HIP’s Summer Challenge Week #3: Picking Strawberries at Local Idaho Farm

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For Week #3 of HIP’S Summer Challenge, we headed to a local farm right outside of Boise, Idaho to do a little berry picking! Specifically – we were picking Organic Strawberries. And the best part, they were only $1.50 per pound! I thought that this was a fantastic price for fresh, organic strawberries.

To find a local farm that offered the option to pick your own fruit, I headed over here to search for farms in my area. We then piled the kids in the car and headed out for an afternoon of picking fruit. On the way to the farm, we all discussed the different items that we could make with strawberries  – strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, strawberry lemonade, strawberry pancakes etc.

Much to my delight, the kids had so much fun on the farm filling up their boxes with fresh strawberries. My kids have only visited a handful of farms over their lifetime so this excursion provided such a neat opportunity for them to make a connection between the strawberries found in the grocery store and where the strawberries are actually grown.

HIP Tips:

* Dress appropriately and bring sunscreen!

* Note that depending on the time of year, the farms in your area will offer different fruits and vegetables. If you are wanting to pick a specific fruit/veggie, be sure to call ahead to confirm that this item is in season and available as a “pick your own” item.

* Call ahead to confirm the hours of operation. I discovered that many of the farms in my area are without web-sites and/or their web-sites only had very minimal information. For this reason, I strongly encourage you to call before making a special trip to ensure that they will be open. You’ll also want to ask if you need to bring your own boxes/buckets or whether they are supplied by the farm.

* Ask about the cost in advance and available methods of payment. Many farms only take cash so keep this in mind.

* Pick enough to make the trip worthwhile! We drove quite a ways to get to the farm and ended up picking about 8 total pounds of strawberries.

* Talk to your kids about how cool it is to support a local farm!

* And most important of all – make it fun! We had a contest to see who could find the largest Strawberry. 😀

Final Cost = $12 for 8 pounds of Organic Strawberries

Have you ever been to a “Pick Your Own” farm before?! If so, share your experience with us!

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HIP’s Summer Challenge

Every Monday throughout this summer, I will be publishing a Weekly Post centered around different activities that I have personally done with my 3 kiddos (ages 6, 8, and 11) for around $10 or less. You can check out previous Summer Challenge posts here:
HIP’s Summer Challenge Week #2: Making Monsters University Scarers
HIP’s Summer Challenge Week #1: Bowling for Free

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Join The Discussion

Comments 44

  1. Michelle

    Today my daughter and I had fun picking Mulberries from a tree, near the greenhouse I work at in the Spring. This activity was completely free, since the tree is just next to the creek on the greenhouse property. We are planning on going back again next week. Thanks for all you do Colin. I hope your summer is as amazing as you are!! 🙂

    • Alla

      Michelle which state is Mulberry in? I grew in a country where we had them in our gardens and at this time of this year they were all ripe and super yummy. I live in Western NY and would love to find it somewhere around to go pick some even if I have to pay for it, I mean for the fresh mullberries. OMG!!! Lucky you 🙁

      • J

        We had a mulberry tree at my house growing up in PA Idk where the poster before me is from.

        • rebecca

          They grow well in northeastern PA where I live.

      • irene

        They grow so easily here in Ga., they are considered junk trees. I pick and eat every chance I get. In fact, we discovered a blueberry tree (not bush!) growing in the middle of our local dog park. DH and I were the only ones brave enough to eat them! LOL!

  2. Meli

    I am so addicted to going to a local farm here in Las Vegas. I go almost every Saturday to pick what’s advertised. I juice a lot and this is an awesome opportunity to support local farmers! I got Peaches & Tomatoes over the weekend. I make sure I stay hydrated and always apply sun screen and put comfortable shoes. It’s a great exercise too! Can’t wait for the Apples & Pears to be ready! Those sweet honey bees work hard for us!

  3. Claudia

    We have taken our kids to pick apples in Tehachapi, California. Although, it wasn’t cheap. Our kids had a blast picking the different varieties. Since it was 2hr drive for us, we used our plug-in cooler and it kept everything nice and fresh. We had apples in so many different ways using the recipes that we picked up at the farms we visited. The kids can’t wait to go again. That will be in the fall, maybe we’ll do some strawberry picking so that they wont have to wait that long.

