Monday, April 29, 2019

Pint for a Pint






Buy a pint of beer at Wharf Hill Brewing Co., get a free pint of strawberries from Browder Fresh Pickins! For every pint you buy, you’ll get a pint basket from Wharf Hill to take to Browder’s Fresh Pickins and pick a pint of delicious, fresh strawberries.

This week only, April 29-May 5.  First come, first served - 70 free pints available. 


The patch is bursting with big, sweet, delicious berries, and it won't take long to fill your basket. 



Shout out to the Wharf Hill Chuggers Running Club who ran from Wharf Hill out to our strawberry patch to pick berries on Sunday.  

Saturday, April 13, 2019

Stawberry Patch is open for 2019!

As of Sunday, April 14th at 7am we will be open for strawberry picking.  The patch is a little muddy seeing as we got 0.9 inches on Saturday, but there are zillions of large, sweet 'Sweet Charlie' strawberries.  And with the sandy land we have, it will be dry as a bone in no time.  Yes it's early, but it was a mild winter and the berries knew it and decided to come early.  Having frost blankets on them for several weeks helped speed up the ripening too.  This has got the be the best crop I've ever grown.  Come see for yourself. 

We will be open from 7am to 7pm, 7 days per weeks from now on rain or shine.  Tons of berries.  Amanda and Jake take great prides in keeping a clean strawberry patch.  This means the row middles have been mowed, there isn't tall grass or weeds in your way, and this makes for a more pleasant picking experience.  We are open practically all the time so you can come and bring the family when it's convenient to you. 



Price is $10/basket.  We supply the basket for free.  (It holds 4 or 5 lbs.)  U-pick only at the farm.  There will be pre-picked berries sold by the lb. at the Smithfield Farmer's Market in downtown Smithfield on Saturday mornings. 

I hope you enjoy yourself and get all the delicious berries you want.

Some ideas you can make are:
strawberries and whipped cream
homemade strawberry ice cream
smoothies
daiquiris
strawberry popsicles
chocolate covered strawberries
strawberries on top of Belgian waffles
fruit salad
strawberry jam


Sunday, March 31, 2019

Strawberries are blooming like crazy!

 

The strawberries sure enjoyed the warm weather yesterday!  This morning, we had to cover them with the frost blankets in preparation for another frost tonight.  Check out all the berries already forming on this plant - we are definitely looking forward to the next few weeks!


We'll be opening our pick your own patch in mid to late April:

WHAT: U-Pick Strawberries
WHERE: 14489 Bethel Church Lane, Smithfield, VA 23430
WHEN: 7am-7pm, 7 days a week (starting in a few weeks), rain or shine
COST: $10/basket, on the honor system (we provide the containers for free)
We will post on this webpage when we open up for the season. 
E-mail us if you have any questions: browdersfreshpickins@gmail.com 

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Getting Geared Up for Strawberry Season

We're getting all geared up for strawberry season!

The 11,500 strawberry plants that we planted in the fall are really growing!  That's nearly double the number of plants we had last year.  They should be ready to pick in April and May.  This year, we planted nearly all 'Sweet Charlie' strawberries, just like last year, which are famous for being super sweet!  We also planted several hundred 'Ruby June' and 'Chandler's to try and extend the picking season. Be on the look out for opening day of the patch.

WHAT: U-Pick Strawberries
WHERE: 14489 Bethel Church Lane, Smithfield, VA 23430
WHEN: 7am-7pm, 7 days a week, (starting in April - May), rain or shine
COST: $10/basket, on the honor system (we provide the containers for free)


Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Blackberries

Our blackberries were a bit of a dud this season, and we won't be opening the patch.  We were away on vacation and the patch wasn't well maintained.  Hopefully they're bounce back nicely next year! :-) 

Monday, May 28, 2018

Strawberry Patch is Closed for the Season, Blackberries Ready Soon

Thanks to all of you, we've had a phenomenal strawberry season!  There are no longer any strawberries in the patch.  

Now, we're getting geared up for blackberry season.  There are tons of blackberries on the vines and they should be getting ripe within the next few weeks.  All of our blackberries are thornless.  If you'd like to be added to our e-mail list for updates on picking conditions, hours of operation, and seasoning openings/closings, send us an e-mail at browdersfreshpickins@gmail.com.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Pick Your Own Strawberries - Now Open!





As of Saturday, April 14, 2018, we're OPEN!  Come pick some of these delicious berries :-)

For your convenience, we’re open 7 days a week, 7 am to 7 pm at our farm, less than 5 miles from downtown Smithfield.  14489 Bethel Church Lane, Smithfield.  When you arrive, please park in front of the greenhouse.  Grab a container.  Those are yours to keep.  Pick as much as you’d like.  There is a black box near the corner of the fence by the gate (where you grab your buckets) for your cash or checks (made out to ‘Browder’s Fresh Pickins’).  The price is $10/gallon basket & this is all on the honor system.  Please e-mail us if you have any questions browdersfreshpickins@gmail.com or if you'd like to be added to our e-mail list for farm updates.