(cheerful music) - [David] From the soil of our family farms to your table, there's something special about Georgia.

Something you can taste in every bite.

(cheerful music) Fresh flavors, local farms, unforgettable experiences, Georgia has it all.

Support local, taste the difference, and make memories along the way.

Look for the Georgia Grown logo wherever you shop, or visit GeorgiaGrown.com.

(cheerful music) - [Narrator] Community, learning, working, playing, celebrating, doing life is always better together.

At GPB, we aim to provide you with the tools to be able to do life together well.

Our mission to educate, inform, and entertain inspires everything from our wide range of programming to our stimulating radio conversations to our fun in-person events.

We've got something for everyone.

Visit gpb.org/community to learn more about our upcoming events, - The fascinating and ever-changing world of agriculture.

Let's hit the road here in Georgia and meet the farmers, producers, makers and bakers who keep us all fed and keep us coming back for more straight ahead at the "Fork in the Road".

(singers harmonizing) ♪ I came from the mud ♪ ♪ There's dirt on my hands ♪ ♪ Strong like a tree ♪ ♪ There's roots where I stand ♪ - [David] Georgia farmers, artisans, merchants and producers, we depend on these men and women every day of our lives through the choices we make in the food we consume.

Their strategy and approach is always shifting, but the end game remains the same, results.

(gentle upbeat music) (cheerful music) There is magic in these North Georgia mountains.

From the flowing trout field streams of Habersham County to the strawberry-lined hills and apple-filled mountain trails of Ellijay.

These mountains exude an aura of freshness, and this week we head to the hills, do a little fishing, partake in a you pick or two, and at the same time find a way to give back a little mountain-grown goodness to those in need.

(singers harmonizing) We begin this episode in Cornelia, Georgia where the strawberries boast a juicy red hue and a long time family farm opens their doors for all to enjoy.

(upbeat music) Strawberries are considered a fruit, but the juicy, sweet, red part, actually isn't the fruit.

You see, each one of those little seed-like spots you see on the dimples of a strawberry's exterior is the actual fruit part of the plant.

In fact, strawberries aren't even berries.

They're actually, part of the rose family.

But let's not worry about those details for now, because we are heading to the beautiful strawberry-lined mountains of Cornelia, Georgia home to Drew Echols of Jaemor Farms to learn more about the tasty Georgia strawberry.

(cheerful music) - My name is Drew Echols.

Jaemor Farms is our family farm and my title is general manager.

Where did the name Jaemor come from?

So originally, dating back from like 1912 all the way to 1981, we were known as Echols Orchard.

When we built this market out here on the four lane, my granddad and grandmother changed the name from Echols Orchard to Jaemor Farm.

My grandfather's name was Jimmy Allen Echols, my grandmother's maiden name was Morrison, and they combined the two.

Put that together, and the rest is history I guess.

(cheerful music) Strawberries can almost grow anywhere, but we like to say that this red dirt up here in North Georgia makes 'em taste really well.

Also, our cooler nights, that has a lot to do with cell division and fruit production.

It also plays a part in how sweet they are.

We're cooler temperature wise than middle or south Georgia.

They'll typically start their strawberry season earlier than us.

We're two to three weeks behind them.

The biggest challenge for us is not the dirt, it's not the temperatures, it's kind of the terrain.

We don't have a whole lot of flat land here, so you can see it's gently rolling.

Some of it's actually very steep, so we have to be very careful as to where we plant the strawberries.

We don't wanna cause erosion or anything like that.

Strawberries do not ripen off the plant.

So, when we're harvesting, we're trying to get full color or at least 95% color.

You get that 95% color and you get a lot of red through the whole berry through the center.

When you bite into it you don't see all that white.

Now, some varieties have some white on the inside just by the nature of them, but most of the strawberries that you see are supposed to be red all the way through.

So, we try to pick at least 95% color or higher.

And the good thing is when you pick 'em at 95% color, look, the shelf life is not as long, but the flavor and the vitamins and all that's just so much better.

(upbeat jazz music) - [David] What makes a strawberry so sweet?

- There's a couple things.

Yeah, I absolutely, I'm a firm believer in the redder the better.

(upbeat jazz music) It's red all the way through.

That's what we always say here, when people are coming out here on the farm to pick their own berries.

And then we also tell 'em, "Hey, when you're picking, try to get that cap."

