The Tree Farm

The Tree Farm is open 5 days each week from the time the peas are ready to pick, usually just before the first of July, until the first Sunday in November. Earlier in the season we sell asparagus, rhubarb, flowers and sometimes spinach by appointment. Our website is updated daily to provide customers current information on what is read to pick. Vegetables raised at The Tree Farm have been selected for flavor, not just appearance. For 43 summers we have provided vegetables for our customers to pick. We watch to learn which of the things we raise that they like, and listen when they tell us what we don't have that they would like to pick. We eat vegetables from our fields, and note the flavor of various varieties to aid in selection for future planting. In this way, the vegetables and varieties we raise have been selected over the years to provide our customers the food they want and the flavors they enjoy. A large part of what we have learned is that tastes, food culture and eating habits vary tremendously among individuals and cultural heritage. Very often, when we ask our customers which of two varieties they would like us to raise in the future, they answer "both!". So we raise both. The result is that a broad variety of vegetables and types within each general class of vegetables are found in our fields. If the plant will grow in our climate (and survive our winters), if our customers want it, and if we can afford to raise it and sell it for customers to harvest, we probably already raise it. If not, we are interested in your suggestions. Picking your own vegetables is a little different than selecting them from a Farmer's market or grocery store. We direct customers to fields, not aisles. We provide guidance about how to select produce that is ready to pick, and how to pick it efficiently and in ways that do not damage produce that remains in the field. Once it is picked, we expect the person who picked it to buy it. We can't place items back on the shelves. We teach. What better way is there for children to learn where food comes from than to visit a working farm to harvest vegetables for supper?