You Pick Farms
 

We went to one for the first time yesterday. I forgot what naturally grown food actually tastes like. We picked Blackberries and Strawberries. They have a rich sweet taste to them that you just can't get with the big farm foods. The Zucchini we bought .... holy crap bat man. First off, I have never seen them that big in a store ... ever. We got some medium size ones that were about 8 inches long and the diameter of a base ball bat. They almost tasted sweet. Not even a hint of the bitter taste that a lot of the store bought ones have. They have all types of different vegies and fruit. I have no intention of going to a grocery store for that stuff ever again. OH yea, the prices are great. Blackberries were $4/lb, Strawberries $2/lb, Zucchini $2/lb, Tomatoes $2/lb and this is for all organic food.

For those of you in TX area, here is a link for local farms



http://www.pickyourown.org/TX.htm

And isn’t it great to know what you’re eating?

Or should I say: Know what you’re not eating.

Most of those places stay pretty (if not totally) organic.

glad to hear it! i love those u-picks, we have a ton of them around the ithaca area. peaches, apples, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. some more too.

now you should considering growing this stuff yourself in your own backyard. that's the ultimate cheap, tasty, low cost option!

Shameless self promotion....
 

We have a 'you pick it' farm....you can pick the steer; I have him processed and a little later on, you take him (or some part of him) home to your freezer in nice white packages.

So, what do you get? Authentic beef taste from animals that were all pasture-raised, grass-fed. Beef without growth hormones. Without feedlots or grain, The way the Maker intended cattle to eat and grow.

Anyone interested? I have six wonderful-looking steers that will be ready to harvest between late July and September.


PM for more info or details.

After the labor involved, I doubt it is that cheap. We have tried growing our own tomatoes before. When blindfolded, the wife couldn't consistantly pick out what she grew from the store bought ones when they were about the same ripeness.

As to the beef, not sure. Had New Zealand grass fed beef and it was tougher than the US corn fed stuff.

Edit: Got a great deal on some private farmed beef that brought the cost down to the good stuff at the supermarket. Not much real difference when grilled. Grilled a Steak and a patty. Tested it against the regular stuff but I doubt that if blindfolded, I could tell the difference. I suppose if the price were more than the store stuff, I'd go with the store. Less than store stuff, I'll buy it.

Tomatoes are probably a wash ROI-wise, except if you grow it yourself at least you know what has (or hasn't been) sprayed on it. Most of the flavor has been bred out of production tomatoes in favor of uniform growth, maturation time and ability to withstand the rigors of shipping. There is a drastic taste difference between heirloom tomatoes and store bought.

I've got a several EarthBoxes that I put my tomatoes, peppers & eggplants in and those require vitually no maintenance and you just fill the water reservoir and they essentially water themselves (fill them once a week). My brother successfully grew pumpkins and cucumbers in EarthBoxes with trellises for them to grow on in his driveway so I'm going to experiment with squashes this year. I've always just thrown wood chips or composted leaves between the rows which drastically cuts down on the weeding.

A lot of people make gardening a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

I have just a little fruit farm. It is on the south side of my garage and measures 30 x 8 feet. It is i/3 blueberries, (3 plants and I am going to put in three more), 2/3 raspberries. The raspberries are going on the third year and I plan to get a bumper crop from that patch and now I am going to have to dig some up early next spring because they want to take over the place. I also have two cherry trees, to small to produce yet and a grape vine that is four years old and I finally found out, (figured out) that you have to spend a little time with the grape and give it a good arbor. Have that done now, thanks to "You Tube" and it looks like we will get several baskets of grapes this fall. Love all that home ground fruit. Also have tomatoes in grow boxes and four types of peppers hanging upsidedown on the deck in those topsyturvy grow baskets. The peppers don't look real happy upsidedown, but they are putting on little peppers. I also plan to put in two peach trees next spring. We have some "you pick" in the area, but not very much, though it is not much of a drive to go the the fruit area of Michigan to get about anything you want.

Got it covered.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...n/P1010010.jpg

..and I've had plenty of high $$ corn fed out of US feedlots that was tough as a boot. It's not just about the grass, you have to know when to harvest, insist on proper handling on the way to the plant and before slaughter and getting enough hang time after the kill.

Oh, and there's that little thing about their low-stress treatment too.

man i love good garden pictures! very cool.

i guess initial start up cost is high if you're digging out a new garden, but once started, the labor really is nothing. we have a little farm stand nearby that sells started veggies as well as seed, super cheap. we get tons of veggies each year and freeze/can them so the money saving lasts well into the winter and next spring. just this past tuesday i planted 10 tomato plants (16 total), and 12 green & red peppers. we've got a 20 ft. row each of string beans, snap peas, and onions. pumpkins and squash go in next, watermelon too. cabbage, carrots, spinach, lettuce, beets, potatoes, that's not all of it, you name it chances are we put it in our garden. and if you keep up with weeding and use a stirrup hoe, there's barely any work after planting.

the blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and grapes we have are all taking care of themselves, with a little trimming back here and there. the apple trees, peach tree, pear trees, and cherry tree take care of themselves as well, with a little trim and prune here and there. anything we don't just walk out and eat off the tree gets frozen and eaten later or cooked/baking into something to freeze (home made apple sauce!).

it's easier and cheaper than you think.

