We renewed our Harvest Host membership for this year, hoping to travel again. There are a few Harvest Host locations on Prince Edward County and we booked Ben’s blooms for the night.
For those not familiar, Harvest Hosts is a membership program that provides access to wineries, farms, breweries, museums and other unique attractions. If you have a self-contained RVers you can stay overnight. The stay is free, but the hosts get your business. Whether it’s a visit to the museum, or in this case, we raided Ben’s roadside cart of organic vegetables. Some of you may remember our stay at Rural Rootz, another fantastic host location.
We were greeted by Ben who directed us to an open field where we had our choice of parking for the night.
We settled in one of the corners and went exploring.
Ben of Ben’s Blooms is a young farmer who just recently purchased this farm. He grows organic vegetables and flowers on a few small garden plots that he is slowly expanding.
We walked over to explore some of the crops and were delighted to find hollyhocks. These lovely flowering spikes famously line Prince Edward county’s roads.
The sunflowers were just about to bloom,
and the squash flowers peeked through the giant leaves with promises of deliciousness.
There was a bounty of vegetables; eggplants and tomatoes, kale and peppers, all lovingly tended to.
We had dinner outside and enjoyed the last rays of the sun bounce off the round bales before settling down for the billion stars night.
It was the quietest night ever! Complete silence and one of the best night’s sleep we ever had.
We woke up and watched some farm activities play out in front of us; a tractor needs fixing. Round bales moved to another location. Admittedly, it was nice to watch someone else do farm work while eating breakfast.
We chatted with Ben for a bit and thanked him for his hospitality. Before leaving we stopped at his honour-system roadside vegetable cart and bought a bunch of vegetables, including shishito peppers, a very mild pepper that we haven’t tried before. Here is a nice crab cake recipe with shishito peppers from the Toronto Star.
As we left Ben’s place we reflected on the program. It is unlikely that we would have made it to Ben’s farm on any other circumstances. We would have missed out on a pleasant stay and on some fresh vegetables, and Ben would have missed out on a client.
To us, the Harvest Hosts program is the Geocaching of RVing. You never know what you may find!
I just love that harvest hosts idea. What a great concept. It would work so well in every province across the country. Especially here in NS. Makes me wish we owned an RV.
It’s such a wonderful concept! There are tons of them throughout Canada and the US and a few in other parts of the world. I can see about a hundred in the Maritimes so we’ll definitely make use of this membership if/when we go that way.
Very cool. I will key that in mind for people I may know I. The future who could use this.
What fun to spend a night at a farm and wake to the joys of farm life as a guest. Sounds like a great program. Makes me wish I had an RV.
It was lovely! And yes, it’s a fantastic idea!
What a beautiful area! It’s great to have that opportunity to stay there in an RV!
It is a beautiful area! Thanks for coming along!
My pleasure!
Such a great idea….great post 🙂
Thanks you, and thanks for joining us!
First, I love the idea of the Harvest Host business model. It’s something I was unfamilar with, but what a great concept! Ben’s Blooms sounds delightful. Buying veggies on the honor system seems like something from a pervious generation, but it’s delightful.
You see a lot of the honour system in rural parts. What we loved about it even more is that he has an open bowl with change in it if you don’t have the exact amount. This included bills in case all you have is a hundred dollar bill 🙂
I first saw the honor veggie system in New Zealand two decades ago and have since seen it in parts of the US as well. Notably in Vermont.
Another example was the maple farm in the Berkshires, where Mark and I pet sat for four months over the summer once. They owned and ran a little stand along the road in which they sold maple syrup, different flavors and different sizes. We kept it open during the day, restocked it, cleaned up in the evening, and collected the money for the owners. In return, we could eat all the maple syrup we desired. A feast! 🙂
What a wonderful concept! And as Geocachers you definitely had me clicking the link when you said, “To us, the Harvest Hosts program is the Geocaching of RVing”. 😊
So you would understand what I mean by this comparison 🙂 It just takes you out of the way to a place that perhaps you wouldn’t go to otherwise. I love it!
