5 Benefits of Checking out your Local U-pick Farms
A beautiful blueberry bush at the Blueberry Patch Farm in Walterville, OR
Ever since moving to the Pacific Northwest I’ve really enjoyed exploring all that the farms in our area have to offer. It feels like almost everything grows well up here.
Aside from just exploring the local farmer’s market scene, there’s also no shortage of u-pick farms to choose from. Whether it’s apples in the Fall, strawberries in the Spring or blueberries in the Summer, there’s always plenty of farms to choose from. It’s been so much fun to get out and check out different ones and connect with the people and places that grow our food!
But Oregon isn’t the only place that has a bounty of u-pick farms available. Check out the end of this post for how to find a u-pick farm near you!
So why pick-your-own in the first place? Here’s 5 reasons to spend a day at a u-pick farm.
Support For SMall Farms
Supporting small, local farms whenever possible helps support sustainability, and the families that work so hard to provide food for their communities.
Small family farms face plenty of challenges in today’s modern world where big-agriculture supplies much of what we find conveniently in our grocery stores. Any chance we have to support the people here in our own community is so important.
Save Money
Picking your own produce can save you money. At the farm we visited this week, blueberries cost $2.50 a pound. At our grocery store, they’re $3.99 a pound. For our family of 5, we go through at least 2 pounds of blueberries a week throughout the Summer, and that can add up pretty quick.
Picking your own allows you stretch your dollar and get more berries for the price. Which means you have extra around for snacking, freezing, making into preserves or pies, tossing into pancakes and topping your yogurt or oatmeal, or even giving away to friends and neighbors!
Learn About Local Produce
… and teach your kids about it too. It’s so fun to see how some of our favorite produce grows!
I’ll never forget the first time we went to pick cherries and saw just how many cherries grow on a single tree - and how bright and vibrant they were! It’s also a great opportunity to connect with the farmers who run the place. Ask them questions, get to know their practices and how they care for their crop all year long. There’s no doubt you’ll leave the farm with a greater appreciation for your farmers and all the hard work they do.
When you visit a u-pick farm, you’ll also know that you’re eating that produce at the peak of its season in your area - the best time of the year you possibly can.
Extended shelf life
Produce found in grocery stores was picked days (and often weeks) before making it to your local market. That means its shelf life is considerably shorter by the time it reaches your kitchen. And for more delicate options like raspberries and blackberries, the shelf life is often only a couple of days when bought at the grocery store.
With u-pick produce, those berries aren’t wasting any of that precious time sitting in the back of a delivery truck. They end up straight in your kitchen within hours of being picked, giving you and your family several extra days to enjoy them. Or, figure out what you’re going to do with all of them before they spoil if you find that you’ve picked yourself a little more than you had planned.
Reconnect With Nature
Visiting a u-pick farm is just another excuse to get outside and spend time in nature. Get some sun, get your hands dirty, spend some time with the bugs and the bees that live on the farm, and maybe even run into some other animals that call the farm “home”!
It’s good for our mind, body and soul to get some fresh air and back to our roots of “gathering” the plants that are in full season. And at the end of the day, you get to head home with your reward from all your hard work! Win win win.
So there you have it! 5 awesome reasons to head out and spend the day at your local u-pick farm.
Check out upickfarmlocator.com as a great starting point to narrow down results by your state and what you’re looking for. Or you can always do a quick google search for “u pick farms near me” or “u pick apples near me”, etc.
Happy picking!
