By Jianqi Zhou
Looking for a place for fruit picking? Come to Watt farms!
Watt Farms Country Market is a family-owned business established in 1980 with the mission of growing the highest quality fruit in the Western New York Fruit Belt. Watt’s is also a stop for sweet treats. They have now sold over 100,000 pounds of amazing fudges. More than 30 flavors of homemade fudges are displayed in the shopwindow. (Remember to hold you saliva when you step into the store)
The farm founder is a very kind old lady, Karen Watt, who is already 78-year-old. When I asked her about the motivation of having a farm market, she replied “When I first moved to Albion, I would ride with related aunts and uncles of my husband, into the Rochester Public Market, and I thought, hey, this is kind of fun.” She dreamed of having her own little farm market one day. Thus, she founded this farm market with her husband who grew up as an apple grower in Virginia. They started with a small store with a little bit of cooler space at the lower end of the road. They work days and night, got up at 4 am every day to prepare the food, and closed at 9 pm. Then, “things just mushroom,” Karen said. They extended their cooling storage and sale area. They used to attend six farmers' markets in WNY, but only attend two on Saturday morning--Perry and Clarence Hollow. They got ice cream shops, homemade jams, jelly and fudges. Her dream came true, and she even became the president of the Direct Marketing Association, North American Farmers to sharing her story and spirit.
The farm also has a train that can bring you a tour around the whole farm market, include 100 acres farm, 3 acres pond, and poultry houses. “We used to do about 1500 school kids coming from as far your way as Williamsville left of the Buffalo” Keren introduced. She got this train from a couple that wife was dying of cancer. Even though the train was pretty broken, she wanted to encourage the wife and tried to add more fun to her farm. Then, she hauled the train here all the way from Michigan. She also restored its appearance, and opened a new way to investigate her fruit paradise.
As the cherry season is about to draw to an end, peaches start dressing their fluffy blush. Karen and her fruits are waiting for you to enjoy the happiness of harvest and the delightfulness of juicy flesh.
U-Pick Hour: 9 am to 4 pm every day
More information about Watt's Farms: http://www.wattfarms.com
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