Strawberry Picking in Chapel Hill NC and Durham NC

There are lots of WONDERFUL berry patches in the North Carolina Triangle; we have listed here just a few of our favorites. Strawberry picking is an annual rite of welcoming Spring and makes a fun family outing. Every year we try to pick as many as we can so that we can freeze and save some, but the local strawberries are so delicious we tend to gobble them up and have none left over to freeze for later! Click here for local BLUEBERRY PICKING (Chapel Hill and Durham NC)

Strawberry Picking at Waller Family Farm
(very conveniently located, only 3 miles from Chapel Hill!)

5005 Kerley Rd., Durham, NC 27705. Pick your own strawberries! A fun activity for the whole family. (Located just a few minutes away from the shopping center at New Hope Commons and Patterson Place; from New Hope Commons on 15-501, take Mt. Moriah Rd. to Erwin Rd; left on Kerley; Waller Family Farm is at the intersection of Mt. Sinai and Kerley Rd.)
www.wallerfamilyfarm.com
(919) 225-4305

Read our Blog: Strawberry Fields Forever!
(or at least the next few weeks in May 2012)

at Waller Family Farm in Durham, NC

Strawberry Picking at Jean's Berry Patch

Jean's Berry Patch, 3003 NC Hwy 751, 9.5 miles south of I-40 on the left (at intersection with Lewter Shop Road), Apex, NC 27523. Seasonal strawberry picking at its best! Pick your own or buy pre-picked. A fun activity for the whole family.
www.jeansberrypatch.com
(919) 362-5800.

Nearby: When we go strawberry picking at Jean's on a weekend, we love to stop by The Last Unicorn, a fantastic 5-acre wonderland of architectural antiques / outdoor garden sculptures / beautiful wrought iron garden gates, located next door to The Governor Club. Check out the video about The Last Unicorn here. The Last Unicorn is located at 536 Edwards Ridge Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27517 (approx. 8 miles from Jean's Berry Patch.)

Hunt's Strawberries, 4505 Watkins Rd., Raleigh, NC 27616.Call first for availability.
(919) 266-1619

Lee Farms (contact: Jimmy Lee)
1878 NC Hwy 42, Moncure, NC 27559
Strawberries
(919) 776-2500

Logan Farms (contact: Bill and Daniel Logan)
110 Logan Farm Lane, Sanford, NC 27330
(919) 776-1898
Strawberries
2009 Hours: Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m. til 7:00 p.m. (call first)

Lyon Farm Strawberries, 5 minutes north of Durham, Exit 186A off I-85, follow the signs. Strawberry picking from Spring through mid-June. Kids will also enjoy feeding the goats! Have a strawberry picking birthday party on the farm (children can pick berries, feed the goats, have ice cream and cake in the picnic area. $4.50 per child includes quart container of berries).
(919) 528-3263.

Oakley's Strawberry Patch - We haven't been there but saw the signs off of Mount Carmel Church Rd. near Governor's Club

Whitted Bowers Farm, certified organic and biodynamic strawberries

8707 Art Rd., Cedar Grove, NC Enjoy picking organic & biodynamic strawberries at Whitted Bowers Farm, 10 miles north of Hillsborough, NC at Whitted Bowers Farm. MAY 2012 UPDATE: Whitted Bowers Farm strawberry pick-your-own is now closed for the 2012 season.

~~April 18, 2012 update: Due to warm weather the strawberry picking season is earlier and expected to be shorter than usual (3-4 weeks), so be sure to come pick early!~~

Editor's note: Read more about Whitted Bowers Farm in this recent Saturday Evening Post article (March/April 2012): http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2012/03/06/in-the-magazine/trends-and-opinions/the-organic-food-paradox.html

Check the website for hours and updates:www.whittedbowersfarm.com

Strawberry picking updates
(919) 732-5132.

N.C. Farm Tour / State Directory of Agritourism
Browse by location to find farms close to home or near your vacation destination; also browse by category to find petting farms, pumpkin patches, Christmas tree cutting, and more.
www.ncagritourism.com

Fun Reading:

Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

(available at the Chapel Hill Public Library)

We read this (chapter) book to our children every night before bed, and they LOVED it. Quite often they were all laughing out loud (ages 2 - 8!) and we all enjoyed the story, and we especially appreciated Strawberry Girl's pluck, grace and diplomacy in many a sticky situation.

Strawberry Ice Cream

If you have a high-power blender (the Vita-Mix is our all-time favorite), you can easily make DELICIOUS, all-natural strawberry ice cream in a few seconds!

Simply add to the high-speed blender:

2 Cups of Frozen Strawberries
1/4 cup Low-Fat Milk or Soy Milk
1/4 cup Sugar (or less, to taste)

Blend on high speed for 10 seconds and serve.

Berry Picking Tips: Don't pick your berries into a deep container, as the weight of the berries on top could damage the berries underneath. It's a good idea to pick your berries into low-sided containers or fill lots of small containers.

Berry Handling Tips: Always handle berries very gently, keep them dry and refrigerate them, and don't wash them until you are ready to use them. (Wash gently!) If you have some mushed/wet berries among your fresh-picked berries, pick them out as they can cause the other berries to go bad quickly. Also, do not wash berries before freezing them; instead, freeze them straight from picking, and then wash them only after thawing, right before you use them.

NC Farm Trivia: April/May is the beginning of the season for North Carolina strawberries, peaches, cabbage, greens, snap beans, and sweet potatoes. In the Chapel Hill area, the season for blueberries typically begins in July (this year, probably mid-July).

MORE NC PICK-YOUR-OWN: In addition to our listings below, see http://www.pickyourown.org/NCpiedmont.htm for more Pick-Your-Own options throughout the NC Piedmont area (listed by County).

SUMMERTIME FAVORITE:

Fresh-Squeezed Strawberry-Lemonade

There is nothing like fresh lemonade on a hot, summer day, and it's so easy to make!

6 lemons, freshly squeezed, seeds removed (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup sugar (regular or superfine)
1 cup crushed ice
4 cups water

Have a parent place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. (If you don't have a blender, just mix the ingredients well.) Makes 1 1/2 quarts. Serve with ice and enjoy!

Healthy Snacks:

Blueberries - USDA researchers have found that our of 30 fruits and vegetables studied, the blueberry is the top defender of body cells against free radicals (free radicals cause aging and diseases in the body). Even better, blueberries are delicious! For more info visit www.blueberry.org.

Coming soon! More recipes and ideas for meals that kids will love!

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein

GREAT WEBSITE FOR ASPIRING JUNIOR CHEFS! For lots of information for aspiring young chefs (including recipes, nutrition information, great mini-math lessons, and mini-lessons about the types of food served in different parts of the world along with recipes for each geographic region), see the Culinary Institute of America's website for kids at www.CIAKids.com.

Food-Related Links:

The Blue Ocean Institute Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood - Some fish species are high in mercury or other dangerous contaminants; other fish species are being over-fished or captured using methods that threaten to eliminate the species. The Blue Ocean Institute Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood includes red flag notes for fish species for which one or more consumption advisories exist from state agencies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, or where consumption concerns of certain fish species have been highlighted in scientific studies. The guide also has a color-coded fish key showing which fish species are relatively abundant, those where problems exist with the farming methods, and those where the species are being overfished, have a high rate of "bycatch" (ensnaring other creatures), and poor management etc.

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