Let’s be real. Not all of us have the long-term planning ability/commitment to go get a community garden plot. Many of us can’t even keep the inhabitants of a planter box alive for long.
So what do you do when you want an authentic, sunburn-inducing (lotion up, folks!), outdoor gardening experience? Maybe you live in a one-bedroom condo, or maybe you’re a more effective herbicide than Agent Orange, but you still want to feel the edification that comes from picking your own produce. So what do you do?
Well, you can hit the road and plot a route to Summerset Farms and Dale’s Nursery in Santa Ynez. The unassuming yet rustic and picturesque plot of land is just off Highway 154, and its rows of raspberry and blackberry vines are currently brimming with the swollen, sweet little morsels of varying color.
The cute little farm and stand sells its seasonal produce boxed up and ready, but visitors can also grab a basket and get to work, picking their own fruits and veggies currently in season. The farm attracts traveling visitors as well as locals, explained manager Sally Maher, and for some, Summerset is their first experience in a real garden.
“We get lots of people from the city,” Maher said, “and these kids haven’t had the experience. They’ve never eaten an ear of corn off the stalk.”
Summerset Farms is a pesticide-free farm, Maher explained, so visitors enjoy walking through the vines, picking, and sometimes popping berries right into their mouths.
There really is something so satisfying about a raspberry picking session. The ruby ripe berries pop off the vine so easily, leaving a perfect little green plug behind. Some berries have obviously been picked at by other critters, but Summerset prepares for that eventuality by planting a lot, and using some old-school farming techniques, Maher explained.
Instead of trying to keep critters like birds out, it’s fine to welcome them in, but divert their attention, Maher said. Certain birds definitely help keep the snail population under control, she said.
“The birds do like them, so we plant sunflowers to keep them out of the berries,” she said. “As that sunflower reaches its peak and is going downhill, the seeds grow out, the heads flop over, and the birds pull every seed out of there, and that keeps them out of the berries a little bit.”
Working in harmony with potential pests is also just part of the full, natural experience of a farm like Summerset, she said, where the buzzing bees and the nesting birds are all part of the visit.
“People will go out and even see nests, especially in the blackberries because the branches are much thicker and stronger,” she said, “and they will come back with pictures of little eggs or baby birds that have hatched. I mean, this place is just magical.”
Summerset Farms is a perfect place to bring kids. There are train rides, and kids love picking and exploring. During the fall season the farm is filled with pumpkins and gourds, Maher said. It’s also a fun stop on a date or outing in-between wineries and other destinations in the Santa Ynez Valley. And you get to bring home some fresh fruit, with the added charm of having picked it yourself.
Arts Editor Joe Payne really wants to ride the train. He can be reached at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 21-28, 2016.