Strawberry Picking in North Hadley, Massachusetts

Last weekend my boys and my Dad headed out to North Hadley to where I go and pick strawberries every year. They are fairly well priced ($2.50 a quart or $20 a box) and if you bring a good army to pick you can get lots in a relatively short time.

Strawberry picking in western ma with my dad & kids

The field is pretty good sized and while this photo is deceiving there was a pretty good sized crowd there picking with us.

Strawberry picking in western ma with my dad & kids

Since I had to bring Sawyer I just had him hang out in his MLB Umbrella Stroller from Kolcraft. It was perfect since we could carry him in it out and it provided shade too. Once he realized what he was surrounded by the little bugger actually was caught picking his own strawberries and eating them.

Strawberry picking in western ma with my dad & kids

In just over an hour we picked 3 full boxes with totaled 24 quarts. My Dad & I split them down the middle.

Strawberry picking in western ma with my dad & kids

Which means I have a whole lot of baking and jamming to do!

bowl full of fresh picked strawberries

And of course we froze 4 quarts to use for smoothies and milkshakes all summer long! Do you go strawberry picking?

foodsaver strawberries to keep fresh! Make sure they are dry and destemmed before freezing!

Comments

  1. Cassie says

    Looks like fun! We are going blueberry picking in a few days and I’m really excited about it!

    • Jennifer says

      I can’t wait for blueberry picking! I’m hoping to get tons!!! Put my worker crew to work again lol! Cherries too!

  2. Dee says

    YUM! My husband has been picking on me about the ridiculous amount of strawberries we’ve been going through – I can’t get enough!

    • Jennifer says

      I love them fresh. I love the tang they keep warm too! Yum!

  3. Michele R says

    So smart to freeze them. We went strawberry picking a couple of times by me and my son loved it.

    • Jennifer says

      I freeze everything these days lol

  4. Mary Williams says

    I’ve always wanted to take my son strawberry picking. I think he would like it. That really is a good price for good strawberries!

    • Jennifer says

      In all we paid $60 for 24 heaping quarts of strawberries! I think its a great price too!

  5. When I was younger I actually picked strawberries for a summer job…. my hands were stained red all summer, hehe. We have our own little patch in the backyard now and I love getting fresh strawberries every day.

    • Jennifer says

      Sawyer looked like a zombie leaving. He had red all down his chins, his hands, and streaked down his arms lol

  6. I used to love to strawberry pick when I was a kid. Nice berries, are you going to make jam?

    • Jennifer says

      I’m going to try freezer jam! I dried some and I made berry butter too! Tomorrow I’m making jam and either cookies or muffins! (i’ll freeze those too!)

  7. jamie braun says

    such a fun family activity! i take my kids strawberry picking at my dads! he grows them

    • Jennifer says

      We have a garden (raised bed) that we haven’t been using. I am going to make it a strawberry bed next year!

  8. These looks absolutely Scrumptious! There aren’t any places around me to go and pick our own strawberries. Perhaps there is a law against it here in California, or the insurance rates would make the berries way too expensive???

  9. I have a bush called a Service Berry otherwise known as a June Berry Bush. I’ve been picking berries like a mad woman. The berries have kind of a nutty flavor to them when cooked. They are high in antioxidents. I never see them in the stores though. All of your boxes remind me of all the picking I’ve been doing.

    • Jennifer says

      Hmmm I’ve never heard of those! Are they specific to where you live?

  10. Eliza says

    I love your photos. Totally miss North Carolina because we haven’t been strawberry picking since we moved from there. This always made it feel like summer, not to mention the yummy treats we made from all those strawberries. Happy WW

  11. Oh how I wish we could go strawberry picking in my corner of Texas ๐Ÿ™ Can taste the jams!! ๐Ÿ™

  12. vickie couturier says

    those are so nice an big an red,they look amazing how do you make your jam an jellys?

  13. Rosey says

    A perfect summertime activity!

  14. Carolyn G says

    I need to go over to your house and eat strawberries. YUMMO!

  15. YUMMY!!! I’ve been wanting to take my kids – I need to get on it or the season will be over!

    I can’t wait to hear about everything you make!

    PS: I love how Sawyer was picking & eating them! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  16. How fun! And look at all those strawberries! Yum!

  17. Yummy! That looks like a lot of fun!

  18. Such a great idea to vacuum seal and freeze the strawberries!

  19. You guys got a ton of strawberries! And they seem big, ours seemed to be a lot of small ones. Which was fine with the boys. Can’t wait to see what you make with them!

