And then I'm gonna eat 'em!''
``I like sugar and whipped cream with mine,'' another moppet said.
``I like to eat mine with ketchup,'' said another, causing all within earshot to shout ``Ugh!'' in unison.
The mother-daughter picking team of Frances and Ellen Whitley were both a little dusty and tired but had already picked eight buckets.
``We're doing super in this field,'' Frances Whitley of Portsmouth said. ``They're good, plentiful. They're juicy. They're big and ripe.''
Her mother, Ellen Whitley of Chesapeake, said the berries are as much fun to pick as they are to eat.
``Just because I'm a senior citizen doesn't mean I can't come out here and pick,'' she said. ``It's fun.''
Two Chesapeake nurses on their day off, Ed Morse and his wife Lillian, were having a perfect picking day, too. It was their first time at the pick-your-own fields.
``We both come from farming families,'' Ed Morse said. ``So this takes us both back to our childhoods, our roots. It breaks the monotony of everyday routine. You get fresh air, it's set in a pretty area, and it's a great day.''
Lillian Morse said she and her husband plan to share their bounty with family and friends and savor the taste of fresh strawberry shortcake.
But for Ed Morse, the magic is in the picking, not just the berry.
``We're just relishing the moment,'' he said. ``This has a spiritual connotation to it. It's good for the soul.''
\ ALTHOUGH STRAWBERRY SEASON may already be over or waning, there's another fruit ripening that will soon be ready for civilian pickers.
``Our blueberries are now in the growth stage,'' Sharon Patterson said. ``They're getting big and are ripening in clusters.''
She and her husband Charlie Patterson run the Hickory Blueberry Farm, offering pick-your-own-blueberries from early July through August.
She said blueberry season may begin a little early this year, possibly by the end of June.
``It was an absolutely wonderful winter for blueberries,'' she said. ``We had sustained cold weather through the winter, and that's ideal for blueberry growth. Looking at the color on the bushes, I think we'll have a great picking season.''
And after the berries have all been picked, it won't be long before fresh vegetables are ready at other Chesapeake farms.
\ \ [The following side bar appeared with this story.]\ \ WHERE TO FIND PICK-YOUR-OWN, ROADSIDE STANDS\ This list was compiled by the Chesapeake office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. It includes only producers who requested to be listed, so there may be other producers in the area offering similar services.
BERGEY'S DAIRY FARM, 2221 Mount Pleasant Road, 482-4711. Offers strawberries, pumpkins, ice cream and dairy products. Pick dates are May and October.
BRICKHOUSE FARMS, 1524 S. Centerville Turnpike, 421-3791. Hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-7 p.m. Sunday. Offers collards, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes and watermelons. Approximate pick dates are October-February for collards and sweet potatoes and late July-August for melons.
CLARKE FARM, 3833 Bruce Road, 484-3258. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Offers sweet corn, snap beans, butter beans, Crowder peas, cucumbers, pumpkins, tomatoes and others. Approximate pick dates are June-October. Vegetable stand open May-October.
CULPEPER FARMS, 2933 Buskey Road, 421-9232. Hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Offers strawberries, sweet corn, snap beans, butter beans and others. Call ahead for pick dates. Produce stand at Johnstown and Benefit Road.
DEER RUN FARM, vegetable stand at Back and Mount Pleasant Roads, 421-2680. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Offers sweet corn, tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupe and pumpkins.
GREAT BRIDGE PRODUCE, vegetable stand at 356 S. Battlefield Blvd., 421-4062. Hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Offers pick-your-own strawberries at the 2000 block of Cedar Road. Approximate pick dates in May. Stand offers watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet corn, butter beans, snap beans, tomatoes and others.
GUM TREE FARM, 1900 Pocaty Road, 421-9700. Offers pick-your-own pumpkins in season.
HALL FARMS, Kempsville Road in Great Bridge, 547-2318. Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Offers strawberries, sweet corn and greens. Approximate pick dates: strawberries, May; sweet corn, June 25-Aug. 5; and greens, mid-September-mid-January.
HICKORY BLUEBERRY FARM, 929 Head of River Road, 421-9398. Hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Offers pick-your-own blueberries. Approximate pick dates are late June/early July through late August.
HICKORY RIDGE FARM, South Battlefield Boulevard in Hickory, 421-4720. Hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. Offers pick-your-own strawberries and pumpkins. Pick dates are May-June for strawberries and October for pumpkins.
JIM'S PEACH ORCHARD, 925 Benefit Road, 421-2450. Hours are 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Offers pick-your-own peaches from July through beginning of August.
POWELL'S PICK-YOUR-OWN STRAWBERRIES AND PUMPKINS, South Battlefield Boulevard (next to Hickory Ruritan Club), 421-3607. Call ahead for hours. Offers strawberries and pumpkins. Pick dates are May for strawberries and October for pumpkins.
C.W. SHIRLEY FARMS, 2420 Carolina Road, 421-7492. Hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. Offers pick-your-own sweet corn from about July 10-25.
WARREN FARMS, 1448 South Battlefield Blvd., 482-7150. Call ahead for hours. Offers pick-your-own strawberries during May.
WELLS FARM, 4633 Peach Road (Bowers Hill), 488-1130. Hours are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Offers pick-your-own corn, butter beans, Crowder peas and lima beans from June through August.
WILLIAMS FARM, 4336 Sunray Ave. (Bowers Hill), 488-2250. Hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Pick-your-own strawberries available May-June. Cut-your-own flowers available June-September. Produce stand offers tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, squash, cucumbers, snap beans, broccoli, strawberries, cabbage and melons.
by CNB