Today I made my second trip of the year out to Rowe’s Produce Farm near Ypsilanti, MI. Earlier in the season I enjoyed picking strawberries there. Today I was there for two culinary purposes: raspberries and sweet corn. I found out this week via facebook, that they would be offering u-pick raspberries today. At this point in the season, they do not have a lot of berries, so they are only open briefly, typically just one day. They were open on July 6th and sold out all in one day, so I imagine the same will happen today as they were already a multitude of people there when I left at around 10:30am. As the season progresses their bushes will produce more berries and picking will be available more frequently. For now, you might want to call ahead, or join their e-mail list. Visit their website and join “The List”. to find out more.
They have a great deal of land dedicated for their berries, more than I have seen at other farms. During the peak season picking should be easy. Since it is not the peak season and I was by myself it took me a little while to get up to a quart (which costs $4). Most of the berries I saw were quite ready yet. The way you know if a raspberry is ready is that it comes very easily. If you have to apply force, the berry is not ripe yet. The ripe berries also are a darker red color.
Picking berries at Rowe’s is a easy and fun experience. You are able to drive out to the best picking spots and the workers there are friendly. They also have a market that sells their sweet corn, along with other fruits and vegetables, some brought in from other places (I don’t think they grew those bananas!). They also have homemade jam, honey, vinegar, and more. So not only was I able to pick some delicious raspberries but I was able to get some corn and red potatoes for dinner to go along with my raspberries. I highly recommend checking out Rowe’s to meet those raspberry cravings.
Additional Links
1) Click here to read about my experience picking strawberries at Rowe’s.
2) Click here to read about all things u-pick on my website.
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