We call it the cap.

It's those leaves on top of the berry.

Try to pull that with it, because that berry when it's in your refrigerator at home or you know, on your counter or whatever, it's pulling more water and more nutrients out of that cap.

So, it'll stay fresher longer.

The other thing that makes really sweet berries is just a lack of rain.

Okay, that's hard to believe.

You know, we need rain for all of our crops, but we're 100% irrigated and it's a whole lot easier for us to apply the right amount of water each week than it is to get too much water.

We get too much water out there, it dilutes the sugar, dilutes the taste of the berry.

So, that's kind of the best prescription for us.

- [David] Strawberry plants are native to North America as well as South America, Europe, and Asia, but these North and South American varieties were larger and sweeter than the ones that grew in Europe.

It wasn't until the 17th and 18th century when Europeans began cross-breeding and cultivating strawberries to eventually, become the luscious fruit we know and love today.

- So as far as varieties go on strawberries, there's a lot of different varieties and there's some that are developed for Florida.

There's a lot of varieties developed for California.

But in the past 20 years, new varieties have been released for Georgia, for North Carolina, South Carolina.

So, here at Jaemor we grow two varieties primarily.

One's called Albion.

We've been with it for 13 years.

It's a California variety.

It's what's called a daylight neutral.

They will continue to bloom as long as the weather permitting.

I mean, they'll bloom all summer long.

When you're sitting here with temperatures in the mid seventies, relatively low humidity, that is perfect and ideal weather for the Albion and it loves the cooler nights.

The next variety that we grow here is called Ruby June.

It is relatively new.

I think it's been out about six years.

Each year, we've increased production on Ruby June, 'cause we like it, but you don't wanna put all your eggs in one basket until it's kind of proven itself.

So, this year a half of our production is in Ruby June, and the other half is in Albion.

So, who knows what the future holds.

You know, my kids will probably be planting some varieties that are totally different than what their dad grew, but that's how the industry kind of evolves and changes.

I take a lot of pride in being a Georgia farmer.

I believe that Georgia farmers were some of the best and brightest and most efficient in the country.

I do take a lot of pride in being up here in North Georgia.

There's not a lot of fruit and vegetable farmers up here.

You know, generational, educational, so many people are so far removed from where their food is produced.

Anytime that you're able to get a kid out on a farm or a teacher out on a farm, it's like a light bulb goes off.

And as cool as the strawberry fields are, and as cool as the pumpkin fields are and peach orchards, sometimes the coolest thing here is the gravel, dirt roads and the gravel parking lots, because kids don't get to see that now.

I often say that growing strawberries is a 13-month-a-year job.

We will start laying plastic, putting in the irrigation systems in August.

Plants come in last week of September, first week of October, and we start planting.

That's about a two-week process.

Hopefully, those plants grab ahold and grow during the fall.

You want some optimum growth during the fall.

The main thing being is that they get rooted in, that's vital.

They have to get rooted in.

You hope that November's a little bit mild.

The crowns will start blooming first or middle part of March.

28 days after we see that first berry is when we'll start picking.

- [David] What do you have to look out for when it comes to protecting your crop?

- We gotta keep the deer outta the field.

That's one of the primary concerns.

And it's also a concern for food safety and things like that.

If you're not fighting rainy weather, then if it's dry, you're fighting bugs.

So right now, you know, we're kind of looking at thrips.

It's a little small sucking insect.

It gets into the bloom on the bloom stage and it starts sucking on that fruit before it's really ever even fruit.

Sometimes you shake the bloom out and you find one.

Sometimes you shake it out and you find 15.

Snails eat on the plants, slugs eat on the plants.

Those plants have this phenomenal aroma.

I've never really eaten a strawberry plant, but the bugs tell me that they taste good.

There's sugar in the plant, so the bugs enjoy 'em and the deer enjoy 'em.

So, it's just a constant battle.

(gentle upbeat music) - [David] You are not just a farmer.

You're operating this retail store with all kinds of products in there.

- I like to think we have something that a lot of places don't have to offer.

We have wholesale accounts.

We sell these strawberries to brokers.

If we have extra, we sell 'em and they sell 'em to other grocery stores or schools or something like that.

We have our retail, we have to keep those shelves full.

We have almost a million visitors a year come in that market.

So, we gotta keep those shelves full.

That's the priority.

