fresh picked fun

ThE minER SEpTEmbER 16, 2015| 9a

FRESH PICKED FUN!

7.YaRYaN’SORCHaRD509-238-6261John & Beverly Yaryan - 1/2 mile E. of Green Bluff Store U-Pick & Picked: CHERRIES, APRICOTS, PEACHES, (Early & Late Red Haven, Daroga Red, Rosa, Red Globe) Variety of APPLES, (Early Gold, Gala, Mcintosh, Jonathan, Honey Crisp, Fugi, Cameo, etc.) Nectarines, Plums, Honey.

11.HigHCOuNtRYORCHaRD509-238-95458518 E GreenBluff - Orchard and country store. Local lavender, honey, jams, teas, lunch, gifts & home decor. Pumpkins, honeycrisp apples, potatoes and squash. PUMPKIN DONUTS, caramel apples, kiddie hay maze, miniature golf, animal farm and live music many weekends. A special farm experience!

16.ElEvENaCRESFaRm509-238-9473The Hunts, 10909 E. Day Mt. Spokane Rd., Mead, WA 99021. Applefest participant! Huge pumpkin patch! Apples, squash, goards, cornstalks, strawbales, and much more! “We grow all we sell.” No spray or low spray produce. Sometimes closed mondays. www.elevenacresfarm.com

28.FlEuRDEPROvENCElavENDERFaRm509-290-3874Although the lavender field is closed for the season, their products Lavender Oil, Dried Lavender Bundles, Lavender Hydrosol, and Sachets are available at High Country Orchard (#11), Bodacious Berries & Brews (#26), & Walter’s Fruit Ranch (#4). Or give Maggie a call at home 509-290-3874.

34.SuNDOWNBROWN’SPlaCE509-238-480317425 N. Sands Road, Mead, WA. This is a great U-Pick Farm! APPLES( Gala, Red and Golden Delicious, Macintosh, Macoun, Winter Banana).

SPECIAL GROUP RATE 25% off! Bring more than 5 for a group: YOUTH GROUP, LIFE GROUP, COFFEE GROUP, PLAY GROUP. Have fun picking apples together!

COLE’S ORCHARD

OPEN THUR PM - SUN Starting Sept. 17TH

Or by Appt. through October18423 N. Green Bluff Rd., Colbert, WA • (509) 238-4962

Tomatoes, Carrots, Winter Squash, and other Veggies, Winter Pears, Prunes, and 12 varieties of Apples

ALL CERTIFIED ORGANICat

Grape House Vineyardsgrapehousevineyards.com

Colbert, WA • 509-270-1610

Ready to Harvest Wine & Juice

Grapes!

The present day Green Bluff Growers is an association of small

family farms and food stands. Seasonal activities include pick-your-own fruit and an-nual festivals such as: Blooms on the Bluff, Strawberry Celebration, Cherry Festival, Cherry Pickers’ Trot and Pit Spit and Peach Festival in the spring and summer, and the Apple Festival in the fall and Holiday Memories in the winter.

That’s a big change from the earliest days of the growers’ association, which formed in 1902. In those days, the group’s mission was to protect local strawberry growers from outside competition. Now, the association helps lo-cal farmers with agricultural tourism. The promise of an old fashion farm experience brings thousands of visitors

each year to the rolling hills northeast of Spokane.

If you’re from the city and have never had an opportu-nity to pick your own fruit or simply enjoy a ride on a beautiful day, take a drive up to Green Bluff. There are two loops, the West and East, full of small farms for the adven-turous visitor to discover. Part of what makes Green Bluff unique in the entire country is the large concentration of farms – more than 30 – within such a relatively small area of about 12 square miles.

The Green Bluff Grow-ers Association may have changed somewhat over the last 100 years, but the coun-try hospitality of its members remains just as warm and friendly as a century ago.

The experience and crops you’ll find vary by season. For example, arrive in early Au-

gust and buy apricots picked less than an hour before. While eating the juicy and still warm fruit, take a mo-ment to examine the beauty of a golden wheat field beside the road. Mt. Spokane is not far away and it affords wonderful views and the per-spective of how Green Bluff’s farms dot the landscape.

Visit mid-September through October for the Apple Festival. What started a couple of decades ago as a one-day celebration of apples at the Green Bluff Grange has evolved into a six-week, all-out apple frenzy. Just like the old days, Green Bluff’s many growers continue to sell bush-el upon bushel of Jonagolds, Granny Smiths and Fujis. But now they also entice families with live music, hayrides, corn mazes, pony rides and petting zoos.

Visit Green Bluff...

For a one-of-a kind experience

Sept. 19th - Oct. 31st Festival Weekends • 10 am - 6 pm

Produce & Gift Shop 10am-6pm Everyday

Sept 19th - OOOO tctct 31st

Greenbluff Apple Festival

SIEMERS’ FARM, LLC11125 E. Day Mt. Spokane Rd., Mead

509-238-6242www.siemersfarm.com

The Amazing Corn-Shrub MazeRides • Camel & Pony Rides

Live Petting Zoo6 Varieties of Pumpkins All Sizes!

Arts & Crafts, Gift ShopFood, Live Music & More!

Green Bluff is located about a half hour drive from Newport and is nestled at the foothills of Mt. Spokane.

It is divided into two loops of farms, the East and the West. The farms offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables either picked or U-Pick. There are also unique items such as a winery, antiques, an alpaca ranch, a land-scape nursery, U-Pick lavender, Homemade Italian Food, and U-Cut Christmas Trees.

Each farm is run independently with unique hours, events, and produce. Dur-ing crop seasons, most farms are open to the public, but should be contacted first. Festivals take place only on designated weekends and there is no set location for the events. Each farm does its own thing with some farms open all year round.

For info on each farm, check out the ads on this page, or visit www.greenbluffgrow-ers.com.

Green Bluff has unique geographical traits that allow for dry land farming. The soil is deep and fertile with the unique ca-pacity for moisture retention which allows for the growth of “dryland” produce famous for its quality and flavor. Seasonally, deer, elk, coyote and bald eagles are common. Many different birds, too. Once in a while there’s moose and talk of a mountain lion and bear.

And, it’s just plain pretty up here. De-pending on where you are on the Bluff, you’ll get a totally different view. If you find the middle and spin 360 degrees, you’ll see for miles in every direction.

2015 Spokane Renaissance Faire“Where chivalry comes alive!”

October3rd & 4th

Benefitting

Lazy K Ranch5906 E Woolard Rd,

Colbert, WA

www.spokanerenfaire.com

and• Apples • Squash • Gourds •

• Strawbales • Cornstalks• And More! •

“We Grow All We Sell”509 • 238 • 9473

www.e l e venacres f a rm .comS o m e t i m e s c l o s e d M o n d a y s

E l evenAcres

Pick Your Pumpkin!