I really get in the mood for summer as soon as berries show up at the farmer’s market. Of course those berries don’t just magically appear all neatly packed into those square cartons. Someone has to pick them. I decided to experience what it would be like to do it myself.
Two weekends ago I made a trip to Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville to go berry picking. Upon arrival, there is the main farmhouse where you can buy fresh pies, pastries, and jams. There is even a deli with sandwiches for when you are done picking. I haven’t had a chance to taste because I’ve always been too exhausted after picking, but it is worth checking out particularly for the mile-high apple pie! To actually pick berries, you follow the driving directions posted on the barn doors, drive out a block or so to the designated picking areas.
Above is the strawberry field we picked at.
I love searching through all the leaves to find the ruby red gems. Because it was early June, it was the peak of their season so there was a lot to pick from.
How cute are the little flowers on the plants? I tried picking a bouquet but they wilted on me from the hot weather.
Weighing our strawberries. 14 lbs! The ranch is nice in that they will weigh each container prior to picking and jot it down on duct tape that is placed on each bin. When you are done, they subtract out the weight of the bins. So if you bring heavier bins that is okay, though I would advise to still pick the lightest containers possible because they can get heavy when picking.
It was the first weekend for picking olaillieberries. I wish I could be confident with my definition but I got some pretty mixed responses. The ranch said an olaillieberry is a cross between a boysenberry and loganberry. Though after I googled I’ve seen blackberry/raspberry or loganberry/young berry. If you find it at a local market, definitely give it a try. All I can say is it tastes good.
Picked off the vines just like any other berry.
It took a bit more effort than the strawberries to find the ripest, in this case, most black ones.
Olaillieberries weighed in at 7.75 lbs
What does one do with 21 lbs of berries? Olaillieberry pie, olalleberry sorbet and strawberry prosecco sorbet. All in my next post!
To find a U Pick farm in your area, visit pickyourown.org
Gizdich Ranch
55 Peckham Road
Watsonville, CA 95076
(831) 722-1056
U Pick: 9am-5pm daily
My berry picking tips:
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Go as early as possible. It gets hot pretty quickly in the summer and its no fun to be picking with the sun blazing down on you. Which leads to my next tip…
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Lots of sunscreen, cap, and sunglasses
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Bring lightweight, flat containers. Cardboard trays are good. You want to keep the berries in one layer and avoid stacking because they can get crushed.
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Bring a large ice chest to put your pickings in that way they stay cool on the drive back.
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If you don’t make it back to the barn after, go to Gilroy’s In ‘N Out for lunch
Looks like yummy berries!
How do the olailleberries taste? Sounds like an interesting combination…
Hmm it’s hard to describe. It looks like a blackberry and tastes similar to it but not as tart. Sorry thats not too useful. Best to find one at a local market or maybe Whole Foods.