That's the number one priority.

The you pick on the weekends, that's priority number two.

Letting people come out and experience the farm.

We also have a fair amount of on-farm processing.

You know, we cut up a lot of strawberries for ice cream and strawberry shortcake, and that's where our folks at the bakery and the eatery come into the equation.

They're coming up with all these awesome recipes that people buy while they're here.

We don't ship those out.

While people are here either shopping at the market or enjoying themselves out here on the farm, they're able to go get refreshments that have homegrown strawberries or peaches in 'em.

(upbeat music) One like this is gonna end up in some ice cream.

Misshapen will end up in ice cream or maybe even a strawberry pie jam.

It's gonna taste great.

Little bit of ugly, but it's gonna taste great.

My favorite way to enjoy strawberries.

I love eating 'em straight off the plant, okay?

But nothing makes me happier than to be sitting beside a fire at my house in January or February and getting some strawberries out of the freezer that my wife has put up or my daughter has put up and just eaten them and being able, I feel like you've got it all then.

I think you get to reminisce about strawberry season.

You know, you're sitting in there warm and bundled up and also reminiscing about last year, but looking forward to this year.

So, that's probably my favorite.

- [David] So, whether you prefer your strawberries in a smoothie, in your salad, your bread, your ice cream, or just straight from the vine, you can't go wrong.

(singers harmonizing) We now take the mountain road from Cornelia to Ellijay where a trail full of orchards leads us to Aaron and his apples.

(upbeat music) Here you'll find pumpkins, here you'll find pigs, and there are plenty of trees where the apples grow big.

Take the family or a few friends up to Ellijay sometime and slowly stroll tree-lined Highway 52 known as Apple Orchard Alley.

The majority of Gilmer County's apple houses are along this stretch and it can be quiet an experience to hop out and take a peek at each one.

Some are big, some are small, and each one comes equipped with their own signature treat, or two, or three.

I decided to spend a little time at one I had never visited before.

Let's meet Joshua Aaron of Aaron Family Orchards and learn a little more about the bushels, the pecks, and so much more.

(upbeat jazz music) I guess this goes back a long time, 1938?

- '38 is when they bought the property.

'44 is when we actually opened up.

Back then it was Aaron's Apple House and 2013 changed to Aaron Family Orchards.

It's special up here and it's good for apples.

Apples have to have a certain amount of cold hours or a certain altitude in order to make sure that they can crop for the next year.

And so, with us having our higher altitude and getting more chill hours, which are hours below 45 degrees, that makes this a really, really good place to grow Southeastern varieties of apples.

I always nickname 52 East Apple Alley, because you have five different orchards and there actually, used to be even more on this highway.

So, when you're coming from Ellijay, you'll hit R&A Orchards first and then you get to us, my cousins down the road, Mac Aaron's Apple House.

Then you hit BJ Reece Orchards and then Hillcrest Orchards all on this less than 10 mile stretch of highway right here.

You know, what's good for other orchards is good for the entire community.

And so, we work to help each other to make sure that things are as high quality as possible for the people that are coming to visit Ellijay.

(gentle upbeat music) What's behind me right now, this is the original store built between '38 and '44.

Everything you see behind me was actually, recycled from a house that was on the property.

You can see behind me right here the stains of apple juice where our old grate machine used to be and where juice just took and stained the wood.

You know, there's a lot of history here and the history goes along with the legacy that came from my great grandparents, my grandparents, and you know, the legacy that my dad and my mom had here as well.

(gentle upbeat music) So, when it comes to how we package our apples, a lot of y'all have heard the rhyme, "A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck."

So we still use the bushel system for how we package our apples.

So, this first big basket, this is our bushel basket, and so, that is around 50 pounds of apples to fit in this volume.

Then this next basket right here, we have a half a bushel and then we have a peck right here, which is a quarter of a bushel.

And so, your bushel's gonna be right around 50 pounds of product depending on the size of the apple.

It can be anywhere from 70 to 125 apples per this basket.

And then, of course, this is a quarter of it and we'll go all the way down to a quarter peck, which is gonna be depending on the size of the apples, it'll be anywhere from four apples up to eight or 10.

- [David] Cool.

So, it's not an exact science, let's say.

- Nope.

You know how we are in the states, anything but the metric system.

(upbeat music) - [David] Agritourism is growing all over Georgia.

