John T.
Yelp
So, a couple of late springs ago, I was eager to get out of the house. I thought that I knew what stir crazy was (ha). The answer was soon (and so so much later) to come. When walking around the block was no longer sufficient to satisfy my 'getting out' needs, I... went online and bought my strawberries remotely. Fruit picking from April to October has always been something I've enjoyed about the area and knowing that that pastime was going to stay in the past, I pivoted -- as did the folks at Batey Farms.
I've been north, south, west, and east in my search for fresh produce outside of Nashville. Surprising to me, I had yet to go to Batey Farms. I think I'd planned on going with a friend who lived in the area but we put it off thinking we had plenty of time to do it later. Oh, box of plagues and troubles that was opened lo so many years ago (at this point)... you never fail to disappoint and stress.
So, I wanted strawberries. I wanted fresh strawberries. I didn't want to buy overpriced strawberries from the supermarket that were coated in pesticides. I didn't have a lot of choices. Many u-pick farms were shut down and discombobulated. Thankful that someone in the Batey family is a crafty zoomer (millennials are old/40s now; youth is new), they had a system in play. Go online. Pick the amount of berries you want. Pay. Arrange a pick-up time. Drive to the farm. Sit in queue. Verify your order with a number. Pop the trunk. Deliver berries. Leave. Granted, a lot of the fun of local produce is spending time outside and picking the best berries but some things can't be helped. I was just grateful that someone thought up a workable system. One caveat, though: the ordering system was/is a bit Mad Maxish. Berries sold out. Fast. Think of it as a berry version of trying to snag seats at the Bluebird. Don't wait until the last minute or think the first time out will satisfy your itch. Patience is definitely a virtue.; that and expert internet-fu.
I ordered. I hit the road on a Sunday afternoon. I enjoyed a leisurely drive. I drove through a neighborhood. I arrived to orderly chaos. I gave my number. I popped the trunk. I got my berries. I left. Super efficient process. No (reasonable) complaints. I drove home and studied my berries. I had a fair amount of 'I would have picked these' berries so no (fair) complaints.
There's nothing like the real thing but as we've learned -- and, are still learning -- to get through life one must pivot. Strawberries makes doing so all the sweeter. And, to be all the way truthful, if I could remotely pick my berries I think I might prefer this system. This year, we'll see if I can resume the hunt. If not, at least I know how to scratch my itch. Locally.