Awww. Country living at its best. All you needed was a rooster on your roof!
We should get one of those weathervanes on our van!
What a great idea and the perfect way to see something while getting away from it all. Thanks for sharing. Allan
It’s a great concept and a perfect way to expose us to new places! Thanks for coming along!
That’s very cool. The concept of sharing the land and offering the bounty of it for commerce. It proves, simply, realistically, how ownership and commerce can co-exist, profitably, with generosity. It’s all about responsible, respectfully management.
You nailed it!
I love the way the golden light hits the round bales. Harvest Hosts has not yet been worth it to me; I usually boondock on public lands, or pay a few dollars at Forest Service sites. But I keep it in the back of my mind… My recent back roads find was fresh farm eggs at $1doz.!!! You never know what you’re going to find!
That’s a super nice find! Yeah, boondocking will always be my number one option.
Harvest Host sounds like a great way to travel. You are the second blogger I follow who has mentioned how wonderful such places are…
Yeah, it’s a cool way to experience new places and not just tourist spots. We are all about the back roads 🙂
and stories… 🙂
Great! As a farmboy myself I do love it when you can get to visit and see how the real world works. (And thanks for a prompt for my next post.)
I know! As we are in the middle of a move from our farm to a city, I know that there may be ore farms in travelling future, and Harvest Hosts is a perfect way to do this!
PS. The honour system makes us all feel the goodness in honouring each other.
Yes. And I am curious to see what you will write next!
What a bucolic visit! And to check out the harvest is such a delight, to really enjoy the nature outside AND inside, from earth to stomach!
Haha, what a great way to put it!
No wonder you renewed your Harvest Host membership!! This seems like such a win-win situation. Now if only I had an RV … someday.
Maybe one day!
We’ve been curious about Harvest Hosts. The concept sounds great and, for sure you’ll find some real gems. For us, though, who always boondock and camp for free, the annual fee is quite steep. I do understand this concept for more crowded areas, like in New England, where it is difficult to find public lands.
Question: do the hosts always expect you to buy something at their farm/vineyard/brewery?
The only thing we’ve ever done with shishito peppers is eat them as a snack: brown them on all sides with some olive oil in the pan and sprinkle with salt. Done. Super tasty! 🙂
I hear you and we felt the same about the fee. There are ways to get the membership at a reduced price though. This link will give you a 15% discount.
It all about the experience and exposure to new places, although we do love boondocking! We usually select places that we would want to buy something; a farm, or a museum. No one has ever asked that we buy anything, but it is appreciated.
I will try blistering shishitos next time we buy them!
Yeah! I’m back! Thanks for your help. Beautiful post. I’ve never been to Prince Edward Island, however the first man who asked me to marry him, was from there, so it has always been on my bucket-list. Maybe, maybe,,,,,,
Glad it worked out! Although Prince Edward Island is a gorgeous place, it is not where we were this time. This trip was to Prince Edward County, which is in east Ontario and no too far from where we currently live. It’s a quaint area with lots of wineries and a plethora of beaches.
I have heard great things about Harvest Hosts! Thanks for the confirmation, I’ll let my friends know 🙂
Great! I hope they enjoy it if they end up signing up. Thanks for reading!
Great idea to visit harvest sites! Loved the hayrolls and wildflowers.
Thanks for coming along!
What a wonderful concept! Not familiar with HH here in US. Your experience sounds heavenly. Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing. Enjoy these remaining weeks of summer.
Is it September already?
Harvest Hosts is big in the US! ….aaaand it’s September… where did summer go?
What a great harvest…lots hay here in Nova Scotia. A great getaway.
It was a really nice stay! Thanks for visiting with us!
Some of the Harvest Host stays are great!
Indeed! So far we only had great experiences with Harvest Hosts. Even made some friends 🙂