Bite into something sweet this weekend at Triple L Farms’ Pretty as a Peach Day.
The Derby Store, owned by the Lambeth family of Triple L Farms in Ellerbe, will be open between 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday with peaches and lots of old-time culture. The store is located at 2205 Derby Road in Ellerbe.
“We always feature what is most prevalent on the farm, and right now, it’s peaches,” said Marcia Lambeth of Triple L Farms.
Each year, between the months of May and August, Triple L Farms hosts a series of Derby Days to celebrate local farming and agriculture. July’s Pretty as a Peach Day encourages guests to stop by and pick up some farm fresh produce and enjoy all the old-fashioned charm the Derby Store has to offer.
“We have lots of peaches and ice cream and cobbler,” Lambeth said. “We’ll also have tomato sandwiches and corn on the cob. Just traditional summer stuff, as well as hot dogs.”
This year, there will also be a quilt show beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.
“It will show off the talents of some people in the community who have passed on, and also some current quilters,” Lambeth said. “We’re really excited about that.”
At noon, local performer John Webb will be entertaining guests with a patriotic program during the store’s popular Noon Tunes.
“Sweet corn is ready now, and all the vegetables,” Lambeth said. “Watermelons, cantaloupe, honeydew — we have any fresh produce that you could want.”
Children can play a game of hopscotch, cornhole, or try their luck with the horseshoe pit, while their parents enjoy some of the peaches which farmers say ripened early this year because of a mild winter and excessive heat.
“A lot of our agricultural produce has bloomed early this year,” said Sarah Mammarella, an agent with Richmond County Cooperative Extension’s Family and Consumer Sciences. “Our strawberries came early as well.”
Mammarella said the normal peach season stretches from June to September, but local farms have seen peaches as early as May this year.
“We’ve been doing lots of irrigating and dealing with the heat, but the rain (Thursday) night made it better,” Lambeth said.
Like many farmers in the area, the Lambeth family has generations of experience.
“My husband’s grandfather used to have a huge peach farm with a packing house and everything,” Lambeth said. She said that her own family has been growing them for about seven years.
— Staff writer Mallory Brown can be reached at 910-997-3111, Ext. 16, or by email at mallorybrown@heartlandpublications.com.
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