Nothing says “Summer Is Coming” than a trip to the local farm for a fun afternoon of strawberry picking!
Yoders Farm is just about a hop, skip, and jump from us and they grow the BEST strawberries.
They have a huge farm, with a big section just for us strawberry pickin’ oficianados.
Have you ever wondered how farmers plant that many plants?
It starts way before it’s time to pick out your pumpkins … around the middle of September to be exact.
First they get the planting area ready … build up some mounds and cover with some heavy duty plastic.
They they take delivery of a whole bunch of plants … for Yoder’s Farm that meant 40,000 Chandler Strawberry plants.
Then they load the trays onto the strawberry planter tractor (I’m sure there’s a much more official name for it), and the magic begins.
The tractor has wheels on the back of it with cones that punch the dirt so that the farmers can put a plant pod in the hole.
Pretty cool huh!
Here’s a 25 second video of the planting in action …
And then they wait … and wait … and wait, while the seedlings grow … and grow … and grow.
As the weather gets colder and frost is eminent, the entire field is covered with a special blanket to protect the plants.
Once the threat of frost is gone, the cover is removed.
Now it’s time for the bees to come in and do their work!
All that pollinating worked! Here come the berries ..
Jump in the car.
It’s time to go!
The berries are ripe ready for pickin’!
Join me for part 2 where I share how I flash-freeze and pack my fresh strawberries.
A special thank you to Yoder’s Farm for granting permission to use the posted pictures.
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How about you?
Do you pick your own strawberries?
Do you have a favorite farm that you pick from?
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