OK, FOLKS.  Time to let your inner children run free in the toy store of crop country.  Farmer Allie has opened the VEGGIE FIELDS for picking, so you can pick all the specimens you need to create edible fantasy worlds and wee funny dioramas.  You, too, can play with your food.

The eggplant rows are ready for you!  Host your own aubergine arts festival like Eggplantapalooza—4 years ago today!

Peppers, too!  Launch your Pepperoo!  Plenty of green bells, jalapeños, and cayennes; others will ripen in the weeks ahead.

Then find your first few red tomatoes of the season…  throw in peaches and apples… grab goodies at the stand… and you can rock the world with your own private Veggiestock.

When will tomatoes really kick in?  They are holding their annual meeting to make final arrangements for a grander opening.

We’ll send more tomato news next week.  We have our best reporters on the scene.  Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, back in the “real world” of summer internships, Helena and Cam are tying tomatoes, as the activity is called by professionals.  Farmer Allie is instilling in these youngsters a work ethic that will guarantee them a 4th-place finish in the game of life.

On the customer side, you all are performing well.  These photos come from farm fan Katina, who created a lovely bouquet using stems she cut on her most recent picking trip.  Thanks for connecting with us on Facebook.

When you come to pick PEACHES, ask at the stand which rows are hot.  Of course, everybody loves peaches so the orchard will get bumrushed.  If you get beat to the best picking, remember you can buy a peck of juicy peaches (about 12 pounds) down at the stand for only $18, which works out to about $1.50/lb… same as the u-pick price!

When you come to pick APPLES, ask where to find the ripe varieties.  This week, we will send you to Williams’ Pride, the first red apple of the year.  Apple tip:  To get a supermarket sheen while retaining the farm-fresh taste, simply shine with your shirt!

When you come to pick PEACHES AND APPLES, please take our tutorial cards.  Don’t just rip fruit off the trees.  Easy, Tiger, we hear you roar (SOUNDS VERY IMPRESSIVE!), but it’s wasteful to claw at fruit like a caveperson.  Take a moment to learn these simple country living skills, then you can lord that vintage knowledge over your friends.

Finally, a few words of inspiration from farm fan Martha:

“Just froze 12 quart bags of your delicious peaches with lemon juice.  I am happy and content.  They will lift my spirits and give me a taste of summer when I zap them and put them in my oatmeal on a cold winter morning.  Thank you for the blessing of beautiful and abundant fruit you share with us!” 

Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.