JUNE 2022
56
DOUBLE
Escapes
B E R R Y D E L I G H T S // 5 8 G O I N G
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NATURALE
B A R E H A N DS ( & M O R E )
A T L O U I S I A N A ’ S O N LY N U D I S T C A M P G R O U N D
DIY
Pick Your Favorites TWO PICK-YOUR-OWN FARMS WORTH VENTURING OUT FOR
Story and photo by Samantha Eroche
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rowing up in rural Louisiana, summers were for snacking-off-thevine. I remember planting tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, bell peppers, and cucumbers in the small garden by the house. We always had fresh aromatics as well: mint, basil, thyme, and–at one point–a four-foot-tall rosemary bush that prevented us from closing the screen door. Behind our house we grew a variety of citrus: satsumas, lemons, navels, cumquats, grapefruit, Louisiana sweets. Even further back, in the pasture, wild edibles grew, too. The thistle–a wild celery–was as high as my elbow, and honeysuckle–a sweet nectar–wrapped its delicate tendrils around the trees in which it lived. Then there were the days of pulling on black rubber boots, buckets in hand, ready to hike our way through the thorny blackberry bushes. Growing older and into a world more urban and convenient, it’s easy to forget that rare delight of picking food from the branch. This year, as the air warmed into its growing season, I ventured out to two pastures of bounty—pick-your-own farms where all are invited to partake in the fruits of summer.
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