- 111P-

n excursion to a farmers' counties bring their products to mar-
market, roadside stand or ket. At the beginning of the season,
-pick farm to stock up on bedding plants are the main staple,
AUre sh fruits and vegetables followed by cold weather crops and
is a seasonal tradition many people strawberries in mid June, and blue-
enjoy. The parade of taste treats from berries and raspberries in July. ln'Au-
Michigan farms and orchards begins gust the market reaches its peak with
with luscious strawberries in June, corn, tomatoes, melons, beans,
followed by other berries and cher- peaches, apples and many other
ries, sweet corn, vine-ripe tomatoes, types of produce.
peaches, apples and other crops.
You can head out into the coun- Royal Oak Market
try in search of a roadside farm mar-
The cavernous market building
ket or actually venture into fields and on Eleven Mile, two blocks east of
orchards to participate in the harvest' Main Street, has been a downtown
Closer to home, try the specialty pro- Royal Oak landmark since 1928. Op-
duce markets when Michigan crops erated by Oakland County and the
are in season or Oakland County's City of Royal Oak, the farmers mar-
two farmers markets, where you can ket houses 127 stalls inside and out
deal directly with the grower.
During peak season the market is
open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tues-
Pontiac Farmers Markets
day, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
`The appeal of a true farmers mar-
For 30 years Isabelle King and
ket," says Pontiac's marketmaster her family have operated a stall at the
Joe Wheeler, "is that the farmer who Royal Oak market On market days,
grows the crop is the one selling it at they load up the pick-up truck with
the market and can attest to its fresh- fresh produce and head to market
ness. There's no wholesaler involved from their farm in Armada. Ellie
and no lost time transporting the pro- Mattson, of the Busy Bee Farm Or-
duce to market.
chards in Romeo, is another regular.
The Pontiac market, located on By August she has peaches and ear-
Pontiac Lake Road off Telegraph just ly cooking apples, but as the season
north of Summit Place Mall and west progresses she will have as many as
of the Oakland County Service Cen- 30 varieties of apples.
ter, opens at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday,
Homemade breads, coffee cakes
Thursday and Saturday mornings. and other baked goods also lure the
Marketmaster Wheeler advises corn- early morning crowd and add to the
ing early to get the best selection, par- selection at the market. Last Chance
ticularly when berries or other crops Bakery, owned by Dan and Pam
in short supply are in season. By 10 Phillips, attracts a year-round clien-
a.m. on a Saturday the place is tele, as does Kathy's Cheesecake
swarming and the overflow parking booth. Some customers make a spe-
lots are in use.
cial trip to the Royal Oak market just
Operated by Oakland County, the for the New York style cheese cake,
facility has 39 indoorbooths and 32 that comes in a half-dozen varieties.
drive-in stalls under a canopy. Addi-
tional open-air stalls surrounding the Roadside Country Markets
building and on the lawn bring the
As land development continues
total to over 100 during peak season. to encroach upon rural areas, more
Baked goods, bagels, eggs, honey, farms are disappearing and roadside
cheeses and jams are for sale as well stands are becoming harder to find.
as handicrafts and dried flowers. Even though many of the remaining
Growers also do a brisk business in farms near enough to the metropol-
cut flowers and potted plants.
itan area are off the beaten path, they
Over the course of the year, 130 still draw a crowd at harvest time. En-
farmers and handicrafters from 14 terprising farmers are attracting a

EWING GALLOWAY/SPECTRUM PHOTO

clientele from the suburbs by posi-
tioning the farm as a family enter-
tainment center. Many operate a
cider press, offer hayrides, maintain
a petting zoo and sell crafts at a gift
shop. Farm markets that don't have
all the hoopla must be on a high traf-
fic corner or near a recreation site.

Alexander's Farm Market
Ann Arbor-area farmer Robin
Alexander knows location is every-
thing. Rather than trying to operate
a produce market at the family's farm
on a back road, he set up rural mar-
kets a few miles away to be more ac-
cessible to customers. His Whitmore
Lake Road location is right off the ex-
pressway at the North Territorial
Road Exit of U.S. 23. Another farm
market run by his family is set up in
South Lyon at the high traffic corner
of Eight Mile and Silver Lake Road.
'e tried to bring as much of the
farm as possible to the market site
by building a greenhouse for the bed-
ding plants, planting a few acres of
tomatoes and pumpkins for U-Pick,
and moving some of the animals up
from the farm for a petting area," says
Alexander about the Whitmore Lake
location.
Most of the produce is grown at
the farm 3-1/2 miles away, which has
47 acres devoted to sweet corn, 30
acres of pumpkins, six acres of toma-
toes and other fields for summer
squash, winter squash, peppers and
cut flowers. In order to keep the mar-
ket fully stocked all season with a
wide selection, Alexander supple-
ments his homegrown produce with
fruits and vegetables from other sup-
pliers and also carries baked goods.

