*Affiliate links & codes are used throughout this post; please see disclaimer at footer and thank you for your support
We love to explore local farms and go berry picking. Last year we waited for the announcement until each fruit field (red raspberry, blackberry, strawberries, and later in the season, blueberries) were ready to pick. We also cut bundles of lavender and wild flowers. This year was much different. With the high heat and prolific rains in between, everything, and I mean everything, was ready earlier in the season than ever before, and all at once! We headed to Johnston's Fruit Farm when we saw their picking plea. Admittedly, we'd been waiting to see when their berries--strawberries in particular--would be ready for picking after we snagged a quart of spectacularly tasting ones at the local farmer's market two weeks before. We got to Johnston's the soonest we could after their announcement and were able to pick strawberries, red raspberries, and black raspberries.
The strawberries had been pretty picked over and it was definitely a different experience than last year, but I'm so grateful this wasn't our first year, since we had such a better understanding of how to dive deep for them! With that said, we were still able to come home with nine pounds of strawberries alone! The red raspberries were next, and although there were some good ones, it was probably the most challenging berry to pick based on scarcity. But I must say, they are my favorite of all the berries we've picked so far this year! Next was the black raspberries. They were the most fun to pick this year (in one sense, anyways), because they were so bountiful! On the other hand, I don't remember them being quite so prickly last year...They probably were, haha, but I really got scraped and stuck with briers from our picking session. It was well worth it, though!
Because of the heavy rainfall, they offered tractor rides to and from the berry patches when we were there, and we had a private hay ride on the way back.
And of course, we were prepared with snacks. I think I had two of these beef sticks and a superfood bar with some electrolytes post-picking.
We still need to make it to the blueberry patch, but another farm, Bennett's Orchard, notified of an early peach picking. They usually don't open until August first! We couldn't get a hold of anyone on the phone, but were more than happy to take our chances and head up over the border to Michigan. It turns out, they just had a self-serve counter set up in their produce area. Unfortunately, their farm store wasn't open yet at the time. So, they had peaches, but that was it!
When we got home from Johnston's, I started soaking all the fruit in the rinse I use for all of my produce. I do about 2-3 drops of CitriDrops Dietary Supplement (affiliate code: SATIATEDBLONDE) in a bowl of filtered water and let it soak for 20-30 mins (ideally). It's a combination of four different citrus seed extracts and their website shares, "citrus seed extracts have been studied and safely used for decades for their anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties." I like that I can use it in my nasal wash, topically (for bug bites), and orally. Here's a video of me soaking juicy cling on peaches:
And a video of the beautiful raspberries:
Have you ever picked your own fruit? We look forward to making it out to the blueberry patch next. Find out when I'm there on my stories!
Comments