  4. Emily

    My parents always had a big garden and my grandparents have a farm, so we always had plenty of fresh strawberries and veggies in season. My dad planted 24 tomato plants at the farm so I have a feeling in a few weeks, he’s going to be holding pick what he wants and then have a pick your own party for the neighbors to take whatever they want for free. 🙂 My boyfriend wonders why I’m always so picky about the tomatoes we get in the store… there’s nothing like picking the perfect one, fresh from the vine!

  5. Ruby

    At the North end of our county is a very small town called Mims, Florida. There we have Holland Blueberry Farm and Sledd’s U-pick Strawberry Farm (closed till summer season). Every year on Mother’s Day we kick off blueberry season with a trip to the blueberry farm. I have 2 kids and they love to find the “blue” ones! This year we picked a whopping 9lbs! Total price? $18! Can’t beat that and best of all is they freeze wonderfully. 🙂

    • Ketsy

      Neat Im in Florida on the Space Coast but Im willing to check this out 😀

      • Ashley57

        That is my county! Hello fellow Brevardian!

  6. Amber

    In Aug. we pick raspberries in Oak Glen, California. My daughters love it and its only 30 minutes away. Then we go back up in Oct and pick apples. We also have a vegetable garden and a few fruit trees in our back yard. My 4 year old loves to pick and eat right out of the garden.

  7. lisa

    I took my two children ( 2 and 1) strawberry picking for the first time today. My son had a blast picking all of the strawberries. We only left with about three pounds since the kiddos wouldnt stop eating them all! =)

  8. Haseena

    I love visiting local farms here on Long Island, NY. We go out East to Riverhead several times a year to pick our own cherries, strawberries, or whatever is available, and I love visiting the farms that roast local corn, so good, a little pricy, but its so worth the money. Several times during the summer we drive 45 min-1 hour for the corn alone 🙂

  9. Nana

    We have picked strawberries for years down here in sunny Florida and now the grandkids are enuoying it every year. Nothing better than yummy strawberry bread (-:

    • Ruby

      Strawberry bread? Recipe please? 🙂

  10. Jessica

    We live in the suburbs of Milwaukee, WI, where we buy local produce from the farmers market all summer. Then, in August, we head up to the U.P. (upper peninsula) of MI (6 hours away, where my mother in law has a cabin) and we pick a lot of blueberries for about 1.25 a pound! Last summer, we picked 50 pounds…they freeze really well and we use them all winter in oatmeal, blueberry crumbles, and just as a bowl of berries…yummy!!

  11. Colleen

    We go to u-pick farms for strawberries, apples, raspberries, and sometimes cherries almost every year here in Michigan! I used to go before having my boys and now I take them too (ages 2 and 5) – we have a blast 🙂

  12. tammy

    Every year as my children grew up we went pick strawberries. We always took my grandmother with us and have so many great memories of the time we spent together. This year my granddaughter turned 3. This past weekend we introduced her to the fun of strawberry picking and she loved it! Even tho my children are grown they still enjoy picking every year with me. This is one of the traditions that we will carry on and we look forward to each year.

  13. Bonnie

    took my son last week, we had so much fun, then come home and prepped and froze them together. Now we have yummy strawberries for the winter, and a day of great memories! WELL worth the $26!!!

  14. Christine

    Strawberry buttermilk ice cream is great. Blend up 4 cups of strawberries, 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups buttermilk in a blender and freeze. If using frozen strawberries it will be slushy and can be eaten right away! Enjoy!

  15. Beth

    We go twice every year in May to pick strawberries at the farm a few miles for out house. Every time my kids are very excited to go until they’ve pick about a half a bucket and then they’re done! I usually end up picking the rest but it’s worth it. The strawberries taste nothing like the ones in the store!

  16. Jackie

    Thank you, Collin, for such a great idea and links, so I can find some farms to go to in my area! Loving all these comments and recipes…Keep ’em coming!!

  17. Ketsy

    Im in Florida and I was thinking of taking the kids to the Tampa are where they have the hydro farm to pick lettuce and berries. Im waiting because I want the three hour trip to be worth it so Im saving to buy their hydro system so I can make my own little veggie garden 😀

    • Jennifer

      Don’t feel bad – we just went this past weekend in Maryland (granted outside of DC) and if you picked less than 20 pounds, It was 2.99/lb. Over 20 pounds? $2.29. I don’t even know what I would do with that many strawberries!

