JAMES CITY — Bill and Mary Apperson love to see families among the rows of blueberries and blackberries at MillFarm Christmas Trees and Berry Farm.
“They bring the kids, and they bring the stroller, and they bring grandma,” said Mary Apperson, who runs the farm with her husband, as they have for years.
“It’s not just about the berries,” she said, “it’s about a family outing.”
Of course, the berries are no small matter. The Appersons make sure of that.
“It’s got to taste good and be good,” Bill Apperson said.
Although the season was pushed back slightly by spring’s rain and unpredictable temperatures, local growers and farmers markets agree: now is the time to shop fresh produce.
And to do so locally.
Though the main MillFarm product is Christmas trees, Bill Apperson said he used to grow fruit on the farm. About five years ago, the Appersons decided MillFarm needed fruit again.
“Now, the demand is back for fresh, local fruit,” Bill Apperson said. “The fruit certainly adds a lot to the farm.”
As the only pick-your-own farm in the local area, MillFarm welcomes visitors four days a week to roam the rows of blackberry and blueberry bushes, all sprayed organically. MillFarm also grows strawberries, but that season is past, and the farm hopes to offer peaches in a few years.
Mary Apperson said the farm lost some early blueberry varieties due to frost, but with nine different varieties of Rabbiteye blueberries and five of the Southern Highbush, there’s still plenty at MillFarm. The eight blackberry varieties all were bred at University of Arkansas, Bill Apperson said.
The Appersons offered tips for locating ripe fruit.
For blueberries, the darker the blue, the better, Mary Apperson said, while blackberries should be a dull, flat black. Fruit should detach easily from the branch; if you have to pluck it, it’s not ripe, she said.
Visitors can pay with cash or check, with fruit priced at $4 per quart and $15 per gallon. The Appersons estimated the season will continue through mid to late August.
*Hours: 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday-Sunday.
*Location: 4900 Fenton Mill Road.
*For more information, call 566-2035.
KelRae Farm
The produce room at KelRae Farm is just that: a room piled high with buckets of colorful vegetables. And vegetables, at that, hand-picked just the day before.
For owners Michelle and Randy Gulden, that’s the definition of locally grown.
“Fresh-picked, right off the field,” Michelle Gulden said.
Though KelRae is not a pick-your-own farm, the produce room is open to the community three days a week.
Open since 2001, KelRae Farm is a local, family-run operation with Michelle and Randy at the helm. The farm has run a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program for 12 years, offering paying members a weekly “share” of produce throughout the farming season.
KelRae Farm opened the produce room up to the local community last year.
Michelle Gulden explained the farm grows such a variety and volume for the CSA, the farmers market and other ventures, that there’s often overflow.
Plus, it’s good “to just be able to allow people to see that we are farming. We are growing. We’re not third-party,” Michelle Gulden said.
She said much of the produce was about four weeks behind schedule, due to a cold and often rainy spring. Still, KelRae has entered peak season.
“July is typically a peak-season month,” she said.
A quick lap around the produce room reveals varieties of tomatoes, corn, red and white potatoes, sweet and hot peppers, green beans, kale, cabbage, lettuce, squash, zucchini, cucumber, onions, radishes, beets and eggplant. There are melons, as well as Drumheller’s Orchard peaches and berries from the Gulden’s friends at MillFarm.
Peak season should continue through mid-August, Gulden said, although weather usually determines the exact length.
*Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
*Location: 126 Camp Road, Lanexa, VA
*For more information, call 757-566-4803 or visit kelraefarms.com.
Williamsburg Farmers Market
You’ll find both KelRae Farm and MillFarm at the Williamsburg Farmers Market, among more than 40 other Virginia-based vendors, each Saturday morning. Market manager Tracy Herner said about 65 percent of market vendors are farmers.
“Right now in July is when tomatoes, corn, melons and all of the other things you would consider farmers market produce is really in season,” Herner said. “It’s definitely a great time to visit.”
There’s fruit, too, and lots of it. Herner mentioned blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, plums, peaches, apples.
A three-year research project by the Farmer’s Market Coalition and University of Wisconsin-Madison found that Williamsburg Farmers Market sold more than 80 varieties of produce last year, Herner said.
That’s the thing about farmers markets.
“There are going to be things at the farmers market you won’t see at the grocery store, like a lemon cucumber,” Herner said. “At the farmers market, they’re really looking to create a market for the more interesting products.”
And if you’re wondering how to prepare that lemon cucumber, don’t worry.
“Because you’re purchasing directly from the person who grew it, you’re actually able to ask questions,” Herner said.
Williamsburg’s Farmers Market is one of few in Eastern Virginia to match SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) dollars, up to $30, Herner said.
*Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m., every Saturday
*Location: Merchants Square, 402 W. Duke of Gloucester St.
*For more information, call 757-259-3768 or visit williamsburgfarmersmarket.com.
Yorktown Market Days
In its 10th annual season, Yorktown Market Days hosts more than 35 local farmers, watermen and vendors. The weekly market occurs between Buckner and Ballard streets, along the Yorktown waterfront.
Offerings include fresh produce from Allen’s Farm, in Barhamsville, Penn Farm, in Colonial Beach, Wilson’s Farms Produce, of Saluda, and more.
And there’s more to the market than fresh produce, from handcrafted soap and homemade dog treats to live music, chef demonstrations and local artists.
*Hours: 9 a.m.-1 p.m., every Saturday
*Location: Riverwalk Landing, 425 Water St., Yorktown
*For more information, call 890-3500 or visit yorktownmarketdays.com.
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-345-2342.
