A Day At The Nut Farm

When I told someone I was going to visit a nut farm, they said "I don't have to visit, I already live there." Well, we went to Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center on a beautiful, crisp winter day, and were happy to learn about nuts, farms, and sample their wonderful fudge. Bates Nut Farm was founded in 1921, and has been family owned and operated ever since. The founding family, Gilbert and Beatrice Bates raised their family, along with geese, ducks, goats, horses and rabbits. There were plenty of walnut trees in the beginning, but due to floods in the 1970's in which all the walnut trees died, pumpkins are now their main crop. Some of their pumpkins get as big as 250 pounds! Today, their nuts are purchased from all over the world, then roasted and packaged at the farm. One of my favorite parts of the day was the visit to the gift shop. The candy section is hard to resist, especially the homemade fudge, with at least 10 different varieties. It's impossible to resist. They also have all sorts of specialty food items, like tea, vinegars, many varieties of mustard, dip mixes, soup and chili mixes, dried fruit, trail mix, packaged nut mixes, and cake and scone mixes. There is also a little boutique with gift items, clothes and beauty items. This is a wonderful place to come for an afternoon in the country. Although just 40 minutes from Carlsbad, you feel like you've left civilization. At Halloween time the place is jumping with all kinds of activities for kids, including a maze made from bales of hay. Many special events are held there, like dog shows, craft shows, and recently they had a food truck evening, with 20 food trucks and several bands for entertainment. Fun. There were 12 of us who went to the farm together, and as usual, we had a wonderful day. We brought a picnic lunch, so between our home brought food and what we bought in the gift shop, we had a feast. As always, the conversation was interesting. I always learn something from an outing with friends. Visit www.batesnutfarm.com to find out more about the farm, their products, and how to order. Better yet, plan a day trip to the farm alone or with kids. It's a delightful day for people of all ages.