  18. Sara

    In Wisconsin, our local farm charges $3.50 per pound. Doesn’t that seem like a lot?

    • bunny

      Sara, that does sound like a lot considering you can get them on sale all the time in the summer here in Richmond for $2/pound. Are they possibly organic and that’s why the price is higher?

  19. jolynn

    Here in Southern IL we go blueberry pickin’ every year!!! Yummy 🙂

  20. Kateri

    We have a U-pick strawberry field here in Carlsbad, CA. We go every year, though it is a bit expensive. We also go 2 hours inland to Julian in the fall to pick apples, and pumpkins. My daughter loves taking bites out of all the little apples and throwing them on the ground as we walk through the field.

  21. Heidi

    Colin, I too live in Boise and I can’t seem to find an “organic” berry farm. Could you possibly tell me which one you went to?

    • Nora

      There is a phone number on the pole in one of her photos.

    • Mae R

      Heidi, I looked at the link that Collin had in the post and it looks like it is the Richardson Farm – Emmett, ID 83617. Phone: 365-4262. There are lots of u pick farms, sometimes they advertise in the statesman too.

      • Heidi

        Thank you!

  22. Bianca

    In Terrell, TX is a small farm called Ham’s Orchard where you can pick your own blackberries. It’s a lot of fun and they also have a small market where they sell all kinds of home grown fruits and veggies, as well as homemade ice cream, fried pies, etc. They’re well known for their delicious peaches though!

  23. Crystal

    We actually went to pick strawberries at a local farm in NE Ohio today. They charged $9.50 for a 4 qt. basket, which gave us a ton of strawberries! So much fun and the berries are so fresh and sweet. Such a fun thing to do with kids, they get such a kick out of it. In a couple weeks, we will be heading to another local place to pick blueberries.

  24. Darcie

    As a dietitian who works in a pediatric hospital and sees many children who barely eat fresh fruits and vegetables at all, I LOVE the idea of going out to pick fresh crop with your kids. There are sooo many benefits. Kids are much more likely to eat more fruit/vegetables when they are exposed to them in this type of way, or having your own garden at home. Although this activity is often more expensive than just grabbing the fruit from the store, it is worth it to do once in a while for the experience with your kids- they will be learn to enjoy fresh fruit more, have a fun time, and this will be a memory they won’t likely forget :).

  25. rebecca

    That is an amazing price for organic strawberries! We don’t have any organic pick your own starwberries near us and I really wish we did.

  26. Maria

    I have to agree with all the posters, it is well worth the extra price to have the experience of picking your own fruit or vegetable. I have many fond memories of my times picking cherries every year on my sisters birthday in July. We would bring a picnic with us and make it day.
    Definately a good summer thing to do with the kids.

  27. Monica

    Wow Collin I never thought of doing this before. I searched for you pick farms in my area and I found one not too far away! We are going to try it this week. This will be so much fun for my kids! Thank u for the idea!

  28. Jen

    Thank you so much for sharing!! I live in Nampa and we will definitely be going here!

  29. Casey

    We just took my 2 year old to our grandmother’s property to pick blueberries this past weekend. She had a blast and we have 6 containers full. Can’t wait to start baking 🙂

  30. Jill

    We like to go blueberry picking in Charlotte, MI each August. The kids don’t like blueberries (crazy aren’t they?!) so to make it more interesting for them we always had a contest. Whichever child picked more pounds than my husband, earned money (usually $5). It kept them focused and was so much fun watching them keep an eye on their dad’s bucket! The anticipation of going up to the weighing station and finding out the results always put a smile on my face.

  31. Tammy R.

    I just noticed your post on picking Strawberries. My aunt, cousin and her two little ones went to a local farm and picked Strawberries a few weeks back and we had a great time.

    We went back to my aunts home and cleaned all the Strawberries and made freezer jam. YUM YUM YUM!! I called my oldest boy and he said mom please make a large batch of freezer jam for me. There is nothing like home made freezer jam.

    I’ve been wanting to go back and pick some Cherries.

  32. Ramona

    That looks like fun and such a great deal!
    Idaho seems like a great fun place! I live in a small town in New Mexico and will be searching for places in my area to pick fruit!
    I couldn’t agree more with Marie’s post!

    Ramona
    RE:
    Idaho Berries

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