My latest post on the Food Network blog is up for your perusal. It’s about my trip to a local berry farm and as you can see from a few of my latest posts, I’m swimming in berries! The one great thing that I didn’t mention in the article is just how affordable berries are when you pick them yourself. I always saw any berry more exotic than a strawberry or a blueberry as a bit of an extravagance…and with a tiny container of fresh raspberries going for $3.99, you can see why. What a fool I was! I ended up buying raspberries, tayberries, and boysenberries galore and the total damage to my wallet? $11. Yup. That’s it for a few gallons of what I used to call “luxury” berries. Plus, the tayberries and boysenberries last for ages in the fridge. It’s been 2 weeks now and they are still as firm and delicious as the day I picked them, just perfect for a quick afternoon snack.
So find a farm near you and start picking!
Hooray for fresh berries!
I believe that is may hand in your photo going in to pinch one of those delicious berries! I enjoyed your post on the food network… and thanks for all the berry – fruit recipes!
Hooray indeed for fresh berries. We’re blessed in Seattle with some awesome produce. Now I’ve got to head down to the market!!!
I just met my first tayberry at the farmer’s market. They’re amazing! I want to make jam with them. Wish there was a U Pick around here for them.
Picking berries is great fun. I have never heard of tayberries and I was under the impression that boysenberries were make-believe berries – LOL – yeah, I know weird 🙂
As Jonathan Adler says in his manifesto:
“We believe you should throw out your Blackberry and go pick some actual blackberries” – well, you did the first step.. Good for you! Claudia
I love picking my own. There are loads of blackberries coming to fruit in the lane by my house – so they will be free!!
So many berries! Will you make any jam preserves with these? Something to enjoy when the weather is colder.
Would you believe in more than 15 years in Vancouver we’ve never picked our own berries? Hm, that’s something that has to be remedied. Thanks for the wake-up call. 😉
hooray indeed, veggiegirl!
yup, that is your hand! how’s your berry supply, hag? dwindling?
cakespy, fresh berries are the best!
lynn, this could be the year of the tayberry!
bijoux, i think you are thinking of “bumbleberry” which is a name for a pie with a bunch of berries. definitely a made up name!
haha, machen, words to live by!
beth, free berries are the best berries. soon the blackberries in my neighbourhood will be coming up too for the picking!
yes, i will be making some jam. i made some a couple of months ago with last years frozen blackberries and it was delicious!
eatingclub, soon blackberries will be in season and those can be found all around vancouver! enjoy picking 🙂
We have a blackberry farm near us (actually it’s a pumpkin/Christmas tree farm with a few blackberry bushes), and they charge MORE than all the grocery stores. I found fresh blueberries at the 99 cent store for 50 cents a basket. I’m glad they freeze well, so I stocked up.
Oh, I’m jealous. I live in the other hemisphere were we in are in the totally wrong end of the year for berries. These look delicious!
cyndi, i can’t believe a u-pick charged more! insanity.
julia, i guess you are in for a few months wait then!
Oh man, that makes me so sad. Berry season is long gone here in coastal Carolina, and I could not for the life of me find raspberries or blackberries this year (other than supermarket). Not that I am complaining about the stash of frozen blueberries and strawberry jam…its just not the same without the favorites. Enjoy!
I’m so excited by your post. I moved to Vancouver about a month ago from the states. Emma-Lea Farms looks like a grand adventure this summer — I’m bookmarking and can hardly wait for berry picking in July!
Allen, I’m sure you’ll love Emma Lee Farms! There’s a great little herb market just down the road as well as a great honey stop…actually, all of Westham Island is really pretty and great for local produce.