Frugal Family: Pick Your Savings

One of the best parts of summer is fresh produce and you can’t get much fresher than picking it yourself. Our area has quite a few pick- your-own farms offering a selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables at prices lower than what you would find in stores. Even better – it gets the kids out of the house, so it’s not only saving money on food but also something fun for the family to do. Grab a bucket or basket and head out while you save a little and have some fun in the sun.

Most people in the area have heard of Strawberry Acres. They keep their website updated with information on what’s available and have a market where you can get fresh baked goodies as well as a deli. Unfortunately, their cherry season didn’t go well and all were picked within a few days, but they do have both yellow and black sweet cherries available in their market.

They also have local strawberries, blueberries, red and black raspberries, sweet corn, cabbage, tomatoes and more available in the market.

If you want to go somewhere specifically to pick, head there in August when their peaches will be ready for picking. Otherwise you can have a hoagie and pick up some farm fresh produce while the kids enjoy the big slide and feed the animals.

George Schmidt Berry Farm in New Tripoli has and abundance of red raspberries this year according to their website. You’ll pay just $2.65 per pound. They also have sugar peas and snap peas available for picking now.

While their picking schedule depends upon the weather, they anticipate blueberries, red raspberries, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, apricots, sweet corn, cabbage, onions, red beets and kholrabi to be available in July.

August brings blueberries, peaches, blackberries, plums, nectarines, cantalopes, watermelon, tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, red beets, and green peppers. At the end of the season (September and October) expect to find fields of apples, pears, pumpkins, green peppers and tomatoes .

 located in South Whitehall currently has blueberries, black raspberries and both red and black currants available for picking. Starting around mid-July they anticipate their peaches being ready, though they pick them at the farm and have them ready for you to purchase.

This farm also has Christmas trees and you can tag them the first weekend in December.

Always contact farms before visiting to find out where they're at with their schedule.