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No Vegetable Garden or Fruit Trees? When August rolls around, I'm suddenly anxious to plant the fall vegetable garden and even have a willingness to eat more squash, beans and tomatoes from the garden if I had them. Since there are none of those things in my garden in August it's time for a road trip to see what some of the farms in the Willcox area have to offer.
Places like Apple Annie's Orchard have freestone peaches you can pick right off the tree in the summer and by fall there are plenty of different kinds of apples for anyone who wants to grab a five gallon bucket and head off into the orchard. Apple Annie's has several different weekend events during the growing season and you can check the grower's website for the most current information on available fruit and up coming events. Apple Annie's Produce and Pumpkins which is located at another farm a few miles northwest of the peach and apple orchards offers an assortment of picked or pick your own produce throughout the growing season with an emphasis on the pumpkin patch in October as Halloween approaches. Produce is seasonal but you'll usually find peppers, squash, green beans, okra, and eggplant. In mid August they had a nice looking bi color corn that they harvested fresh daily and sold at the produce stand. They even had broccoli and cabbage available in mid August. I'm just beginning to plant broccoli seeds in flats to eventually transplant into my fall home vegetable garden.
You never really know what's going to be available at any of the roadside stands or pick your own operations each year so you may want to call ahead to see what's available or what will be reaching maturity in the coming month or two. If you can't make it to one of the Willcox area farms, or don't have the time or inclination to drive that far.
Some of the Willcox area growers are certified organic while others lean toward the organic method of growing by staying away from chemical pesticides. To help promote the area's farms the Willcox Chamber of Commerce produces an annual brochure with a harvest calendar, map of the area and list of local area farms that will offer fruit and/or produce for the current year. You can find much of the brochure's information on the chamber's website. Willcox area farms with websites include:
For a lot of people, fruits and vegetables come only from the local grocery store. Here's your chance to see the actual fruits and vegetables in a farm setting growing on a tree, vine or bush. If you're lucky you'll get a chance to talk to the grower to discover some of the trials and tribulations of farming whether it's drought, excessive heat, insects, bad soil, or disease. Or maybe you'll hear about the wonderful monsoon rains and the bumper crop of beans or chilies the regular rains helped produce. You never know what you'll discover on one of the farms from year to year. And what you might think of as a one time visit may turn into an annual family adventure to see and taste what's growing in southeast Arizona. The author of this story did see quite a bit of needless produce destruction which was left on the ground because the harvester didn't have hand held pruning shears or a sharp knife. It's much easier to cut off a pepper, squash, broccoli head or okra than it is to try and twist or break it from the stem. Take the proper tool if you plan on harvesting produce and treat the plants like they're growing in your back yard garden. Remember, you're a guest at each of the farms and consider yourself and/or your family very fortunate to have been invited. (2005) |
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