Lay in produce for winter

Produce Eat local year round. Now that the high season of summer is upon us, it's time to think about saving some of summer's bounty. What better way to eat well next winter than to dine on local veggies and fruits from your freezer? This week you can pick corn, blackberries, green beans and probably tomatoes at the Henley Farm, 3513 Charity Neck Road in Virginia Beach. Check on times and picking conditions by visiting www.henleyfarms.com or calling (757) 426-7501.

 - Bergey's Breadbasket on Mount Pleasant Road in Chesapeake is baking blueberry pies and muffins with local blueberries and serving homegrown tomatoes on sandwiches.

 - Remember, you also can pick your own blueberries, blackberries and peaches at a few other farms in the area.

 - Just about all the crops are in at Clarke Farm on Bruce Road in Chesapeake. Find tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, squashes, eggplant and peppers - jalapeno, cubanelle and bell - along with a few green beans and butter beans.

When you pick your own, you are doing all the right things. You are paying less. You get quantities big enough to eat and some for freezing or canning. You are reducing your carbon footprint by eating local, and, best of all, you and your family will be healthier for it.

 Freezing Some produce is easier to freeze than others. Blackberries and blueberries can go straight into freezer bags from your picking basket. Corn can be quickly blanched for a couple of minutes, cooled, cut off the cob and frozen, Barbara Henley said. Peel and core tomatoes and freeze whole for use in recipes later, or make tomato sauce and freeze. Green beans are better canned, Henley said. Though some people will blanch and freeze green beans, she thinks they are a little mushy that way.

Meat Shire Farms will be at the Olde Towne Curb Market at 115 Main St. in Smithfield this week with everything from eggs, to chicken, pork and bacon. Meats from other vendors, produce from several farms, homemade cakes and cookies, peanuts, handmade soaps and fresh flowers and herbs all can be found at the market, which is open 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Check the Web site www.oldetownecurbmarket.com.

Program "Growing Local and Eating Local" will be the topic of a talk by organic farmer John Wilson at 6:30 p.m. July 23 at Green Alternatives, 1905 Colonial Ave., Norfolk. Wilson, who owns New Earth Farm and Compost Co. in Virginia Beach, will talk about growing herbs and vegetables using organic gardening techniques and will discuss the benefits of a Community Supported Agriculture program. The event is free, but you should register by calling 457-8991.

Shopping For more ideas, read the "Good Things to Eat" ads in this newspaper's Classified Marketplace or go to www.virginiagrown.com. Wherever you choose to shop, be sure to call ahead to check on product availability and/or picking conditions. Some grocery stores also are selling Virginia Grown products and fresh East Coast seafood.

Farmers, let me know if you hope to harvest any specialty crops or unusual varieties next week. Commercial fishermen, let me know what unusual species you are catching now.

Mary Reid Barrow, barrow1@cox.net.