All guides
How to pick strawberries
4 min read
The first field of the year almost everywhere, and the one people most often pick underripe.
253
farms
19
regions
February to October
picked
When you can pick strawberries
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Across every region on Pickeria. Darker months are peak somewhere; your own region is narrower, and the table below gives it.
What to look for
- 1
Red all the way to the shoulder, where the stem meets the fruit. A white or pale green shoulder means it stays sour, because strawberries do not sweeten once picked
- 2
Pinch through the stem about half an inch above the berry rather than pulling, which tears the crown and shortens the plant
- 3
Leave the green cap on. A capped berry keeps for days, a hulled one weeps within hours
- 4
Lift the leaves and look underneath, where the ripest fruit hides from birds and from everyone who came before you
- 5
Do not stack more than about four inches deep in the container, or the weight bruises the bottom layer before you reach the car
What people get wrong
Every one of these is common enough to be worth naming.
- Picking by colour alone and going home with a flat of sour berries, because the white shoulder never turns red in the box
- Pulling the berry off and leaving the cap on the plant, which tears the crown and cuts the plant's season short
- Filling one deep bucket rather than two shallow ones, so the bottom third arrives home as jam
- Washing everything on arrival, which is what actually makes strawberries mushy in the fridge
Varieties worth knowing
Farms post the variety at the gate. This is what the names mean.
June-bearing
One enormous flush over two or three weeks. This is what almost every u-pick field is, and why the farm tells you to come now rather than soon.
Everbearing and day-neutral
Smaller pickings from June to frost. A few northern farms grow them, and they are the reason an August strawberry field is not a mirage.
Albion, Chandler, Jewel
The names you will see on a board. Jewel is the classic eastern flavour, Chandler the southern workhorse, Albion the sweetest of the day-neutrals.
Once you are home
Most people pick more than they planned to.
- Freezer jam is the easiest thing to do with a glut and needs no canning equipment at all
- Hull, halve and freeze in a single layer on a tray, then bag them once solid so they do not weld together
- Macerate the ones that are slightly too soft with a spoon of sugar and a squeeze of lemon, leave twenty minutes, and put them on anything
- Roast the disappointing ones at 375F for twenty minutes with a little sugar, which rescues a bland flat completely
Where you can pick strawberries
253 farms across 19 regions, earliest season first. Every date came from the farm's own words.
Published prices
$1.50 to $8.00 per pound
Los Angeles, CA4 farms
Tanaka Farms, Underwood Family Farms, Underwood Family Farms Somis and 1 more
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February to June
Lineberger's Maple Springs Farm, Bush-N-Vine Farm, Hall Family Farm and 13 more
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April to June
Mercier Orchards, Elliott Farms, Washington Farms and 12 more
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April to June
Live Earth Farm, Diablo Cherries, Three Nunns Farm and 11 more
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April to October
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April to July
Washington, DC26 farms
Marker-Miller Orchards, Great Country Farms, Baugher's Orchards and Farms and 23 more
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May to June
Philadelphia, PA25 farms
Weaver's Orchard, Kauffman Orchards, Linvilla Orchards and 22 more
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May to June
Hoffman Farms Store, Boones Ferry Berry Farms, Pear Bloom Farm and 19 more
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May to July
New York, NY20 farms
Greig Farm, Von Thun's Country Farm Market, Ochs Orchard and 17 more
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May to June
Hartford, CT10 farms
Lyman Orchards, Bishop's Orchards Farm Market & Winery, Jones Family Farms and 7 more
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May to June
Cleveland, OH7 farms
Patterson Fruit Farm, Rainbow Farms, Bauman Orchards and 4 more
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May to June
Boston, MA21 farms
Cider Hill Farm, Tougas Family Farm, Parlee Farms and 18 more
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June to July
Minneapolis, MN17 farms
Pine Tree Apple Orchard, Afton Apple Orchard, Pleasant Valley Orchard and 14 more
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June to July
Seattle, WA14 farms
Celebration Farms, Schuh Farms, Jubilee Farm and 11 more
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June to July
Stade's Farm & Market, SunBerry Orchard, Johnson's Farm Produce and 8 more
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June to July
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June to July
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June to July
Rochester, NY7 farms
Hurd Orchards, Bauman's Farm Market, Chase Farms Market and 4 more
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June to July
Milwaukee, WI4 farms
Jelli's Market, Appleland Farm Market, Basse's Farms and 1 more
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June to July
Farms that publish a price
Taken from the farm's own website, never from a directory. Most publish nothing at all, so these are worth knowing.
McCallum's Orchard & Cider MillJeddo$1.50/lbBird Berry FarmBelding$2.25/lbBoones Ferry Berry FarmsHubbard$3.00/lbLive Earth FarmWatsonville$3.00/lbStotz Berry FarmMonroe$3.00/lbGuelde StrawberriesEarlville$3.25/lbLCCL Strawberry FarmRome$4.00/lbSprings Farm MarketFort Mill$4.49/lbHunter FarmWeddington$4.50/lbTru2earth FarmGilroy$5.00/lbTantré Farm Honey Bee U-PickAnn Arbor$6.00/lbSlow FarmAnn Arbor$7.50/lb