Wiard's Orchards
Wiard's Orchards in Ypsilanti is
best known for its country fair week-
ends during apple picking and pump-
kin season. But strawberry time also
calls for a celebration on the last
three weekends in June (11-12, 18-
19, 25-26). The festivities include
pony rides for the kids, live enter-
tainment and strawberry desserts
such as shortcake and mountain
high sundaes. Quarts of strawberries
are for sale, or you can drive back to
the 10 acres where they're grown
and pick your own.
Wiard's Country Store carries
whatever produce is in season and
the gift barn features country crafts.
The cider press operates year-round,
so cider and fresh baked donuts are
always available.

Cook's Farm Dairy
In northern Oakland County,
Cook's Farm Dairy in Ortonville on
Seymour Lake Road is a few miles

Let's Go Berry and Cherry Picking

Blueberries
Hazen's Bluebeny Farm in C,ommerte Township is located on the
north side of Wise Road between Carrol Lake and Bogie lake Roads.
Fields open to public around July 4. Call (810) 363-4072.
,
- -
Strawberries
Meyer Berry Farm in Northville at 48080 W. Eight Mile at Beck -
Road near Maybury State Park, 2 utiles west of Sheldon Road. Gen-
erally opens between June 10 and 15th and runs through the fourth of
July. Call (810) 349-0289.
Middleton Berry Farm at 2120 Stoney Creek Road, 6 miles north
of Rochester and 2-1/2 miles east of Lake Orion. Take Adams or .
Rochester Road north. Call (810) 693-6018 or 693-6124.
Long Family Orchard and Farm'in Commerce Township (4 miles
east of Milford) on Commerce Road, 1/3 mile west of I3ogie Lake Road,
north of Huron Valley Hospital. Call (810) 360-3774.
Wiard's Orchards off 1-94 near Ypsilanti. Take Huron St (Exit 183),
go south and follow signs 4 miles. Call (313) 482-7744.

Raspberries
Driver's Berry Farm, west of South Lyon on Doane Road. Acces-
sible from Milford exit ofI-96 (take 10 Mile) or. Silver Lake Road exit
of US-23. Easy raspberry picking on thornless bushes usually runs full
month of July. Early blueberries available about the same time. Fall
raspberries coincide with U-pick pumpkins. Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
daily during season. Ta.kes pre-orders for ready-picked. Call (810) 437-
1606 or 437-8461.
Erwin's Orchards in South Lyon near Kensington Park at 61019 Sil-
ver Lake Road. Fall raspberries during apple picking season. Call for
pre-order picked benies. Country store open July to January. Call (810)
363-4701.
Middleton Berry. Farm, Lake Orion. Summer rasOenies (red an
black) in July, fall raspberries in September. Call (810)1693-6018.---

Cherries
Spicer Otchatd$, Farm Market & Cider Mill in the Hartland/Fen-
ton area, off US 23, 3 miles north of M-59 at Clyde Road. Call (810) 632-
7692.
Long Family Orchard and Farm in Commerce Township. Taft
ries in July. Call (810) 360-3774.
Wiard's Orchards in Ypsilanti. Short season. Call (313) 4828 :

Cantaloupe - Vme-ripened melons have a stronger and swOter
aroma than those picked early. They are identified by a clean, sunlen
stem-end which gives slightlywhen pressed.
Peaches - Ripe Michigan peaches will be found from late July
through mid-September. Don't rely on the "blush" complexion of cer-
tain varieties. Peaches should be firm, aromatic and tender along the
line running the length of the fruit
Pears- Unhice most other fruits, pears should be picked immature
and allowed to ripen for a few. days. Pears left on the tree mature from
the inside out and are usually soft and have a gritty, coarse taste. Store
pears where there is airflow, not in plastic bags.
Plums - Select plump, clean, fresh-appearing, fully colored, aro-
matic fruit. Plums should be soft enough to yield to slight pressure in
the hand without pinching or poking. Avoid immature plums with poor
color and flavor and overly mature plums that are soft and leaky.
Strawberries - Look for strawberries that are dry, firm and have a
uniform red color and a bright, clean and fresh appearance. Don't pull
the tops off or slice them until you are ready to eat them. Removing
the cap releases ascorbic acid wddase — an enzyme that will break
down vitamin C.
Store berries uncovered in a shallow container. When ready to use,
wash them quickly in cold water. Do not let them soak. Lift them gen-
fly from the wash water and drain well before hulling them.

From 1994 Michigan Food and Fiber Facts
Michigan Department of Agriculture

continued on page 14

STYLE • SUMMER 1994

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