Strawberry Picking: Tips and Tricks

This past weekend, my family and I went on our annual strawberry picking trip. The kids absolutely love to go strawberry picking. I am not sure if it's the time away, eating strawberries in the field or just being out in nature, but they have so much fun! We usually pick a Saturday in May to take a trip up to Red Sun Farms in Monroe, GA. If you would like to get more information about this farm CLICK HERE. The farm is about an hour and a half away from our home, so we make a day trip out of it. We normally leave around 9 or 10 in the morning, with healthy snacks and lots of water in tow. We pick strawberries and have fun bonding as a family at the farm for about 2-3 hours.

One of the many reasons that we enjoy going to this farm is because they aren't large or commercialized, essentially there are no bells and whistles. Just the way I like it. Simple nature, quiet space and time for just my family and I to connect with each other and mother nature. Plus you pay a pretty penny for the bells and whistles! After picking, playing and paying, we go to a casual restaurant and enjoy a nice late lunch with the family. Then, after we get back home, the real work begins. Below are a few tips and tricks that you will need to know once you get your haul of strawberries back home. We normally pick 4-5 pounds collectively, so we have enough strawberries to eat for a few days, to make strawberry jam, plus to freeze for smoothies and strawberry lemonade later!

Tips & Tricks for Your Strawberry Haul

1. Give the strawberries a cool water and vinegar bath in the sink (about 6 parts water to 1 part vinegar).

2. Put aside enough strawberries to eat over the next 3-4 days.

3. Cut the green hulls/stems off of the remaining strawberries (do not remove the hulls/stems from the strawberries that you'll be eating soon because this will cause the strawberries to go bad quicker).

4. Place the strawberries in a colander and rinse them off with cool water.

5. Decide on what you want to use these strawberries for and plan accordingly. These are a few ideas...

• Freeze any strawberries that you would like to use for smoothies or to make strawberry lemonade out of later.

• Put the remaining strawberries in a baggie or a container until you're ready to make your strawberry jam.