School tours, you picks, even overnight stays at some destinations.

Here at Aaron Family Orchard, they'll pop you on the wagon and head out into the orchard.

You can stop by and visit the friendly farm animals.

- Hey, goats!

Not just goats.

Well, y'all aren't going to eat this, I know y'all.

I'd save that for.

- [David] I was gonna say, usually the smallest goat doesn't get in there first.

I'm impressed.

- [Drew] Oh, she's the boss.

- [David] How did you end up the boss?

(goat bleating) Thought you would be.

- [Drew] No, he's just a bully.

(David chuckling) - [David] Maybe pick a pumpkin or whatever else is growing at that time.

- All right, so we have right here a pink lady.

This one really didn't get sprayed much this year, so it has spots on it, some city blotch.

But taste wise, (apple crunching) there's nothing like a fresh Georgia-grown apple.

(upbeat music) The industry as a whole is starting to move towards smaller trees and condensing in areas.

And so, right here it's hard to believe, but just on three and a half acres I have 2,000 apple trees planted.

Whereas when you look on the hill at my Uncle Max's orchard, you'll see that those are gonna be semi-dwarf trees.

And so, these are only gonna get between eight and 10 feet tall.

Those over there are gonna get anywhere from 12 to 15 feet tall depending on the root stock.

And so, my goal with these, I'm gonna have my one center leader on this one and I'm gonna come back here in about a month, I'm gonna bend these branches down just like this.

And what I'm going to be wanting to do is encourage as many growths coming out the side as I can.

If I do it the right way per tree right here, I can get anywhere from, I should be able to get anywhere from 50 to 75 pounds of apples per tree.

These right here are gonna be used for you-pick apples.

And so, with these being, you know, not as tall as a lot of our other orchards, it'll be easier for a lot of people to reach.

You don't have to worry about people trying to climb a tree.

- [David] Well, it's kind of fun to drive out here on the tractor, see your cousin's cows and then see what you're creating here.

It's fun to see the next generation start to make this happen.

- We're trying.

(Drew chuckling) (upbeat music) Anything in agriculture, you have to keep growing and you have to keep adapting to what the market is wanting and what the market needs.

Some of my goals for the future are going to be to get our cider press back up and running, get a bakery up and running, and then, of course, getting more land, planting more orchard and creating this place as a one-stop shop when you think of anything Ellijay, North Georgia, Southern Appalachia.

- [David] So, stroll the alley, swing by a farm store or two or three, try the cider somewhere and a pie elsewhere, and head home with a bushel, or a peck, or whatever your heart desires.

(singers harmonizing) From the apple alleys of Ellijay to the fish-filled streams and rivers of Habersham County where we revisit a fish-catching, pepper-growing, sauce-making Georgian who always seems to be cooking up something.

(upbeat music) Abby Jackson, also known as Abby J, loves to entertain her fishermen.

They come not only for the trophy trout that populate the gorgeous Soque River, but for the experience as a whole.

Wading in the river, witnessing the Sun breaking through the leafy branches of mountainside treetops, the Adirondack chairs by the fire where hundreds of fish tales are born and embellished, and finally, sitting at this one-of-a-kind tabletop and downing a bowl of Abby J's chili.

A dish that inspired an award-winning line of sauces, sauces, and of course, candied jalapenos.

We'll check those out soon.

For now, let's head down to the river.

(gentle upbeat music) - We've been coming up here for probably about three years.

It's a great place to bring customers up here.

They really enjoy.

Come up here, spend the night, a lot of times have dinner grill out with the guys and next day get up and fish.

The morning time, come back, have lunch, go back, and fish in the afternoon.

It's a great time to get some guys out here just entertain and be in nature.

- [David] Then you go back to the cabin there and there's some pretty good food.

- Absolutely, Miss Abby does know how to cook a little bit.

- What it means to us is that we make these great relationships, lasting relationships, and they become part of the Blackhawk family.

And we just truly love that and we know who they are.

John and I really love building those relationships.

We're blessed to be here and be the stewards of this property, and really blessed to have people like you, Gary.

(upbeat music) - [Drew] What's the biggest fish you caught here?

- Probably about a 30-inch brown trout.

First time ever coming up here, so we hadn't got one like that again, but maybe this morning.

- [David] Yeah, this is the day.

We've been looking in the water already.

- [Gary] Absolutely.

