Green Blog

When was the last time you went berry picking? Many people don’t realize that you can take a trip to a berry picking farm, and bring home the fruit that you pick. Come late summer, many varieties of berries are ready to be picked and this is the perfect time to plan your berry picking adventure.

Bring at least one bucket per person, including kids. If you plan on picking a large volume of berries, it is better to bring more buckets than you think you will need than to need more buckets and not have enough. Most berry picking farms ask that you bring your own buckets and will not have buckets available for use.

Summer berries include the popular strawberries and blueberries that are often featured at pick your own farms, as well as blackberries and raspberries. Sometimes blackberries and raspberries grow in the wild. If this is the case, and if the bushes are not on private property, these berries are also good for picking.

Berry picking can be messy business. Berry juice stains are nearly inevitable after a day at the berry picking farm. Don’t wear nice clothing that you will regret having stained. It’s likely that you and your kids will be sitting on the ground, on dirt and berries, while picking. Even if you think you can stay clean, better safe than sorry.

After you are done picking, bring your berries home. Be sure to wash them before eating. Then, all that is left is to decide what to do with them. You have many options:

Berries freeze well if enclosed in freezer bags or airtight containers. This is good information to have, in case you picked more berries than you can use before they spoil. Freeze what you can’t use right away, and with the rest of the berries, decide how best to serve them.

You can eat many berries raw or cooked, depending on your preference. Some people like to have them plain, or with a bit of cream or milk. Other people sprinkle them on cereals, or mix them into oatmeal. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your berries. Berries can be baked into muffins and breads, be cooked down into preserves, be used as a filler between layers in a cake, and be simmered and used as a glaze for cooking some meats especially pork. Most recipe sites will have plenty of options for using up your berries.

A last word of advice to make sure that your berry picking experience is a positive one - don’t forget your sunscreen and your hat! You will be picking outside in summer. Coming home with a stinging sunburn is no fun.

In addition to summer activities, this writer also regularly shares writing regarding general ledger accounts and inventory accounting software.