  20. That’s a lot of strawberries!! We went once.

  21. Oh my, I want some! Glad Sawyer got in on the action, too.

  22. So neat! I wish we had a strawberry farm around here! I might have to do some searching!

  23. I haven’t gone because I’ve lived in Arizona for so long – but now that we’re here in WA, we’ll be going strawberry picking, as well as raspberry, blackberry and blueberry when they’re in season. CANNOT wait!!

  24. Kathy says

    I would love to do that. We need a big freezer for trips such as these!

  25. I miss this! We used to do that growing up!! My mom would get so mad bc I’d always sneak to the freezer and pull strawberries all year long!

  26. Amy Green says

    This may sound silly, but this makes me think of a “Strawberry Shortcake” storybook when I was little-in it, she picked strawberries to make desserts.

  27. I love berry picking, how fun!

  28. Beeb says

    How fun! I love strawberries.

  29. Those strawberries look so good. It’s great you could go and pick direct from the patch

  30. Sandra says

    Looks like you all had fun and I love strawberry Jam!

  31. Drooooooooooooooollllllllllllll I totally luv strawberries! I give them to hubby for his lunch instead of chips sometimes or grapes, but his favorite desert is Strawberry Shortcake & Strawberry ice cream.mmmmm

  32. Anne says

    They look delicious! You are lucky to have so many helpers.

  33. Jennifer says

    Some of my favorite memories growing up were picking strawberries (and of course eating them too!). I’ve enjoyed sharing that experience with my little guy the past two years and enjoy the “fruits” of our labor; strawberry shortcake, smoothies, pies and of course homemade strawberry jelly. Loved looking at the pictures and your little guy looks a lot like mine did last year, figuring out there were yummy things to eat on those plants!

  34. kymi a says

    wow that looks like a fun day! I wish I could grow them but I’m better at buying it lol. Smart way to store for those summer smoothies that will be a big hit on those hot summer days. Thank you for sharing.

  35. So fun! We have a blueberry farm near us that I took my boys to last week. We picked 11 lbs of blueberries and blackberries. Such a fun experience for the kiddos.

  36. Sandy VanHoey says

    My daughter did this in Georgia about a month ago and they were so good. I wanted to make strawberry freezer jam with it but never got around to that and she didn’t get as many as we should have had to make it.

  37. Karren Haller says

    I am trying so hard to grow some of my own, ugh I just dont have the perfect soil and living in the desert doe not help. They look soooooo good!! Industrious was your son to caputre some of his own!! Happy WW a little late! From Wordless Wednesday In a Zen Way

  38. Love picking strawberries! We just went about a month ago too and picked 23 or so quarts. We made jam, put some in the freezer, and had pies. So fun and so yummy too! Your photos are beautiful.:)

  39. Kira says

    Looks like you put the family to work – 3 boxes of strawberries is a lot. Nice family tradition though.

  40. Courtney says

    We’ve never been strawberry picking, but it looks like a lot of fun! I love fresh strawberries, delicious!!

  41. Nannypanpan says

    We just went strawberry picking last week and we already ate them all. Hoping to go again tomorrow after school to pick more

  42. Tiffany Schmidt says

    We love strawberry picking. My kids probably eat as many as I can pick and put away. I love helping the local farmers and they always taste so much more fresh than ANYTHING shipped in! Plus, fruit and veggie picking is an excellent time for education with little ones. I feel it helps them understand some concepts better!

  43. Belinda Parker says

    Great pictures! I love strawberries, and used to pick them with my mom as a kid!I see strawberry shortcake in your near future. Lol!

  44. Janet W. says

    Wow y’all sure picked a lot!! They look delicious!! What a fun, healthy, family activity!

  45. courtney b says

    I would love to do that! too bad they don’t have strawberry picking in az!

  46. I have never been strawberry picking, but it looks so fun. I want to try it someday.

  47. Ellen Parlee says

    Strawberry picking season doesn’t last for too long in New England so it’s important to get out there while you can! Be sure to call ahead to the farm to check on picking conditions. Depending on fruit availability and crowds, picking can be over for the day in the morning!

  48. Julie Wood says

    What a great day to pick strawberries. I have picked strawberries with my son many times. I love fresh picked strawberries because they taste so good. I also like to get to eat as I pick. I sure liked looking at all of your awesome pictures!

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