All farm-pickers are winners

So who won the random drawing for a copy of Diane Daniel's "Farm Fresh North Carolina"? That would be Susan Campbell. Congratulations, Susan.

If you didn't win, you can find our list of Piedmont farms with pick-your-own crops. It's up on our web site, at www.charlotteobserver.com/food.

The list lasts for a lot longer than strawberry season, of course. It covers peaches, blackberries, blueberries, scuppernongs and vegetables like tomatoes and corn, and keeps going right through pumpkin season. So we keep it posted on the Web site from April through October.

It's great to know how well-used it is. I call each and every farm on the list. And every year, farmers tell me that people show up with our list in hand.

Stay tuned: Our annual list of farmers markets will be coming in a few weeks. It's good-food season, folks. But aren't all seasons good-food season?

Ready for You-Pick -- and a giveaway?

The Observer's annual list of Pick Your Own farms goes up Wednesday. We do it as a print list in the paper and online as a searchable map that stays posted through October, so it's ready for apple and pumpkin season, too. New this year: We'll combine our map with the Raleigh News & Observer's version, giving you a big net of fresh-in-the-fields food from the coast to the mountains.

Along with the list this year, my Raleigh cohort Andrea Weigl is writing about a couple of books that fit the theme, "The New Southern Garden Cookbook," by Sheri Castle, and "Farm Fresh North Carolina," by Diane Daniel. Daniel's book is an unusually helpful guide to farmers markets, farm stands, orchards and farm-centric food and lodging all over the state.

To get everyone in the strawberry-picking mood, I've got a copy of "Farm Fresh North Carolina" to give away. To enter, send an email with "Farm Fresh" in the subject line to kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com. Deadline: 9 a.m. Wednesday.

It's pick-your-own farm time

Could spring get any springier out there? That means it's almost time for PYO strawberries, followed by peaches, muscadines and right on through apples and pumpkins.

If you're a farmer in Western or Piedmont N.C. with a Pick Your Own patch, please email your information to me at kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com Include a daytime number where I can reach you, picking hours, crops and prices if you have them.

If you're looking for a place to pick your own food, stay tuned. Our annual list will go up online and in print on April 27.

Time to pick your apples

It's always a little startling to realize that the heat of summer hasn't finished letting go but the fall apples are already hanging in the trees. If the lower humidity and (slightly) cooler temperatures put you in the mood, you can find apple and pumpkin farms in our Pick-Your-Own Farms database, at www.charlotteobserver.com/food.

I was having lunch in Hendersonville on Sunday when I overheard a visiting family asking the guy behind the cash register at Mike's Soda Shop about an apple farm - "Mountain Top, Top of the Mountain, something like that?" The cashier answered him with "Sky Mountain." Wrong on both counts: I'm betting he was looking for Skytop in Flat Rock, a longtime favorite among apple fans. You can find the directions, hours and correct name for it in our database, too.

We always get a couple of apple and pumpkin farms calling in late summer, long after we compile the list in spring. Here are a couple that didn't make this year's database:

• Hodges Family Farms in Mecklenburg County has pick-your-own pumpkins along with family activities, such as hayrides, pony rides and a corn maze. It's at 3900 Rocky River Road East; 704-494-0107. Open daily from Sept. 25 to Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to dark. Get the details at http://www.hodgesfarmnc.com/.
• Windy Hill Orchard is at 1860 Black Highway in York, S.C., with pick-your-own apples, fresh apple cider, farm tours and fresh-made apple products. Apple picking started in mid-August and continues until Christmas. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. on certain Sundays (Sept. 19, Sept. 26, Oct. 3 and Oct. 10). Details and directions: http://www.windyhillorchard.com/.

Strawberries, baby

When I get the first sighting of freshly picked strawberries, I become like Capt. Queeg in "The Caine Mutiny," rubbing my paws together and chanting "The strawberries, yes, the strawberries!" It's time at last. I shot this picture Saturday at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market, right after tucking a basket of berry beauties in my bag. (Of course I paid for them. What do you take me for?)

The Observer's annual list of pick-your-own farms runs tomorrow, and we'll keep it up through the fall to point you toward everything from strawberries to blueberries to pumpkins. Go to www.charlotteobserver.com/food after midnight or so tonight to find it. And check out the cool Google mapping software, put together by my co-worker Ted Mellnik.

In tomorrow's paper, look for Andrea Weigl's story and recipes celebrating strawberries, along with the print version of the list.

Most of the farms I talked to last week say they expect to open the fields for picking by this weekend. Strawberry smoothies, strawberry pies, strawberries eaten by the bowlful. The strawberries, yes, the strawberries. And then the asparagus, and the blueberries, and the peaches, ah yes, the peaches. It's time, folks.