Yesterday, we drove out to Monroe’s Orchard to meet up with friends for strawberry picking. This was our first time visiting this farm. We were greeted by great signage. It was easy to know we had arrived.
After pulling in the driveway, we saw this sign and followed around to the market building.
We had the option of bringing our own containers and having them weighed before picking or buying containers. Small quart sized containers were 20 cents. Larger containers that held 8 quarts were $1.25. I didn’t bring picking containers for myself, but I did have buckets for the kids. So, I bought one of the large containers. Debbie was working in the market and she was extremely nice to us. This time of year, not much was going on in the market. I suspect it would be much busier during apple season.
Then, we drove behind the building to the grassy area to park and head to the field. Ella was there to greet us, demonstrate how to pick berries (for the kids) and assign us to a row. The picking was pretty good and the berries were plentiful. We didn’t think the berries were very sweet. The field we were picking in was the Jewel variety which are a tarter berry. Also, the weather this year has not been ideal for strawberries. Many farms are having small berries, limited picking, and delays with ripening due to the weather.
Nick had to use the port-a-potty not once, but twice during our hour of picking. Luckily, it was close to the picking field and very clean. I’ve been to plenty of public bathrooms that weren’t as nice as this port-a-potty. Two trips is better than accidents any day!
This is a typical shot of the kids. Sally is busy eating a strawberry and Nick basket is empty. He is always in search for the perfect berry and rarely finds them. Many times, he ends up looking at weeds and running around the nearby fields.
We ended up with just over 5 pounds of berries. They were $1.65 a pound + $1.25 for the container. We ended up paying $10.00 total.
These berries were washed, hulled and then frozen whole. They will be used in jam or smoothies. I made sure to clean them last night since we had more picking planned for today.