Farm markets ripe for fun

Fall has come to the mid-Hudson Valley. But you aren't ready to throw away all the previous weeks of workouts and fresh vegetables for the pumpkin pie, fudge and hot cocoa of winter. So what do you do? Go pick some produce.

At your local pick-it-yourself farm market, you can be entertained by live bands, go for a hayride, wander through a hay maze or indulge in a home- made donut or freshly-pressed cider. Get out and enjoy the beauty of fall; the most beautiful season of the year. Hudson Valley residents join people from throughout the tri-state area, armed with loaded cameras, bushel baskets and bags.

Ray Morriss of Fishkill Farms, Hopewell Junction, estimates he gets between 1,000 and 1,500 cars a day during the season.

"We get a big crowd,'' Morris said. "You can see plates from all over ... (New) Jersey, Massachusetts.''

Go spend a day in the warm sun, and enjoy the crisp, cool shadows under trees laden with apples, or find the greatest pumpkin in the patch for the jack-o-lantern of your dreams. If pumpkins or apples don't thrill you, try flowers. The last of summer's reservoirs of sun can be found in the bright blackeyed Susans, zinnias and rudbeckia.

"Flowers are really overlooked in the (pick-your-own) market,'' said Georgia Dent of Greig Farm in Red Hook. "I think they are really important and often missed.''

Even the despised ragweed, scourge of the allergy season, sports a golden fall bloom, which often turns up in bouquets and displays.

Celebrate the excellent harvest. Winter squash varieties like acorn buttercup, butternut, and spaghetti are waiting on the vines. Colorful gourds and Jack-Be-Little pumpkins are popular table decorations. Some local farms sell corn stalks to be used for fall decoration and you can find some summer crops until the last killing frost.

"Last year, the hard frost held off until October,'' said Peter Barton of Barton Orchards in Beekman. "This year? Who knows?''

There are still plenty of vegetables to be picked in mid-Hudson Valley, from the last eggplants and peppers to the remains of the berry crops. But most will agree that the big star of the fall harvest is the apple _ Macintosh, Red Delicious, Jonamacs, Romes, Macouns, Golden Delicious, Empire and Cortlands, all the apples one can eat, bake or store.

"The Hudson Valley grows some of the best apples, taste-wise, in the whole country. It is the Hudson Valley climate that does it,'' Barton said.

Morris noted the durability of stored apples. "It's the constant temperature. With no fluctuations in temperatures, they will keep a long time,'' he said.

Pressed cider is a big favorite of the fall crowd. Although not an exact science and each orchard's cider is different, producers agreed the most important procedure involved is to use a variety of apples.

"You can't press cider with just one kind of apple,'' Morris said. "It just doesn't taste as good. You can't use `drops' (overripe apples that fall from a tree), either. They make good-tasting cider, to begin with, but it doesn't keep as well.''

In the Hudson Valley, there are more than three dozen pick-your-own farms. Some have markets to purchase pre-picked fruits and vegetables and gift shops to buy specialized jams and preserves, donuts made with real cider in the batter and homemade fudge.

There are special attractions, like Barton Orchard's "Hay Maze'' and Greig Farm's "Haunted Hayride'' after dark. Others have daytime hayrides and petting zoos.

Home gardens have suffered from the difficult summer weather. Too much rain, then not enough, sprinkled with hot, humid days with little actual sun. A blight on the honey bees affected pollination. Luckily, the fickle season has not impacted the local farms tremendously.

The wet summer has slightly impacted the pumpkin crop, farmers said. Pumpkins need a good, long growing season and are susceptible to many types of fungus, so the harvest may be a little light this year.

"This has been a top-quality year for fungus," Morris said.

If actually picking fruits and vegetables isn't your forte, try the farm market. Most local farms sponsor an on-grounds market. Jalapeno Jelly, home-baked cobblers, fresh apples and specialty fruits and vegetables are available. Greig Farms features Golden Berries (ground cherries).

"The Culinary Institute buys them and uses them in sauces on duck and the like,'' said Kip Eggert of Greig Farms.

Looking somewhat like a very small tomatillo still in the husk, the Golden Berry is a sweet, perfectly round yellow fruit that eats like a grape.

So take a day and venture out to pick a few crisp apples and soak in the amazing views from the orchards and hillsides in the valley.

"Anybody looking to enjoy the fall, the farms are the place to do it,'' Barton said.