R Kelley Farms

Only about 20 minutes from downtown, this wonderful
farm is like stepping into another world as is the whole Delta (hope it is all not destroyed by Jerry Brown’s tunnels– thats another story) .anyway stoppped at R kelley yesterday brought home delicoous sweet melons, juicy red tomatos and what may be the best salt and pepper (mixed white and yellow kernels) I have had in years. what a great place this is and how lucky we are to have it so close by!

I’m a white dude. And I like stuff. So naturally I read
. You know, to check in and make sure I’m true to form, sticking with the main stream, on top of the latest wacky stuff white people like or are embarrassed about, etc.
I noticed an entry about picking fruit (
), and I realized that aside from gardening and growing my own veggies at my last house, I hadn’t yet gotten out there and voluntarily picked my own food. Aw crap!
My girl to the rescue. Without me even saying anything, she finds R Kelley Farms online and tells me, «wouldn’t it be fun to go pick our own tomatoes? I could make ketchup! Can our own Marinara sauce!»
See single guys? This is why you need a woman in your life. To suggest ideas to do stuff you’d never even consider doing on your own, AND frame them as fun!
On the other hand… Home made marinara sauce from fresh picked veggies? The fastest way to my heart is clearly through my stomach. So, off we go.
From the Midtown area to the farm, middle of a weekday, is about 25 mins; it’s about even with Elk Grove. The last leg takes you along the levee of one of the rivers (The Sacramento itself? Not sure), and is actually a pretty nice drive. Hang a left at the R Kelley Farms sign and you’re there. Head down the gravel road to the first cluster of buildings and you’ll see a big metal shed building. Pick up a bucket there to go pick tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or okra, located about 20 yards away. Or wait for a tractor to come pick you up to head out to a farther field for other fruits and veggies – I’m not sure what as we didn’t do this – but they have a bunch of different beans and melons, as well as corn, for sale in that shed as well.
Initially the gal working the shed was a little stand-​offish, but as we talked with her about how to prep the black-​eyed peas or the cranberry beans (similar to pinto beans), she got really friendly and personable. And she gave me a new watermelon free when I accidentally dropped one of ours (2 for $ 4 at time of writing, mid-​sep), as well as some pointers on how to choose a good watermelon.
We got several pounds of tomatoes, peppers, beans, as well as a pound of jalapeños and two watermelons. Total spend? Just under $ 20. Maybe a gallon of gas to get there and back, and about an hour and a half of together time, including a nice drive?
And you know what? She was right. It was fun.