U-Pick Autumn Produce
Pumpkins in the field at Detering Farms
Indian corn and corn stalks, pumpkins, apples and cider, the harbingers of Autumn, are found a-plenty at U-pick farms around Eugene.
A drive outside the city limits in any direction will reward anyone on a pumpkin-seeking pilgrimage with their choice of size, shape and color pepo prize. Regardless of intended purpose, whether carving the perfect jack-o-lantern, baking mouth-watering pumpkin bread and pie or decorating your urban/suburban space, if you can’t find a pumpkin, you didn’t look. And if you’re seeking great homegrown apples you won’t be disappointed, even if you’re from back East and crave something as un-northwestern as the tender-fleshed Macintosh.
Red Prime Apples at Detering Orchards
Prices this year are typically around $0.29 per pound for pumpkins, but Detering Orchards (see this map for location) is hosting their annual Apple Daze Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, October 3 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm and are giving away a free small pumpkin to every child present.
Many U-pick farms offer free hay rides for their patrons’ pleasure, and Detering’s Apple Daze is no exception. After all, there’s nothing like the smell of fresh straw, horses’ bodies, old leather and wood to give one the feeling of an authentic rural experience. Just add a sample of homegrown, farm-pressed cider to choosing that just-right pumpkin or box of apples and you’ve got the perfect Autumn afternoon.
Tons of Pumpkins at Detering Orchards
Of course, when the fruits of over 400 acres of cultivated land are spread before you in quantities and at prices so much better than grocery store shelves, it’s impossible to resist the urge to splurge a little.
The really good thing about pumpkins, Hubbards and other winter squashes, along with apples and nuts, is that they all keep remarkably well for months if stored in a cool dry place.
Of course, canning or preserving is a great option, too.
Customers and staff at Detering Orchards
The next best thing to growing your own is picking your own. And, knowing you’re helping keep what for Roger Detering is a family legacy going another year is more satisfying than shopping for your Cucurbita pepo at a chain store.
Eugene resident and painter, Martha Sherwood, likes to come to Detering’s because it’s the only farm remaining of those her mother took her to as a child. She doesn’t come just for the produce. As she sits and paints on her third watercolor for the day, she tells of childhood memories of helping her mother pick and can produce from local farms back in the 1950′s.
Eugene resident Martha Sherwood paints on her visit to Detering's.
Working deftly with her brush, she fills in some leaves on a couple of trees in the midground between the pumpkin patch in the foreground and the Coburg Hills in the background. White billowing clouds with grey streaky fingers at their bases crown the blue-green peaks. Then the sprinkles start again, and send the painter and her observer back to their vehicles.
It is, after all, Fall in Oregon where even the sky is fruitful.
Written by C.A. Clark for DiscoverEugene.com