THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407020171
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 199 lines
LOCAL FARMERS wouldn't mind a bit if it rained on their Fourth of July parade this year, but even without rain you can celebrate the holiday with a groaning board of the finest.
The corn's coming in; tomatoes are ripening and blueberries are filling out. There's no better way to salute Old Glory here in the Land of Plenty than to spread a patriotic feast of red tomatoes, white corn and blue blueberries.
The celebrating doesn't end tomorrow, either. When it comes to eating here in old Princess Anne, the next month or more is all a holiday.
It's a season that can make a vegetarian out of a steak lover and turn a fruit-hating youngster into a blueberry sneaking rascal.
If you want to celebrate the Fourth and be as American as apple pie, set out for the fruited plain in old Princess Anne with your picking guide and map in hand.
Call ahead to check on picking conditions and availability. Although the Fourth ushers in the high season for eating in Virginia Beach, some produce might be late or sparse because of the lack of rain this spring and summer.
Load up the kids, a few baskets or pails for picking and pack a cooler with some drinks. Later the cooler will help keep perishables, such as berries or fresh flowers and herbs, from wilting.
Drive down into the county where Queen Anne's lace and orange day lilies are roadside sentinels in the shimmering summer sun and water lilies and water hyacinths bloom in the roadside ditches.
Stop at the roadside stands and shop or go straight to the fields and pick your own. The sun warms your back; the katydids sing and a dragonfly pops up against your arm and wheels off into the air again.
Roll the blueberries off the bush with your fingers; hear them drop, one by one, into the pail; toss a sun-warmed berry in your mouth and think about the cobbler you'll bake when you get home.
Pick your own corn and hear the crunch of the ears breaking free from the stalk. To get the full taste of sweetness, some say you should stop right there, bring a pail of boiling water to the field and cook the corn on the spot. Others say that's not necessary. The corn's so sweet, you can simply eat it raw, standing there in the field.
But take some home, too, along with a few big plump vine ripened tomatoes and a bunch of fresh cut basil. Slice the tomatoes on a platter and drizzle them with a little olive oil and strips of basil. Or, pick up a hot pepper or two and some elephant garlic and add them to some of the fresh tomatoes, chopped for a salsa that vies for honors with anything from below the border.
If you want freshness for the Fourth and beyond, but you don't want to pick-your-own or take a long drive, you can get the same good things to eat up in the city. Several farmers are country-come-to-towners and have set up produce stands to serve the city slickers.
At Stoney's Produce on First Colonial Road, you can get not only a taste but a feel of country, too. Bill Hudgins is raising a bumper crop of corn, tomatoes and other goodies right in sight of Hilltop and Virginia Beach General Hospital.
Stoney's Produce sells pick-your-own zinnias and giant sunflowers. Some of the other stands will have flowers, too, so don't go home without them. Let a bowl of fresh zinnias crown the glory of your holiday table.
Nowhere - from sea to shining sea - does it taste any better than it does in Virginia Beach on the Fourth of July. MEMO: A GUIDE TO FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES IN VIRGINIA BEACH
1. Allen's Produce - 2016 Virginia Beach Blvd., 491-4159. 8 a.m. to 8
p.m., daily. Roadside stand - a variety of local produce. Pick your own
- a variety of vegetables.
2. Apple Berry Manor - 2601 West Landing Road, 426-7390. 7 a.m. to 7
p.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Pick your own - blueberries,
apples.
3. Back Bay Blueberry Farm - 1521 Gum Bridge Road, 721-BLUE. 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 1 to 6 p.m., Sunday. Pick your own -
blueberries.
4. Baybreeze Farms - corner of Sandbridge and New Bridge roads,
721-3288. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Roadside stand -
strawberries, May peas, sugar snaps, sweet corn, tomatoes and more.
5. Blackwater Plantation - 4280 Blackwater Road, 421-9161. Call for
availability. Pick your own - scuppernong grapes, blueberries.
6. Davis Farm Produce - 615 Sandbridge Road, 426-7553. 8 a.m. to 6
p.m., daily. Roadside stand - all fruits and vegetables in season and
Christmas trees.
7. Davis Farm Produce - corner of Indian River and New Bridge roads,
426-6478. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Roadside stand - all fruits and vegetables in
season.
8. Davis Farm Produce - 1813 Gum Bridge Road, 721-2165. 7 a.m. to 7
p.m. Pick your own - strawberries, pumpkins.
9. Flanagan Farm - 1707 Princess Anne Road, 426-7322. 8 a.m. to 7
p.m., Monday through Saturday. Roadside stand - sweet and red Irish
potatoes, sweet corn, snaps (late), turkeys, wheat straw.
10. Griffin's Blueberry Farm - 2872 Holland Road, 481-2911. 8:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday starting July 12. Pick
your own - blueberries.
11. Henley Farm - 3513 Charity Neck Road, 426-7501. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Pick your own - strawberries, May peas, broccoli, cabbage, blackberries,
green beans, potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, butter beans,
pumpkins, Christmas trees.
