UYE Steppin’ Out- Farm to Table Fun: Gilcrease Orchard/The Farm

So we woke up late, and obviously didn’t make it on time lol. We caught up to a handful of Unilocalers on their way out, but made the actual rendezvous at the Novecento afterparty.
First of all, I am not a veggie/​fruit picker, so I have no idea when things are ripe and ready for the pickings: P
We walked around, and this place is expansive. I probably would spend the few bucks to drive in next time and beat the heat during the summer.
I think most of the items were $ 1−2lb, so fairly inexpensive compared to big box stores, just need to do the legwork and cut out the middle man.
We picked up some garlic and odds and ends, and some of the peanut butter they make there. Didn’t get to try it yet!
I think i will stop by again and buy the already picked and prepared items… but I can’t say I personally will be getting down and dirty anytime soon! Maybe when it is cooler, and I can have Soul take his time walking around and finding goodies :)

Nelson and Sylvia are the king and queen of UYEs. It is always a guaranteed fun time. The orchard is not fully ripped yet, but the squashes are large and flavorful. If you pick up any of the huge squashes, they are only a dollar. Come during the early morning because it is hot as hell.

I would like to preface this by saying that I have never had a green thumb and picking out vegetables is part of that.
With that said, I actually had fun! The original start time was at 8 am. I didn’t wake up until about 8:30. Oops! We got there at 9 and decided to pay the 3 bucks to take your car in because we had some senior citizens with us. Otherwise, we would have just parked outside an walked the whole orchard.
My kids who are not too much into vegetables, had no issues pointing out all sorts of vegetables we can pull out. Originally we just wanted to get some veggies but my mother in law ended up picking up about 4 bags of tomatoes, squash, eggplant, and cucumbers!
I like the way the paths were set up to drive around which was one way but there were still idiots that didn’t understand so watch both directions before you leave and come back to your car.
We were so inspired by all the vegetable picking that we went to Sweet Tomatoes to go eat instead of going to The Farm and the pizza place.
So all in all, the fam had fun, even though we didn’t get to see all the other Unilocalers that went also. We did get to see the UYE creator himself, Nelson Q and his fam so you know its not a legit event until then.
Me and the fam will definitely come back for the other fruits and veggies that will be in season. Thanks to Nelson for another kickin UYE!

I have had Gilcrease Orchard, the Farm, and Novecento bookmarked for the longest time– so when Nelson Q’s UYE included all 3– I said «Count me in!».
I was a good little Unilocaler and arrived at 8:00 AM, just in time to meet up with the Q’s at the entrance. Since all of the other Unilocalers slept in ;), we made our way into the orchard. Pulling my little Unilocalers in a wagon, we enjoyed the beautiful weather and walked through the apple orchards, then picked veggies to our hearts content. I left with a huge zucchini, beautiful green tomatoes, and a half dozen squash blossoms– for a total of… drumroll please…$ 2!!! As we headed towards the cash registers– we bumped into the late comers who were just starting their picking adventure.
We then made our way to The Farm around the corner– and I can’t believe it took me so long to make my way there! More fresh fruits and veggies, fresh eggs– and a ton of animals (chickens, bunnies, peacocks, ducks, goats, horses, llamas, cows, and pigs– oh my!) We had a blast and we will definitely be back. The fun filled morning only cost us a total of $ 5.25 ($ 2 for the veggies, $ 3 total for our entrance fee to the Farm, $ 0.25 for food to feed the goats), but it resulted in a lifetime of memories. Thanks Nelson and Sylvia for the awesome company!
*Yelp 100 Challenge: Review 46/​100*

RISE AND SHINE!!!
That’s what our party of five set out to do, bright and early at 8am. Me, Wifey, Rosemary, Lily, and Dylan. Since everyone else was still getting out of bed, we went ahead and got our harvest on.
There was a beautiful assortment of Summer Squash-​Yellow, Zucchini, Acorn, Patty Pan and Butterut were just some of the varieties. There also were beautiful Squash Blossoms for only a quarter, Cucumbers, Eggplants, Apricots, and tons of red and green tomatoes as well
Unfortunately their famous Cider Donuts are only sold in the cooler months (starting again in August) and their cider supply was also depleted. They had Garlic, Potataoes, and Nut Butters for sale at the checkout tent. The best thing to do is subscribe to their mailing list so you can stay up to date on whats available…
PART 2-​THE FARM
What a great way to pass the morning with the kids and families! As of two months ago, a mandatory $ 1 donation is charged at the entrance, and if you plan to make it out this way, there is road construction on a little section of Whispering Sands is blocked off, so use alternate routes to get there.
You can purchase Eggs (Chicken, Duck, and Quail) Local honey, chutney, baked goods, produce, and even Gilcrease Cider here. even more fun is checking out all of the anilmals here. We hung out with all the animals for awhile, then it was time to get our Zumba on before lunch… ALOHA!!!

It’s mid-​June and the heat around Vegas is quite oppressing. But why are we braving it? Because it’s a Nelson Q, great for the kids, pre-​fathers day event y’all! And boy were we glad we showed up coz it was mucho fun :) There was lovely breeze and great company wafting through the entire orchard. The fruits were not quite ready to be harvested, and I’m quite ashamed to admit that I know jack s— about picking vegetables, so we stuck to the tomato aisle. My toddler had so much fun looking for red and yellow ones. Other peeps had several bags full goodies I was green with veggie! Hehe.
But don’t fret fellow veggie picking amateurs, you can buy the good stuff at The Farm, which is a block away. Fresh chicken and duck eggs, zucchini, squash, watermelon, honey, apple butter and lots more! It’s also a perfect day trip for your kids to see horses, lamas, peacocks, chickens, rabbits, turkeys and a pot bellied pig named Violet. If you want a cheap day trip for the kids or you want to pick some fresh produce, go ASAP to Gilcrease Orchard! (Or you can wait til the weather cools a little).

It was 84 degrees and breezy today. I tried to wake up as early as I could but my alarm clock was set to 6PM in stead of 6AM! By the time we got to Nelson’s UYE, it was already 9:15. We saw David S and Christina W leaving Gilcrease as we were walking in. We took pictures in front with the bales of hay where we saw TIna S with her baby and her hubby.
We walked around the orchard but we’re no experts when it comes to produce picking so we didn’t end up getting cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, etc. I dressed the part though with my plaid shirt but that’s about it. Wagons were available by the entrance so you can put your kid (s) and fresh pickin’s in there. I ended up getting bulbs of garlic and a tub of honey roasted peanut butter all for $ 7.50.
We tried to play catch up to get to the farm but we weren’t able to so we headed towards Novecento for the next part of the UYE. We should come back in August for some cider doughnuts! Mmmmm…