Located in Berlin, this farm has been around for about 200 years and has grown everything from hops to horse hay. Right now, they grow a mixture of fruit and vegetables. Strawberries, blueberries, asparagus, even pick your own flowers.

In addition to being local, they also practice Integrated Pest Management - which means they try to not use pesticides, but they will if the alternative is losing a crop. Instead, their first efforts go towards ensuring the plants are healthy. They encourage good insects. They thin out the bad insects. And, if all else fails, then they go for the poison. I haven't asked them about this, but I suspect they don't have to spray very often. When you raise healthy plants, they don't usually need much help.

My first visit was right in the beginning of Strawberry season. I went during my lunch break and, even though I only spent 10 minutes picking, I still ended up with 2 1/2 pounds of yummy fresh berries (only 2 of those pounds actually made it home...). If you've only ever had grocery store strawberries, you definitely owe it to yourself to pick your own. Once you taste one fresh from the vine, you'll be a Convert to the Locavore Movement.

You'll also learn why you can't get strawberries that delicious at the grocery store. When I picked my berries, they were absolutely perfect. Bright red, juicy, firm. But, by the time they took a 10 minute ride in my car, a lot of them were bruised. That's just the way it is - you can pick them for portability (which means you pick them *before* they're ripe, *before* they are delicious), or you pick them for Deliciousness (which means they're very delicate).

Which is more important to you? Look perfect or taste perfect? (And, in case you're in doubt, let me remind you that you can close your eyes when you eat, but you can't close your tastebuds...)