berry picking!

[ifotismeni]

hello friends and neighbors --

a friend and i would like to go berry picking saturday morning so we might make some fresh berry pies in the evening. does anyone have any recommendations for farms close by to somerville that offer pick-your-own berries?

the only places i know of that have this kind of thing are in the lowell/chelmsford/dracut area and i'm hoping we won't have to drive nearly that far.

any help would be lovely ♥

thanks (and see you at artbeat)!

Comments

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

there are even some mullberry trees around Davis, if you're feeling that adventurous.

[ifotismeni]

haha! an interesting idea...

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

wouldn't it be fun if there were more in parks and such? Apple trees, cherry trees, various sorts of fruit-bearing plants just growing on public land and accessible?

[nungnung.livejournal.com]

YES, YES, YES.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. I think I may just try and start a couple dozen seedlings and go guerrilla.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

That's why I'm planting raspberry bushes at Serindipity in the next month or so.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

But where? There's like, no yard to speak of, unless it's somewhere with which I'm unfamiliar from the street-facing side.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

In the cracks in the asphalt in back. There's actually a decent-sized dead zone back there, currently filled with weeds.

[ron_newman]

What or where is Serindipity?

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

A friend's house that I know srakkt is familiar with.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

(Serendipity.)

[nungnung.livejournal.com]

Johnny Appleseed, FTW!

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Well he *was* from Leominster MA...

[magid.livejournal.com]

Dang; I just read an article in the last week or so, and have no idea where. It was about a neighborhood staring an orchard: anyone in the neighborhood who wanted a fruit tree or two could have one, and the trees were to be available for picking to anyone in the neighborhood (if the owner didn't want people meandering onto the yard, they had to agree to pick the fruit and leave it available in containers). Obviously, it's going to be a couple of years until payoff, but yum!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Careful. People might not like it when they start dropping fruits and when birds start crapping in bright colors!

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes it would.

The West branch of the library (or "liberry" as I liked to call it) used to have tons of berry bushes on which I'd graze on my way home, but when they "cleaned up" (read: boring-a-fied) the landscaping, they got rid of all of them. Great sadness!

Also, there is a house on Holland and Cameron where they have a small basket attached to their fence that is sometimes filled with cherry tomatoes from their garden. I can only assume they were there for the eating.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Not just berries but gourds, IIRC!

[magid.livejournal.com]

urban orchards (http://www.earthworksboston.org/uoinformation)

[tolchocky.livejournal.com]

Also I know my roommate harvested apples off of some field at Tufts and made several pies, but I think that was in late August/early Sept.

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

Merino's Lookout Farm in Natick.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

For apple-picking, they charge an arm and a leg just to enter the orchard. Is that the case for berries, too?

[nungnung.livejournal.com]

My hubs grew up berry picking at Ward's Berry Farm in Sharon. Not much closer than Lowell, and possibly a little further if you're coming from Davis...but they have a petting zoo which is +1000000 pts.


Oh! Also! My friend recently started making "raw food" pies. She just made a blueberry that melted my face off with yumminess. I like them because they are OMGSODELICIOUS and they don't require turning on your oven and adding more heat to your kitchen! They do involve nuts, though, so not good if you have allergies...

Google search revealed several delish sounding recipes, all involving crusts made from almonds and dates, and fillings made with more dates, honey, etc. And berries, too. I'm usually a pie traditionalist, but her pies have totally won me over. :)

[ihavemeaning.livejournal.com]

OMG PETTING ZOO? This is where we should go.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Land Sake farm in Weston has berry picking.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I second this recommendation. I love that place. And they're all organic and donate a ton of food/proceeds to local soup kitchens.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I was gonna recommend them. I got their farm share last year and it was awesome! But, farm sharers often overharvested the raspberries and strawberries b/c they were so yummy. Call first and make sure they have some for PYO.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I went there years ago and got tons of raspberries and sungold cherry tomatoes. Heaven!

If I weren't so happy with my current farm, having a more local share would be a big draw... (mine's out in Granby).

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Check with Drumlin Farm in Lincoln to see if they have anything this weekend. Strawberry season is over, but they might have blueberries at this time of the summer.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

we always went to shartner farms but...that's in ri :p

but i just had some good memory flashbacks and now i want to go there stat. love that place, mostly for sentimental value probably. also because they take red potatoes and put them on an apple peeling thing and make curly fries right there.

/hungry

also i would help you eat those pies

did i mention i was hungry

:I

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

........aaaaaaaaand totally thought this was your journal, oops

[ifotismeni]

LOL XDD

[obie119.livejournal.com]

Verrill Farm in Concord - 978-369-4494. I know they did strawberries but they're over. Can't remember if they have other berries.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

There's a place in Winchester, just over the Arlington line, that has nothing but raspberries (and bees). It's been around forever, surrounded by homes now, but it's a holdout to the developers. Its berries are not ripe until August, but they are terrific-tasting, organic berries, and you can pick mountains of them.

The Farm - ORGANIC, Raspberries.
78 Ridge Street, Winchester, MA. Phone: (781) 729-8775. From Winchester Center take Church Street to Cambridge Street. At traffic lights go straight ahead until you come to Ridge Street. Open: daily from 9 am to noon. Our certified organic raspberries should be ready for picking by late August. Containers are provided. Please call for picking conditions.

[ifotismeni]

thank you -- that's handy for august, at least.

[ihavemeaning.livejournal.com]

I would love to go berry picking!