Tag Archive for: farm

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Jacquemin Farms

Take children to pick their own strawberries

A hankering for fresh strawberries recently led our family of four to Jacquemin Farms, 20 minutes from Columbus in Plain City, Ohio.

My husband, Mike, wanted some sun-ripened berries to flavor a batch of homemade ice cream. We also thought collecting the strawberries together would make a fun family outing.

A quick search on the Internet revealed a number of pick-your-own strawberry farms in central Ohio. We selected Jacquemin Farms, 7437 Hyland Croy Rd., which has a three-acre, pick-your-own strawberry patch that includes five varieties of the juicy red berries.

Unseasonably warm weather has caused the strawberries to ripen ahead of schedule. Strawberry picking times at Jacquemin Farms are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through the end of June.

Founded in 1987, Jacquemin Farms offers fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as a small retail shop with home-style jams and jellies, and freshly fried doughnuts with strawberry glaze.

Almost all the crops sold in the shop are grown on the farm including strawberries, peas, red raspberries and pumpkins, all of which can be freshly picked by customers. Other crops, such as apples, peaches, cherries and blackberries, come from nearby farmers.

We arrived on a sunny Saturday morning ready to pick just enough berries for our ice cream. At a cost of $2 per pound, we grabbed two, one-quart containers to fill ourselves. The total cost, with a couple of strawberry slushies for the kids, was five bucks.

We were directed to a row of strawberries and asked to stay in our row. We were encouraged to eat and enjoy fresh-picked berries as we filled our containers.

A sign says that children must stay within 10 feet of their berry-picking elders. It also says not to step on the plants, words that I had to repeat several times to my children.

You can take as long as you’d like picking your berries, kneeling on the straw-covered mud walkways. Our chore was completed in about 30 minutes.

I enjoyed being out in the sunshine pinching berries fresh from the vine and seeing so many others doing the same.

Mike thought the berries were kind of small, but I liked them because they tasted much better than the giant, unnatural-looking ones you see nowadays in the supermarket. The bite-size gems produce 10 times the flavor as their counterparts and are perfect for homemade strawberry ice cream.

For more information, visit www.jacqueminfarms.com. For current information on what’s ready to pick and when, follow Jacquemin Farms on Facebook or call 614-873-5725.

The farm is open through October.

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Stratford Ecological Center

Learn about farm life at nature preserve

It was a warm spring day, and I wanted to spend it outdoors exploring a new place with my 2-year-old son, Max.

I discovered the Stratford Ecological Center in Delaware, Ohio, while flipping through a county visitor’s guide.

I had never before heard of this educational farm and nature preserve, located a half hour’s drive north or Columbus. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to educating children and adults about the relationships between living things and their environment.

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Situated on 236 acres, the center includes a 95-acre state nature preserve, 3 miles of hiking trails and a small organic farm with cows, sheep, chickens and pigs. The farm is open to the public for exploration, and also contains gardens, greenhouses, an orchard and a maple-sugaring operation.

Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday. So Max and I were in luck for our impromptu adventure.

I eagerly drove out to country with my car windows down. But when we arrived, if felt as though we were the only ones around at what appeared to be a private, family farm.

I stepped inside the information center and met volunteer coordinator Jane Walsh, who encouraged us to explore the property on our own. She also invited us to tag along with a group of 60 home-schooled children, who’d be arriving soon.

“You’ll want to see our crop of new lambs,” Walsh said.

I couldn’t refuse.

When the children arrived, the place lit up with laughter and excitement. Other volunteers began to appear out of barns and greenhouses. The children and their parents were divided into groups for a tour. Max and I fit right in, joining one of the groups.

Volunteer Bethanie Bidinger led our group, beginning with a tour of one of the greenhouses. It smelled of fresh rosemary, lettuce and spinach.

Bidinger, a graduate of Ohio State’s natural resources program, plucked a beet from the dirt. She then cut open the red, edible root and dabbed a bit of its juicy flesh on her cheeks and lips.

“Beets make a wonderful, natural makeup,” Bidinger said.

The children laughed and then clamored to have their own faces and hands painted red, too.

Bidinger then led us to a fenced-in area full of colorful, roaming chickens. She opened the gate and we headed inside, along with the strutting roosters and hens.

“Does anyone eat chicken nuggets?” Bidinger asked, to my surprise.

Many of the children raised their hands.

“Well, this is where they come from.”

Bidinger also taught the children where eggs, beef, ham and milk come from. Upon leaving the chicken coop, she instructed everyone to thank the chickens for all they give us.

“Thank you, chickens,” the children said.

Max and I ended our adventure in the farm’s big red barn, where we met 18 lambs, dairy goats and a llama with a serious under-bite.

It was the perfect ending to an impromptu adventure.

The Stratford Ecological Center is located at 3083 Liberty Rd., Delaware. It offers children’s farm and field trips, adult tours, family programs and farm camps that teach youngsters, ages 3 to 17, how to care for animals and raise a garden.

There is no cost to visit, but a donation is suggested.

For more information, including upcoming activities and costs of specific programs, call 740-363-2548 or visit www.stratfordecologicalcenter.org.

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Lynd Fruit Farm

Pick your own apples among 500 acres of orchards

You forget just how good an apple is supposed to taste until you take a bite out of one picked fresh off the tree.

I recently sank my teeth into a crisp Gala apple while picking a bag for my family at Lynd Fruit Farm in Pataskala, east of Columbus. The apple was crisp and sweet and reminded me why everyone is so gung-ho about pick-your-own farms.

My daughter, Rosie, and I pulled into the crowded parking lot at Lynd’s, 9090 Morse Rd., one recent Sunday afternoon. The market offers a variety of fruits, vegetables and fresh-baked goods. They had lots of pumpkins and Halloween crafts, too.

I asked for crisp apples to munch on, and one of Lynd’s employees told me to drive a quarter mile down the street and turn in a driveway. We came to a brown barn, then followed the arrows into the orchard. Our available bounty was Gala and Golden Supreme apples, both sweet, firm and juicy.

Lynd’s goes back seven generations, offering 500 acres of orchards with a dozen varieties of apples for the public to pick from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Lynd’s also sells apples to Kroger and Wal-Mart. The public picking runs from early September to early November and typically includes a dozen varieties.

We paid $16 for a 20 lb. bag. Lynd’s takes credit cards as well as cash. We took our time, filled the bag and paid as we left. An employee said you can sample apples as you pick them.

We drove down a dirt road past rows and rows of apple trees. Ones available for picking were designated by colored tape strung from tree limbs at each row’s entry. We chose a row where the trees were plump with apples. The trees were a little taller than me, so I could reach the apples at the top, while Rosie picked apples toward the bottom. We both selected the prettiest apple we could find, and took a bite. They were warm, crisp and delicious.

We filled our bag in no time, then took some extra time wandering through the orchard. Rosie relished in running down the long paths between rows of trees. It was less worrisome than her taking off in a department store.

I enjoyed the freedom of being in the open air amid nature’s bounty.

Lynd Fruit Farm is located at 9090 Morse Rd., Pataskala. For more information, visit www.lyndfruitfarm.com.

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