12. Holly Road Produce - 2900 Baltic Ave., 491-1358. 9 a.m. to 6
p.m.; 3513 Charity Neck Road, 491-1358. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., daily.
Roadside stand - strawberries, May peas, sugar snaps, snap beans, sweet
corn, melons, blueberries, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peaches, butter
beans.
13. Martin's Orchard and Vineyard - Knotts Island - Princess Anne
Road and follow signs, 429-3564, 429-3542. 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily.
Roadside stand and pick your own - peaches, scuppernong grapes, apples.
14. Martin's Orchard and Vineyard - Hilltop East Shopping Center
(next to Morrison's). Roadside stand - variety of local produce in
season.
15. Munden Farm - 1377 Princess Anne Road, 426-2747. 7 a.m. to dark,
Monday through Saturday. Pick your own and roadside stand -
strawberries, May peas, sweet corn, asparagus, butter beans and more.
16. North Landing Produce - 3320 North Landing Road, 427-2266. 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m. Roadside stand and pick your own - strawberries, butter beans,
snap beans, sweet corn, May peas, tomatoes, squash, cantaloupes,
cucumbers, pumpkins.
17. Princess Anne Produce & Petting Farm - 2400 London Bridge Road,
427-9520. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily. Pick your own - strawberries and
pumpkins. Roadside stand - sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and
more, including Christmas trees in December.
18. Pungo Blueberries Etc. - 3477 Muddy Creek Road, 468-5204 or
721-7434. Call for schedule. Pick your own - raspberries, blackberries,
blueberries. Roadside stand - elephant garlic, home made jams and
elephant garlic vinegars, local honey, cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes
and more.
19. Pungo Produce - corner of Indian River and Princess Anne roads,
721-2766. Roadside stand - variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Pick
your own - strawberries.
20. Stoney's Produce - 997 First Colonial Road, 496-8795. 9 a.m. to 7
p.m., daily. Roadside stand and pick your own - flowers, sweet corn,
cucumbers, cantaloupes, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, butter beans, snap
beans, peppers, okra, pumpkins, Christmas trees.
21. Williams Farm - 1000 N. Newtown Road, across from Bayside Junior
High, 497-5649. Call for hours. Pick your own - strawberries, May peas,
snow peas, sugar snap peas, butter beans, snap beans, broccoli, beets,
tomatoes, pumpkins, hayrides and field trips. Roadside stand -
cantaloupes, western melons, Crenshaws and other melons, shelled butter
beans, super sweet corn (yellow, white and bicolor), tomatoes, snaps,
squash, cucumbers, bell peppers (green, red yellow, blue), beets,
eggplant, peaches, butter beans by-the-bushel (shelled or unshelled),
Christmas trees.
22. Virginia Beach Farmers Market - 1989 Landstown Road, 427-4395. 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. Roadside stand - a large variety of fruits and vegetables
including organics.
FRESH FACTS ABOUT PRODUCE IN VIRGINIA BEACH
North Landing Produce has a catch-your-own striped-bass pond along
with a variety of vegetables.
You can pick your own sunflowers for $1 apiece at Stoney's Produce.
Striped eggplant, Turkish orange eggplant, yellow zucchini and white
Egyptian squash are new varieties at Baybreeze Farms.
Davis Farm Produce has a pick-your-own peach orchard on Shipps Corner
Road. Call its Sandbridge Road location for information, 426-7553.
Crystal Powers is the new owner of Back Bay Blueberry Farm (and
vineyard some day) and there's a new number, 721-BLUE.
Although the season is over, Munden Farm has asparagus for sale this
spring for the first time and fresh cut asparagus will be available next
year, too.
Apple Berry Manor is an old farm with a new name. Bob Danner is still
selling his pick-your-own blueberries and non-chemically treated apples
by appointment.
Pungo Blueberries, ETC, has several rows of blackberries on slanted
trellises this year which makes them easier to reach and pick. He is
raising four varieties of hot peppers this summer and has added Roma
tomatoes to go along with the cherry tomatoes.
The Virginia Country Music Museum is new at the Farmers Market this
year. So is Skipper's with a selection of fresh seafood and fresh
produce and Wooden Creations and Home Decor with handmade furniture and
decorative items.
Yellow is in at Pungo Produce where the owners will have yellow-meat
watermelons, yellow pear tomatoes and yellow Hungarian wax peppers.
Williams Farm will have a new super sweet melon from China called
fragrance and also a seedless watermelon. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover
Photos by PETER D. SUNDBERG
At Stoney's Produce on First Colonial Road, you can have your pick
of fresh fruits (above) and vegetables (below) without heading out
to the country.
Myra Brown shops at Stoney's Produce where you get a taste and a
feel of the country in the busy 'burbs.
Amanda Fordyce stocks a bumper crop of plump, vine-ripened tomatoes
at Stoney's Produce.
Photos by PETER D. SUNDBERG
Bill Hudgins is raising corn, tomatoes and other goodies right in
sight of Hilltop and Virginia Beach General Hospital on busy First
Colonial Road.
You can pick your own sunflowers for $1 apiece at Stoney's Produce.
Map
by CNB