Growing up in a family which owned farms or made large gardens, I never considered the seasonal harvest as a source of amazement and fun. But as we’ve evolved into a more suburban, supply-chain dependent society, our family has rediscovered the simple joys of spending a few hours at a farm and learning more about how our food is produced.
Since moving to Georgia, we’ve loaded the family into the minivan for a few hours or a full day at some of Georgia’s agritourism destinations. We always enjoy great selections of fresh produce, but our favorite days are the various U-Pick options offered during seasonal harvests.
Before we get knee-deep in strawberries or over our heads in a peach orchard, let’s say that a farm visit might just be a pandemic-perfect outing. While COVID-19 has changed procedures at many farms, it’s still possible to enjoy the U-Pick days and farm visits while maintaining social distance. Many location have changed their procedures to accommodate social distancing, including limiting admittance. We’d recommend that you contact a farm before visiting to learn about specifics. (And our visit to Jaemor was in pre-COVID days, thus the closer quarters and unmasked participants.)
Heading South to Southern Belle
After months of sheltering in close quarters, we sought a safe family outing that would get us out of the house for a day. So while it’s not necessary for us to drive this far to enjoy a farm visit, the wide open spaces and social-distancing-friendly procedures at Southern Belle Farm provided a perfect solution. Plus, we were attracted to the wide variety of U-Pick options available in mid-June, including blackberries, blueberries, peaches and strawberries. We checked the website for information, then made an additional call to confirm details before deciding to visit.
Upon arrival, we headed to the check-in gates and faced our first decision: what would we pick and how much. We made the easy decision, and selected the option for a large basket of mixed berries plus a small quantity of peaches. Baskets in hands, we headed to the blueberry and blackberry patches first. We walked through several rows, then found a sweet spot where ripe berries were in easiest reach for our grandsons. With quick instruction and a little encouragement, the youngsters reached in without delay.
We repeated this process for the peaches, seeking an isolated spot in the center of a long row where few others ventured. We were fortunate that many peaches were within easy reach of the 5-and-7-year olds, though some lifting and shoulder time was enjoyed. We then ventured to the strawberry field, where the low-growing plants made it easiest to find an unoccupied area. Filling our remaining berry basket space quickly, we finished our field time and headed to the country market for some refreshing treats.
Family Days at Jaemor
In contrast to the mid-week, mid-day, early summer visit to Southern Belle, we headed to Jaemor Farms early on an August weekend (in 2019) to enjoy one of their U-Pick days for peaches. Our early arrival helped us avoid the longer lines and more crowded spaces that we saw as we left later in the day.
This was our first peach-picking experience, and the friendly Jaemor workers offered their tips on finding and picking the best fruit. On this visit, our plan was to stock-up on peaches for snacking, baking for the upcoming holidays and making refreshing daiquiris during the end of summer. With seven pickers using 14 hands, we snagged two large boxes in less than 40 minutes — even after trying to slow our little helpers in order to stretch out our visit time.
Finished with our fresh harvest, we boarded the wagon for the return trip, then stopped in at the farm market for more selections. We grabbed ripe tomatoes, a variety of peas and beans, plus some bright-green okra from the well-stocked shelves before returning to the minivan to stash the bounty.
But we weren’t done — of course there was still time for the other treats, but more on that later.
Falling for Burt’s
Near Dawsonville, GA, Burt’s Farm is one of our favorite fall stops. We’ve visited on the busy weekend to enjoy the full range of adventures including hayrides, petting zoo, country crafts, homemade treats and Halloween pumpkin selection, though we prefer the quiet weekdays when we often combine it with a hike at nearby Amicalola Falls.
While it’s not a U-Pick farm, you’ll enjoy Burt’s wide selection of virtually every size and type of pumpkin you can imagine during the fall season. Wheelbarrows are provided to help you move your large, heavy and multiple selections.
Since pumpkins are one of the main attractions, you’ll be 100% correct if you guessed that the most crowded times are the October weekends preceding Halloween. If you use pumpkins for cooking and not just decorations, the best time to visit Burt’s may be those weekdays following Oct. 31 when the crowds are gone and the selection remains plentiful. That’s when we return to grab those small, sweet pumpkins that are perfect for pie-making, and also make an authentic and healthy base for real pumpkin smoothies.
How Ya Like Them Apples?
Fall is apple picking time in North Georgia, and we’ve been up to Ellijay several times for both sweet and tart varieties. The Red Apple Barn has been among our favorite stops, where you can also enjoy wagon rides. And in October, they also offer pick-your-own-pumpkins.
For our first 2020 trip, we visited another favorite, BJ Reece Orchards, and snagged a peck of September Wonder and Golden Delicious varieties. Weekends are mad houses here, with large crowds and lots of family-friendly farm fun like the petting zoo. Rather than fight those crowds, we visited BJ Reece on one of our Wandering Wednesdays when things are quiet and distancing is easy.
We headed down to the far end of the rows, where only the most intrepid and adventurous pickers had picked before. Even after two weekends of big crowds, our kiddos were able to reach and pick the ripe fruits from ground level.
After the short one made short work of filling our bag, we dropped our fresh apples at the car and ventured into the farm store to be tempted by more apple varieties and the always-tempting array of farm-baked goodies.
We couldn’t decide among apple donuts, an apple stick, apple fritters, apple cider and a pumpkin cream-cheese roll, so we did what good grandparents do and purchased all of them!
While we’ve mentioned Red Apple Barn and BJ Reece here, you’ll find a plethora of other choices in the Apple Capital of North Georgia. One thing you won’t find in 2020 is the Apple Festival. It’s been cancelled due to Covid-19.
Fresh Farm Treats!
It’s not all about the vegetables on our farm visits! Virtually every agritourism farm offers a tempting array of fresh-made goodies to satisfy the sweet tooth. And since we’re 100% into the full-flavored farm fun, it would be down-right irresponsible to ignore these converted culinary creations.
In fact, if I was honest with myself and my family when they suggest such visits, I might just admit that the cakes, candies, cobblers, donuts, ice cream and pies are my primary reasons for these trips. But instead of incriminating myself when my doctor might also be reading, I’ll suffice it to say that we always allow our teenage son and grand kids to pick these treats as rewards for their patience and good behavior.
More on Georgia Agri-Tourism
Moving to Georgia more than five years ago, we knew nothing about the state’s commitment to promoting its farms and farmers. We discovered the Georgia Grown agri-tourism promotion program by accident, driving the backroads of rural Georgia on the way to Amicalola Falls when we saw a state-sponsored road sign for Gibbs Gardens. Without internet connection in the car, we looked it up back at home, and we were introduced to the rich offerings throughout the state. Since then, we’ve become regular users of the Georgia Grown website to locate fun and filling stops for our in-state adventures.
We also were delighted to learn about the Georgia Farm Bureau’s certified farm market program, including the farm passport program. Because of COVID-19, we haven’t been able to explore the farms necessary to collect prize-winning passport stamps, but we have used the online and printed resources as great planning tools for upcoming trips.
Also Mentioned Here
Here are a few of our other blogs about places and adventures we’ve mentioned in this post:
- Amicalola Falls. Near to Burt’s Farm in Dawsonville, it’s the tallest waterfall in the Southeast, cascading more than 600 feet.
- Gibbs Gardens. This 220-acre botanical wonderland is one of the nation’s largest residential estate gardens.
- Driving Georgia Back Roads. We’ve found some interesting and intriguing locations on our drives from here to there.
- Our Favorite Fall Spots. Yes, fall is our favorite Georgia season, and here are some of our favorite spots to visit for fall color.