- [David] And all I'm doing is keeping you from fishing.

- Exactly.

- [David] Oh, nice beast.

Oh, that's a nice fish.

Well done.

- This section of the river, we have a lot of cool springs that flow into it that keep the water really cold.

And we have Raper Creek that runs into this section of the river.

So, it really is a great habitat to keep the fish here.

We've got breaks that we've built into the stream to where it does produce more oxygen and the fish can be healthy and happy during the summer.

(upbeat music) - [David] As the fishermen chow down a well-deserved bowl of Blackhawk chili, Abby J guided me to the kitchen where her candied jalapenos were currently in production.

- Okay, David, you know I'm always creating something and this is my candied jalapenos, and it's a small batch, but I'm getting ready to launch this product.

It's really simple.

You just have to add your sugar.

There's about six cups of sugar here, apple cider vinegar.

I'm not gonna give you my whole recipe, you know I'm not.

- [David] I was wondering, I was like I can do it at home.

- I got some turmeric, celery seed and garlic powder, and we just turn this on and we get this going.

You wanna incorporate these ingredients and get this going to a boil and then we will let it simmer for about five minutes, and then we'll add the jalapenos.

- [David] Where do you get the jalapenos from?

- I grow my own jalapenos and I have habaneros, poblanos, every kind of pepper you can imagine, I have it.

It's really fun.

It's probably one of my favorite products, 'cause I love the hot and spicy and you can put these on sandwiches, cream cheese, or eat 'em right out of the jar like I do.

(upbeat music) - [David] Abby J loves to entertain, but she also loves to give back to her community and beyond.

This is where we meet another great community leader in the mountains of Georgia.

Abby's friend and the director at the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, James Brim.

- Look at this.

I think we are gonna have an amazing root vegetable crop for you and our relationship goes way back, doesn't it?

- [James] I've been at the food bank for eight years and you've always been connected with us.

- What you do is very special, because we need you and you've made this whole food bank tremendous.

- Well, since you said you need me, we need you too as well, because you bring in a lot of good vegetables to the food bank.

- James, we thought we were gonna have an amazing crop of corn, sweet corn, and it didn't rain for three weeks, so that was disappointing.

But I think we hit it just right with 10 inches of rain from Hurricane Helene.

At least we can give something back that's positive from that hurricane and that storm, and that's our crop here.

- [James] You have always given back in anything that you do and I appreciate you thinking of the food bank every time that we come out here and every time you bring food into the food bank.

- [Abby] Well, it's a blessing that we can help and we like to help others and it makes us feel good and needed as well as they need us.

It's a great relationship.

- And you know, one thing I love about your garden is, is that we did a cookbook with recipes and a lot of the produce and stuff that we used came from your farm, so that's really great.

- Oh, that's good.

I'm glad they could incorporate healthy.

Yeah.

- [David] And James, you're looking for help during disasters, but it's really all the time, right?

- Year round we're looking for people that year around to help.

If you got something that you wanna bring to the food bank to help people in the community, we're always there.

- [David] Folks like James and Abby J love to give back.

It's part of who they are.

And it's partnerships like this, just one of many here in the mountains, that can continue to aid and improve an entire community and beyond.

(upbeat music) So, from the juicy, red strawberries of Hall County to the apple orchards of Ellijay, and, of course, the trophy, trout-filled rivers and streams of Blackhawk Flyfishing, a place award-winning, Georgia-grown garden peppers and salsa also call home, the mountains of Georgia are full of fun times, brimming with great folks and filled with farm fresh.

I'm David Zelski.

See you at the next "Fork in the Road".

(upbeat music) "A Fork in the Road" was brought to you by.

(bright music) - [Narrator] Community, learning, working, playing, celebrating, doing life is always better together.

At GPB, we aim to provide you with the tools to be able to do life together well.

Our mission to educate, inform, and entertain inspires everything from our wide range of programming to our stimulating radio conversations, to our fun in-person events, we've got something for everyone.

Visit gb.org/community to learn more about our upcoming events.

(gentle upbeat music) - [David] From the soil of our family farms to your table, there's something special about Georgia, something you can taste in every bite.

Fresh flavors, local farms, unforgettable experiences, Georgia has it all.

Support local, taste the difference, and make memories along the way.

Look for the Georgia Grown logo wherever you shop or visit GeorgiaGrown.com.