Will H.
Yelp
It was a Sunday morning & I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a post from Nashville Lifestyles. The post said that Green Door Gourmet's self pick strawberry fields were now open. It was May 3rd, seemed a little early for strawberries, I thought that was a mid to late May deal, but we decided to head out their way & check it out.
This was my first time out to Green Door Gourmet. I've seen posts from people on Instagram and Facebook and I've always wanted to come out here. I've seen a bunch of posts from their event space. I didn't get to see it when I was out there, but I'd love to attend an event out here. It's not that fair away from west Nashville. Once you're out here it feels like you're in the DEEP country.
They've got signs along River Road so you'll know where to turn. When turning in, you'll see a sign that has the hours and also if there is a private event. They had a sign up saying that there was a private event, I'm not sure if it was leftover from the night before, but we were a little confused at first. They've got ample parking in the gravel lot and in a grass field.
The market is in a small, cabin like building. The event space is a large, barn looking building with glass doors. Inside the market you'll find a plethora of different Tennessee/Kentucky/local products. They've got local meat, milk, soap, veggies, fruit, jam, baking mix, bread, honey, you get it. The prices are what you'd expect for local, organic, non GMO, stuff.
Strawberry Picking - I didn't really know how it went down. We went up to the counter and asked. We were told to sign a paper that released GDG (Green Door Gourmet) from any wrong doing. That paper also had your name on it so they'd know what name to call when it was your turn. Your turn? Yeah. The strawberry field is about 2 miles away, down a dirt road on the property. The girls at the front desk didn't tell us how long it would be. I figured it would be like ten minutes or so. No, it took an hour for our name to call. The vehicles that take you to the field is an SUV and a pickup truck. Fair warning, if you're an adult, chances are you'll be riding in the back of the pickup truck because the kids ride in the cab. It's fun to enjoy the country air though. They provide the baskets in the vehicle when you get to the field.
One thing I noticed about GDG was the amount of rules and legal notices posted around the property. From the 'no trespassing' signs, to strictly enforced 5 mph speed limits, even play set rules, it feels like they've got a rule for everything. It makes you feel not very welcome.
Once you make it to the strawberry field, you're given a 30 second crash course on how to pick them. The woman who drove our truck was very friendly. They've got two types of strawberries out there. The rows are wide. They've got plastic under the hay, so if you step over the strawberry plants into the next row, it can be a little slick. I think that it was about a week too early because a lot of the strawberries had white shoulders and bottoms. We spent about 45 minutes out in the field before catching the truck back. I wished they'd let you just walk the two miles (ish) journey.
We arrived back at the market and got in line to pay for the strawberries. They girl a the counter put the two baskets in two plastic bags. I guess they ran out of the pint containers because they weren't using them like they were when we got there two hours earlier. Also, I thought they'd weigh the strawberries, but I guess they just go by a guesstimate. It was 12 bucks for two half full green baskets.
I like the country location. I thought the strawberry picking was a little lackluster and didn't expect it to take 2 hours to do. I would like to attend an event out here, but all the legal posting signs and rules don't really make one feel welcome in my opinion.