R Leo, that's a great service to provide, and healthier and better for the environment.

When I was in Asia, beef was quite often air flown New Zealand beef and I mostly had tough meet. Here, I have had some meat where I swear they substituted with shoe leather. Not very often though. I would say that on the whole, the corn fed beef out of the feedlots have been good for the most part.

What would change in that case?

Supermarkets are pretty scary anymore. Just pick a box at random and read the ingredients. Sugar, salt, starch, artificial everything, additive, process, process, chemical..... It's weird stuff.

Valid question.

Yes, just because it is grassfed there's no guarantee of a quality eating experience. But remember, the same holds true for grain-fed; less than 5% of the commercially produced (grain-fed) beef in the US grades out at USDA Prime. Which means every night there is a lot of less than perfect beef placed on restaurant tables, eaten and paid for.

I don't know zip about New Zealand grassfed beef other than what I've had has been excellent. Same with Australian. Those were steaks in restaurants so you know there was additional quality control in place. And, I've eaten both good and bad grassfed here in the states. Granted, stateside I have more opportunity to sample beef from small producers and thus exposed to more variation in product with less controls.

And, because grassfed's now considered earth-friendly/animal-friendly/healthy/green/you-name-it, there are a growing number of US producers that keep their cattle on grass to maturity and and sell it to an end user as "grass-fed" rather than taking calves to the auction barn. Because of the decades-long evolution of the US feedlot-based beef industry, damned few of those animals have the genetics to properly finish on grass which means your grass-fed steak may be great and it may be something less than great.

There's a lot more to finishing beeves on grass than simply turning them out on a pasture; you must have the proper genetics and, you must have the proper annual and perennial grasses to provide the protein and carbohydrates in the timely manner needed for proper finishing. Right now, the Argentinians are probably the best at grassfed. Argentina is remarkably similar to the US in climate and so they have the most viable production model for grassfed here in the US. I'm still studying their methods.

Is BHF there yet? Not by long shot! We make up the difference with low-stress handling, proper processing techniques and aging. This year will be the first harvest of animals from BHF for retail sale; we'll see how we're doing. I know from my research and from actual taste testing (Beef 706 at TAMU July '08) that it is possible to produce grassfed beef that rivals USDA Prime in flavor and eating experience. So, for the moment, accept the fact that grass-fed isn't always boot leather.

Here are some additional reasons for grassfed. First, grassfed beef is significantly higher in Omega-3 than feedlot beef...some studies claim higher in Omega-3 than salmon but that's probably marketing BS. Second, cattle are grazers not grain-eaters. Corn and grains are not part of a steer's natural diet; to survive in a feedlot eating grain shoulder to shoulder with 400 of their closest friends, they are shot full of antibiotics which ultimately wind up on your plate in your steak. Third, take a look at a feed lot and tell me that you honestly believe those animals are being treated ethically. I happen to like cows; it bothers me to see them in a feedlot breathing dust and cow*****.

Oh, I agree. That is why I said that if the price is better, I take it, if it is more expensive, it will have to be worth my while from a taste standpoint. So far, from what I have seen, it is a push, tastewise. The best of the grass fed is comparable to the best of the grain fed if you want to compare apples to apples. At least it is, IMO since I can't tell the difference blindfolded.

Haven't tried that yet but will someday.

BHF???

Perhaps it is that I am used to the way it tastes with grain fed or like I said, I haven't been able to do a blind test and know the difference. I don't mind sampling all kinds and doing comparisons. Usually, I will have the steak grilled with butter on it along with another one and have the wife feed it to me blindfolded. If I cannot taste the difference, that beef gets ranked with the rest of the beef as similar.

While some are afraid of the antibiotics, I guess I am one that isn't too worried about where it ends up, or what form it ends up after being cooked. Not really sure if it will do much to me.

While my business doesn't revolve around cows since Nam doesn't have much in cows, more in poultry, I can't say for sure that I know much about them. HOWEVER, extrapolating from what I have seen, I would agree with you about their living conditions. I know how it is going to sound but while I don't care about cows, I have a soft spot for dogs and the puppy mills. I guess I am more bonded to dogs than other species of animal. Unfortunately, cows aren't on the same list as dogs with me.

If you were closer, I'd buy some meat from you just to play with it and see if I can tell the difference.

Note sure if this is true but since we have included Beef in this discussion I thought I would toss it out there.

I heard/read/saw somewhere that the growth hormones being used in livestock is affecting the growth of our youth. As an example they spoke about the breast size of young women. Not sure if this in anecdotal or not but I do not remember the girls in my school (25 years ago) looking like my nieces and other girls do now. Just saying.

If true, that is enough to cause me a bit of worry.