Pick your landscape.

How do you preserve a countryside of farms and forests and get a basket of berries at the same time? Go directly to your local U-pick farm and start picking! By supporting local U-pick farms, you are making a conscious choice to conserve and celebrate your scenic landscape. The benefits of experiencing a U-pick farm are numerous. Keeping strong the tradition of local community food systems, U-pick farms provide an opportunity for both connection and preference. At a U-pick farm, your relationship and commitment strengthens when you make the decision as to which apple goes into your basket or what berries reach your mouth. You establish an immediate link between the farmer who grows your apples, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries and the setting where your food was raised. One simple trip makes a conscious choice to sustain the importance of fresh, good tasting food. What an uncomplicated way to simultaneously contribute to your health, local growers, and the natural environment! There is no store that could ever offer the view of a multi-acre fruit orchard while shopping. So the next time you want to make a smoothie or berry cobbler, plan ahead for a visit to your local U-pick farm and commit that much more to the future of the land that provides your food.

Our region has many U-pick farms with fruit ripe for the picking! If you are in Madison County (or just want to take a ride out to some of the most beautiful country around) you owe it to yourself to visit Zimmerman Berry Farm. Pam Zimmerman runs the U-pick show with the help of her husband Billy and children Rachel and Will. Beginning in Mid-June, black raspberries ripen, followed by blackberries, wine berries, blueberries, and red raspberries by the first of August. They also have currents, yellow raspberries, and elderberries. Zimmerman Berry Farm has wide, well-maintained rows, making picking easy. They can be reached at 828-656-2056.

Next, we travel to Weaverville in Buncombe County. Dogwood Hills Farm has everything from strawberries to cut flowers with blueberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, and apples in between. Call them for availability at 828-6454286.

On the other end of Buncombe County, in the Fairview area, is Bel Aire Farm. Kitty and Bill Lynch have grapes for your selection. Call them at 828-628-1835. Also, in Fairview is Flying Cloud Farm. Annie and Isaiah Perkinson offer strawberries and blueberries for your picking pleasure. Contact them at 828-628-3348.

Moving into Henderson County, we find apple heaven. Many of the apple orchards offer U-pick apples, with dozens of varieties to choose from. It's just not autumn in the Appalachian Mountains without experiencing the excitement of finding and picking that perfectly ripe apple right off the tree. Apples start ripening in September and continue through the season until pumpkins appear on the vine. Where to find your jack-o-lantern? Look no farther than many of the orchards that also offer this Halloween specialty.

Henderson County also has Blueberry Hill Farm in Zirconia offering bio-dynamically and organically raised blueberries starting in mid-July. The Nelson family welcomes you to come out and enjoy their selection. They can be reached at 828-696-8357. Next spring make sure to visit Obermiller's Strawberry Farm in Hendersonville.

If you are still looking for more adventures, and find yourself in the Columbus area (in Polk County) blueberries and muscadine grapes are ready for harvesting at DeerHaven Hills Farm. Contact Michael and Gaff Blate at 828-863-4660. Also in Polk County is Green River Farm Millspring in Mill Spring. Dan and Jean Servideo are offering U-pick blueberries and are awaiting your call at 828-894-3431.

Continuing your travels into the southern mountains, there are numerous opportunities to prolong your enjoyment of fresh fruit and picturesque landscapes (landscapes you are helping to preserve by supporting local farms). While in Cullowhee, in Jackson County, stop by Thomas Berry Farm. Pelham Thomas always welcomes pickers to his patch of U-pick blueberries. Call the farm at 828-293-5132.

Now, if berries aren't quite what you are after, stop by Topton in Cherokee County for a twist on U-pick. Otter Creek Trout Farm offers "U-pick" trout! Nicole and Alex Denison have a haft-mile creek stocked for anglers. Schedule a visit by calling 828-321-9810. While you are in Cherokee County, Carringer Blueberries, in Murphy, has a great supply of fresh blueberries to accompany your trout. Call Lyle and Grace Carringer at 828-837-7805 for information.

You can wrap up your U-pick tour of the landscapes and farms of western North Carolina at Qualla Berry Farm in Haysville in Clay County. John Clarke grows delicious red raspberries, an old-time local variety. They are open on Saturdays from June until September and can be contacted at 828-389-3551.

Whether it is berries, apples, pumpkins, or fish, your needs can be met simply by visiting one of your local growers. Take shopping to the next level and allow yourself to fully enjoy where your food comes from. Become an active shopper. Don't settle for a grocery cart. Take your family to the fields and orchards where you can get the freshest food next to being right in your back yard.

There are other farms throughout the region that offer strawberries in the spring, cut flowers during the summer, and the many apple orchards that welcome pickers in the fall that can be found in the Local Food Guide-online at www.AppalachianGrown.org. The 2005 Guide is now out and available for free all over the region.

Kate Shelton, a native to this region, has enjoyed working with ASAP during the publication of the 2005 Local Food Guide. As a special education teacher, she appreciates ASAP's Growing Mind program as it brings gardens to schools.

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