Berry picking!

Once again, we went to pick berries. It makes for a nice, fairly short activity to do in the morning. Nora loves to pick berries and feed them to Beth, so both kids stay pretty entertained. We've picked a lot at two places this year, and here is my opinion of the two.

Parlee Farms
This place is a great adventure day. They have a barn, donuts, ice cream and pick your own. The berries taste wonderful and the location couldn't be better - it only takes me a few minutes to get there. However, they have become increasingly strict about how many berries people are eating while they pick. I have noticed that Parlee seems to start sending employees around to monitor pickers around 10:30am. This is, of course, also about when the picking gets crowded! The Blueberries are also pretty high, so the real little kids (2-3 year olds) can't really reach them to help.

Brookdale Farm
Brookdale has farm animals and ice cream, but they are across the street from many of the pick your own items, meaning an extra in and out of the car - which can sometimes be too much for young families. However, they believe that eating some of the berries while you pick is part of the fun and do not discourage children from eating as much as they please -which was good because Nora ate about a quart of raspberries while we picked! Brookdales pick your own is often much less crowded than parlee. Their berries aren't always as sweet, although this year, the blueberries are just as good as Parlee if not a bit better! The blueberry picking at Brookdale is much easier for the smaller children as the variety they have produces berries lower to the ground. It does mean a little more bending for adults, but there are also plenty of berries near the tops of the bushes! Brookdale is a bit further from us, but sometimes I think the drive is well worth it!

Both farms follow IPM (integrated pest management) farming practices to limit pesticide use. Overall, I feel very blessed to live in a place with such great pick your own places and will continue to support both farms! I'm also hoping to check out Kimball Fruit Farm when I get back from vacation next week.