I went out to J & M Strawberry fields (part of J&M Farm 541-747-0065) to u-pick midweek. They are located out Seavey Loop near Mt. Pisgah Arboretum and Buford Park along the Coast Fork of the Willamette River.
I have driven by this farm many times on my way to the Arboretum to hike or swim. This is the first time I have stopped to pick their berries. I believe they grow and process peppermint for oil and alfalfa as well.
I believe this is the processing shed for the pepper mint oil (on the L). Beautiful field of alfalfa being mowed for bailing.
They have a pleasant little sales and field processing area to the north of the beds. Every thing was on wheels or skids so they could be moved along as the picking progressed through the field. There was a beautiful cottonwood towering over the beds to the east toward the river. I love these trees and their “snow” of seeds with cottony tufts.
The strawberry beds are raised a good 6-8 inches high and the paths between are sown to Fescue. This makes for very comfortable picking as the plants are higher and the grass pads the knees when kneeling. The variety was Shuksan and they were doing their 3rd pass through the field. Even so, I had no problem picking 3 buckets (about 18lbs.) in no time. The folks tending the sales area were very pleasant and helpful. They use a very efficient colored flag system for managing the beds. I really appreciate this technique as it assures good picking for all and higher yields for the farmer. So, be sure to follow your farmer’s instructions so that everyone gets good picking.
I put most of these berries in the freezer and made shortcake for dessert that evening. I went back on the weekend with my youngest son Aodan and my wife Patricia. Even though the plants were on their last legs, they still had quite a few good berries left on them. The folks at the farm dropped the price $1 a bucket and we went away with 3 buckets and 1/2 a flat already picked. I highly recommend this u-pick farm.
Mehu-Liisa Tip:
I juiced most of these berries.No need to hull! Just rinse and juice.
One full basket yielded 5 quarts of super dark thick luscious juice. The juice is so thick that it takes thinning up to 50/50 with water or seltzer. We had strawberry juice with seltzer for dinner. The kids love it.
During juicing I added about 2 cups of sugar in two layers of berries (1 cup each) to the fruit in the basket. This resulted in a relatively sweet juice. I might use less next time. Processing time was about 35-40 minutes. Short and sweet.
That’s it for now. Next will be cherries no doubt.
Take Care ’til next time.
Daniel
I headed out to Thistledown Farm in Junction City yesterday to get our second batch of strawberries for the season. It was an interesting drive out River Road to the farm. The farm is about 10 miles from downtown Eugene and River Road is a main artery from downtown to Junction City. About 5 miles out, in Santa Clara, the buildings start to thin and I noticed old fruit trees, mostly apples, growing in front lawns. Probably remnants of old orchards. There were a few smaller farms along the way with hazelnuts, berries and some small scale market farming. All not long for the world though as development pushes up against them. There were signs for other strawberry u-pick operations along the way. I stayed the course for Thistledown based on the evidence from earlier in the week when my youngest son had gone picking with a friend and her mother – large, sweet berries.
The field I picked in was of
Benton and
Shuksan varieties. The Benton were smaller and tangier with classic strawberry flavor while the Shuksan were largish, deep dark red and unbelievably sweet and deeply strawberry flavored. I went for the Shuksan. The rows were fairly weedy, not too bad, and the plants showed some variation in size. There was no straw underneath the plants (not a common practice in Oregon in my area it seems) so they were quite dusty and dirty when I pulled them from the lower part of the plant (where the big ones tend to lurk). There were lots of over-ripe berries so I had to be picky. Even so, it took me only 1.5 hours to pick about 20lbs. of fruit. All in all a very pleasant trip out to a well cared for farm that has an excellent reputation in our community. I will go again.
Back home, I had to soak the berries to remove the dust and dirt. Since many were very ripe I separated them out as I hulled to have as fresh strawberry sauce for morning pancakes. The rest I packed in quart freezer bags (without sugar) and put them to freeze. I got about 10 quarts of frozen and 2 quarts of sauce. Here is the pancake recipe, it is an excellent whole grain (wheat alternative if desired) recipe that is easy to prepare if a little noisy with the blender time:
Sue Gregg’s Blender Batter for Waffles or Pancakes
Take care ’til next time,
Daniel
We went strawberry picking Monday with our boys at a local farm along the Willamette river. Beautiful country down in Creswell OR rolling hills on either side of the river. Nice fertile bottom land, perfect for market farming. Along the way we saw turkey vultures, great blue herons, and other water fowl along the waterways and sloughs. Hansen’s Coast Fork Farm has a great setup for strawberry u-pick. We picked in the no-spray field, they also have an organic field that wasn’t ready for picking.
It has been a cool, drizzly last few weeks after an unseasonably warm and dry spring. The berries were small but good flavored. Lots of misshapen ones that my boys named: mitten, purse, and boxing glove berries. The field is very well cared for with obvious cultivation keeping the ground clear between rows. Lots of prickers and low thistle plants that kept things interesting!
The boys both fussed about getting up (at 9:30!) and to the field before noon. Ciaran said he didn’t like strawberry picking but preferred cherry and blueberry picking. Aodan agreed. We got them in the car, fed them some yogurt and hauled them down to the farm with us. They are the ones who eat the most frozen strawberries during the year so they need to earn their keep.
Ciaran and Mama heading out into the field. Ciaran is trying to look grumpy. They have a nice kiosk set up for check in and check out. All in all a well run, tidy field. While we were picking I chatted briefly with a woman who was working hard filling 2 buckets by herself. She said it was hard work for an old lady like her but that she loved coming to u-pick because she gets to enjoy everyone’s kids. One of the many pleasures of u-pick.
We got the berries home and soaked the dirt off of them (lots of dirt due to the recent rain), hulled them and put 10 quarts in the freezer. We will definitely head out again to get more strawberries as the boys love to make smoothies out of them all year. I make jam and strawberry sauce as well. I think last year we had about 50 quarts.
Mehu-Liisa tip: Remember that you can put frozen berries on top of fresh fruit that you juice later in the year to make wonderful flavor combinations. Apple, peach, and pear go well with berries mixed in. White grapes are also a good base fruit for combination juices.
Take care ’til next time.
Daniel
