Nothing says summer like fresh strawberries!  Pick-Your-Own Strawberries is just beginning in our area of Massachusetts this week, and we couldn’t be more excited!  Yesterday, my daughters and I just went on our first berry-picking excursion of the season at our favorite local berry farm.  I’m sure it will be the first of many because strawberries don’t stay around for long in our house before my girls devour them!

Here are 9 reasons why we love to pick our own strawberries:

1.  It’s fun! 

Strawberry picking signals the beginning of summer for me, and it is like a little scavenger hunt finding the perfect strawberries to feed my family.

2.  It costs less.

A quart of strawberries at our local farm stands cost about $6.50, but if you pick your own and bring your own containers, you can get considerably more strawberries for the same price.  You may be able to get them “on sale” at the grocery store for much less, but the quality is nowhere near that of the strawberries you pick for yourself.

3.  They are fresher.

Can’t get any fresher than picked right off the plant!

4.  They taste better.

Picked at the peak of ripeness, my girls think strawberries taste better than candy! (I LOVE that!) 🙂

5.  Great pictures.

I LOVE taking pictures, and strawberry fields are a wonderful location to get some great shots!

6.  Support local farmers.

Keeping your money in the community and helping other local families is always a good thing!

7.  Healthier – fewer chemicals.

Even if your local farm isn’t “certified” organic, many of them do not spray pesticides directly onto the fruit, especially if they are allowing you to pick your own.  Talk to your farmers to find out their exact procedures, but generally in talking with my local farmers I have found that their practices are much safer than that of commercially grown produce.   Just being able to talk to the farmer is a benefit in itself.  Although strawberries are part of the “dirty dozen” and it is recommended to always buy organic, I would buy local strawberries that are not organic over organic strawberries in the supermarket any day!

8.  It’s better for the environment.

Buying local reduces your carbon footprint.  Make sure to bring your own containers to save money and eliminate the need for packaging.

9.  You get to choose the strawberries you like best! 

There’s nothing worse than paying a premium price for strawberries in the grocery store, only to have to throw away half the container because the strawberries are rotten or not suitable for eating.  Picking your own ensures that you are only paying for the BEST strawberries.

If you’re wondering what to do with all of the delicious strawberries you have picked, be sure to check out my blog post Strawberries: 9 Ways to Eat Them.