Pickering Hill Farms

On a trip back to Ohio recently I stopped in with my grandparents. I was really impressed with this little market. It's much more than fresh fruit and vegetables. The parking is right in front of the entrance. In front of the entrance there are several tables of fresh fruit and vegetables. The produce isn't just local produce, but everything looked great. The inside was organized and clean. More produce is offered inside as well. They also have jams, dressings, sauces, cheeses, homemade catnip toys, and other goods. Everything here was reasonably priced, a great spot to get local food items.

Finally stopped by during business hours and this market did not disappoint. We purchased a buttercup yellow watermelon, sugar cube cantaloupe, cherry bomb peppers, ladyfinger and assorted popcorn kernels, mama jo cheesecake, strawberry rhubarb hand pie, and homegrown cucumbers. Hubby had a blast and we will definitely be back!

I just bought 1/2 bushel of tomatoes to can, the tomatoes were red in the outside and all green in inside, I wasted my money and my time not to mention the waste. Now instead of canning I'm going to have to freeze them which I wasn't planning to do. This is the second time I've had this problem, last year same thing and I just dealt with it, I thought I'd try again this year , never again!

Great outdoor farmers market. I'm visiting from California and everything we have bought has been exceptional with excellent prices.

I like this little seasonal farmers market. They have home grown, locally grown, and conventionally grown items depending on the season. The home grown and locally grown produce is great, but if you're looking for something shipped in from california, I'd just make the trek to Heinen's across the street because the prices here are pretty high. I will say that they always have a huge selection of different varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Inside theres all different sorts of canned goods, bakery, hand made country kitschy stuff, cheeses and butters, candy, and the biggest selection of souix city sodas I've ever seen. Oh, and some locally made ice cream I have yet to try. The service is usually some nice high school kids, they're always willing to help out. They also offer pick-your-own herbs sometimes.

I'm pretty hard to please when it comes to farm markets (parents from Geauga County; wife's folks from Portage). I've been very impressed by this place. All of the produce I've had has been terrific. The tomatoes taste like the ones my father-in-law grows: rich, meaty and full of flavor, like tomatoes used to be, not watery and bland, like US agriculture churns out now. The berries were sweet, with a little tang and some crispness; the two varieties of apples we tried were terrific.They sell a lot of packaged stuff: jams, jellies, preserves, conserves (there's a sign on the wall explaining what the differences are). The brands are pretty high-quality-- although, almost without exception, the same stuff you'll see at every local farmer's market (Mama Jo's pies; Mrs. Miller's jams, for example). Two callouts. The Burnham Apple Cider is especially good (better than Patterson's). Also, the pumpkin roll (if you like such things) is quite good. My wife, her family and our two cats (who facedived the plate when she left it on the bed to get more coffee) all enjoyed it. So why take off a star? The selection is not overwhelmingly broad-- they advertise corn, tomatoes, peppers (both hot & sweet) apples, grapes, berries and pumpkins-- and I have seen onions and garlic. They claim to have other stuff, but I have not seen it. I can never buy enough fruits and vegetables for a week of menus. There's a good reason: they grow all their own stuff, and they're obviously maniacal about quality. But it does mean I have to follow a process-- go there and get what they got, then hit up the Heinen's nearby to fill out our larder. If you grow everything you sell, you're obviously not going to be open all year. They aren't: June to October 31.Their prices are also high. You DEFINITELY get what you pay for on the fresh stuff (assuming you can taste the difference-- which I can). But you can buy almost all of the packaged stuff at other places (Discount Drug Mart sells Mama Jo's) -- and usually cheaper.But four out of five stars is pretty good. And the limited selection is the way all farm markets used to be. If you want strawberries in October, you won't get good strawberries (not grown in the US, at any rate).I'm glad these guys exist and glad they are so near me.