Berry Patch Farms: Pick-Your-Own and Country Harvest Festival (Brighton, CO)

After living in northern California for a number of years I was spoiled, agriculturally-speaking.  I paid little mind to the source of my food at that point and it most likely WAS all local.  The temperate climate facilitated a laissez faire mood about food-hunting outings.  It seemed other than wild mushroom “season” (which always registered an annual noteworthy poisoning), every other ‘pick your own’ excursion seemed available on my schedule, not Mother Nature’s.

A quick 45 minute hop on the E470 from Boulder lays this little paradise of an all organic farm.  When you pull into the parking lot your musical accompaniment for the day begins with the sound of roosters crowing and the low moan of passing trains in the distance. Their visitor hub is in a weathered red barn (how perfect) lined on one side with a row of large white rocking chairs shaded by a large overhang.  No better place to watch the world go by.

From spring through fall there is always something you can pick yourself at the 40 acre farm.  In the very early summer I ventured out to pick sour cherries and red currants.  The staff at the farm is oh-so-friendly and helpful about picking tips, ripeness instructions and preparation ideas.  I always seem to meet people picking too with a plethora of suggestions.

This week I wanted to make another round of raspberry picking before winter.  They have black raspberries in the early summer which I missed but right now red and golden raspberries are still in their prime.  Pick up a cardboard flat at the picking station in the back of the farm store and the containers you’d like for what you are picking (different size for strawberries and raspberries) then head out into the field.  You can always return unused containers or pick up additional containers if you need more.  Your final cost is based on the weight of what you pick (they list the costs per pound on their website) and there is no charge for the containers.

I find the picking very meditative.  The warm sun beating down, the sounds of mothers and small children endeavoring to keep more in the box than in the tots’ mouths.  The search for the perfect berry taking you from one side of the row to the other.  The color of the ripe berries with the sun back lighting the ruby red color (or peachy yellow in the case of the golden raspberries) is enchanting.  And like all things homegrown, the taste is unbeatable.

The website always notes the status of what is available to pick.  There are several varieties of basil, carrots, the various berries and flowers too.  Picnic tables shaded by large old trees make it a comfortable outing for any length of time in any season spring through fall.

Though I have never attended their Country Harvest Fair I’m sure it will be a warm celebration of the season and the farm’s patrons as is felt every day there.