Events and Movies for the Week Ending July 13, Featuring Garden Cuisine and Drive-ins
As the heat of summer envelopes the region, local farms are bursting with an abundance of fresh produce. The blueberry patch, in particular, is thriving, with ripe berries ready for picking and blueberry season in full swing.
Farms like Jones Family Farms and Pumpkinseed Hill are offering U-pick opportunities for those eager to enjoy the fruit of the land. The blueberries, described as nicely sized and slowly ripening since late June, are now fully in season by mid-July. However, the Sienna Lee organic blueberry farm's U-pick season has recently come to a close, but berries from there were available at local markets until then.
Meanwhile, the garden is teeming with life, yielding lots of delicious food. Sunflowers have grown taller than the growers themselves around mid-July, and peppers are doing particularly well. The current year has been the best so far for the garden, with the garden work being done for about an hour or two every morning, around 4-5 times a week.
Unfortunately, the garden has faced its fair share of challenges, with issues such as squash bugs, hornworms, and deer causing some trouble. Despite this, the garden continues to provide a bounty of squash, zucchini, and purple beans, which are used as an alternative to the invigorating strawberry salad during thunderstorms.
Regarding the pumpkin patch, while there are limited direct updates, Pumpkinseed Hill — likely a location associated with pumpkin picking or related farm activities — is open with posted hours in mid-July, suggesting ongoing activity related to pumpkin season or farm visits. However, specific details about the pumpkin fruit development or harvest status were not found, suggesting pumpkin updates may not be as current or prominent as blueberries and garden produce in the available information.
In all, the local farms are offering a veritable feast for those seeking a taste of the season. Whether it's the juicy blueberries from the patch or the fresh vegetables from the garden, there's no shortage of delicious options to enjoy this summer.
Homeschooling families are utilizing this season's abundance to teach their kids about food-and-drink and home-and-garden lifestyle. Frequent visits to the local farms not only allow children to learn about the farms but also offer an opportunity to pick and savor the ripe blueberries or fresh vegetables from the garden.
