2008 Woodie Awards
Apples in flight - afternoon delight
Elizabeth Griffin
Issue date: 10/23/02 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
by Elizabeth Griffin
Fall in this bustling metropolis can be a bit depressing. We get the dark mornings, chilly breezes and rain without the foliage, pumpkin patches and cornfields that herald the beginning of autumn outside the city limits. So, stop wasting your weekends inside and spend some time in the great outdoors before even your pea coat cannot keep you warm. Take a day trip to Homestead Farm -- where you can celebrate the change in seasons like a true county bumpkin.
A mere 12 miles outside the beltway, Homestead Farm offers a plethora of autumnal activities and is most famous for allowing patrons to pick their own apples. At the farm, all traces of city life disappear. The parking lot is little more than a field worn down by cars, and there is nothing but farmland as far as the eye can see. Homestead provides large baskets, which hold about thirty pounds of apples each, and pamphlets detailing the 13 different kinds of apples available at the farm -- complete with the strengths and weaknesses of each variety and recipes for everything from apple cider to apple fritters.
The farm has 11 acres of trees. All trees are of the 'dwarf' variety, which just means that the trees are shorter than most, and has absolutely no effect on the apples. The trees are planted in rows, which are labeled by apple type, so there will be no confusing Braeburn with Fiji. Though many of the trees at the beginning of each row are picked clean, towards the end of the rows many of the trees have dozens of apples per branch.
Even better, the owners have conveniently placed ladders at some of the more laden trees, allowing patrons to scour trees for the perfect apple.
Of course, even self-picked apples are not free. The apples cost $0.89 per pound for less than 10 pounds, $0.69 per pound for between 10 and 20 pounds, and $0.59 per pound for more than 20 pounds. If that sounds like a whole lot of apples, keep in mind that an apple can weigh almost half a pound.
Though these apples have the same names as those available at the grocery store, they are nothing like the apples shipped around the country in the back of 18-wheelers. First, their skins are not nearly as shiny. Apples hanging from the trees do not gleam like those at the market, nor are they as regular in shape. However, the real difference comes when you bite into these apples. No store bought apple could crunch like these apples. No store bought apple explodes with flavor like these apples. No store bought apple drips with juice like these apples. Store bought apples taste like cardboard when compared to these apples.
To help work up an appetite, Homestead Farms also offers a six-acre corn maze, hayrides and animals. The maze costs $3.00 per person and takes about a half an hour to go through. At times, the maze seems more like a corn path than a corn maze and is not very exciting. However, after a few wrong turns, with nothing but ten-foot-high corn stalks and blue sky in sight, and thoughts of those creepy aliens from the movie Signs reaching out to grab at your feet, the maze suddenly becomes more than a little intimidating.
Homestead Farms has picnic tables and a snack bar (complete with apple pie and caramel apples) for those who want to make a day of their trip. They also have a farm stand with a variety of fruit and dirt cheap pumpkins. The hayrides, which cost $1.50, and farm animals, which just stand around a barn (this is not a petting zoo), are completely geared toward little children. It is important to note that there are lots of kids running around. The place is not crowded by any means, but just about every group is a family with young children.
Still, Homestead Farm can be fun for everyone, and certainly offers a diversion different than most entertainment options available in Washington.
Homestead Farm is open daily from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. It is located on 15600 Sugarland Road in Poolesville, MD. Recorded directions are available at: 301-977-3762.
Griffin is an arts and sciences freshman.
Fall in this bustling metropolis can be a bit depressing. We get the dark mornings, chilly breezes and rain without the foliage, pumpkin patches and cornfields that herald the beginning of autumn outside the city limits. So, stop wasting your weekends inside and spend some time in the great outdoors before even your pea coat cannot keep you warm. Take a day trip to Homestead Farm -- where you can celebrate the change in seasons like a true county bumpkin.
A mere 12 miles outside the beltway, Homestead Farm offers a plethora of autumnal activities and is most famous for allowing patrons to pick their own apples. At the farm, all traces of city life disappear. The parking lot is little more than a field worn down by cars, and there is nothing but farmland as far as the eye can see. Homestead provides large baskets, which hold about thirty pounds of apples each, and pamphlets detailing the 13 different kinds of apples available at the farm -- complete with the strengths and weaknesses of each variety and recipes for everything from apple cider to apple fritters.
The farm has 11 acres of trees. All trees are of the 'dwarf' variety, which just means that the trees are shorter than most, and has absolutely no effect on the apples. The trees are planted in rows, which are labeled by apple type, so there will be no confusing Braeburn with Fiji. Though many of the trees at the beginning of each row are picked clean, towards the end of the rows many of the trees have dozens of apples per branch.
Even better, the owners have conveniently placed ladders at some of the more laden trees, allowing patrons to scour trees for the perfect apple.
Of course, even self-picked apples are not free. The apples cost $0.89 per pound for less than 10 pounds, $0.69 per pound for between 10 and 20 pounds, and $0.59 per pound for more than 20 pounds. If that sounds like a whole lot of apples, keep in mind that an apple can weigh almost half a pound.
Though these apples have the same names as those available at the grocery store, they are nothing like the apples shipped around the country in the back of 18-wheelers. First, their skins are not nearly as shiny. Apples hanging from the trees do not gleam like those at the market, nor are they as regular in shape. However, the real difference comes when you bite into these apples. No store bought apple could crunch like these apples. No store bought apple explodes with flavor like these apples. No store bought apple drips with juice like these apples. Store bought apples taste like cardboard when compared to these apples.
To help work up an appetite, Homestead Farms also offers a six-acre corn maze, hayrides and animals. The maze costs $3.00 per person and takes about a half an hour to go through. At times, the maze seems more like a corn path than a corn maze and is not very exciting. However, after a few wrong turns, with nothing but ten-foot-high corn stalks and blue sky in sight, and thoughts of those creepy aliens from the movie Signs reaching out to grab at your feet, the maze suddenly becomes more than a little intimidating.
Homestead Farms has picnic tables and a snack bar (complete with apple pie and caramel apples) for those who want to make a day of their trip. They also have a farm stand with a variety of fruit and dirt cheap pumpkins. The hayrides, which cost $1.50, and farm animals, which just stand around a barn (this is not a petting zoo), are completely geared toward little children. It is important to note that there are lots of kids running around. The place is not crowded by any means, but just about every group is a family with young children.
Still, Homestead Farm can be fun for everyone, and certainly offers a diversion different than most entertainment options available in Washington.
Homestead Farm is open daily from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. It is located on 15600 Sugarland Road in Poolesville, MD. Recorded directions are available at: 301-977-3762.
Griffin is an arts and sciences freshman.