Seasonal Updates
(Updated 7/15/2021)
Thank you for a great season! Our U-Pick strawberry season is now over for 2021. More fun on the farm is still to come – so visit us at our pumpkin patch in October!
Our beloved strawberry season here in Oregon is always too short but we are so grateful for the support and patronage of all our customers who came and picked strawberries, bought donuts, and enjoyed a slushie! We are so lucky to have great customers who allow our farm to thrive.
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U-Pick Strawberry Info
Information and prices valid for 2021 ONLY – pricing and info subject to change in 2022
Our u-pick system is streamlined and straight forward to maximize your time and cut down on waiting
We offer 3 varieties of strawberries to pick – Mary’s Peak, Hoods, Tillamooks, & Chandler
1. Sign up for a check-in time online (required)
2. Check-in at your scheduled time and purchase your picking container(s) (no containers from home allowed)
3. Once you purchase your container(s), you may pick to your liking and fill it – there will be no weighing of the berries.
4. If you start picking and need more berries, you can purchase more containers at anytime while visiting
5. Once you picked enough berries, take your box and berries home to enjoy!
6. Refrigerate, freeze or preserve within 1-2 days for best taste
Pricing (2021 - subject to change for 2022)
For reference, a full flat you purchase at a stand is approximately 9 – 10 pounds of berries
3 Pints
- Holds 2-3 pounds
- Perfect for a single batch of jam or just to eat fresh!
- Picture to show capacity – berries are not pre-picked
Half Flat w/ Pint Container
- Holds 6-7 pounds
- Perfect amount for a batch of jam with some left over for freezing or eating
- Half flats are available with or without the green pint containers – without them the box holds more berries but they are not as easy to remove
- Picture to show capacity – berries are not pre-picked
Half Flat without pint contaners
- Holds 9-10 pounds
- Perfect for a couple batches of jam and some left over!
- Half flats are available with or without the green pint containers – without them the box holds more berries but they are not as easy to remove
Full Flat w/ Pint Containers
- Holds 13-14 pounds
- Making lots of jam and need some for freezing? This amount is perfect!
- Half flats are available with or without the green pint containers – without them the box holds more berries but they are not as easy to remove
- Picture to show capacity – berries are not pre-picked
Full Flat without pint containers
- Holds 17-18 pounds
- The ULTIMATE strawberry lover amount - make jams, freeze some, eat some fresh and STILL have some left!
- Half flats are available with or without the green pint containers – without them the box holds more berries but they are not as easy to remove
- Picture to show capacity – berries are not pre-picked
U-Pick Strawberry Tips
- Wear comfortable clothing and shoes that are easy to wash – our fields are dusty and often muddy 🙂
- Pre-washing your berries before storage causes them to go bad sooner – wash right before consuming
- Eat, freeze, or preserve berries within 1-2 days of picking for best taste
- We love animals, but per food safety guidelines, no pets are allowed in the patch to avoid contamination.
- An emotional support animal does not qualify as a service dog and are not allowed in.
- Our parking lot is not shaded most of the day, please leave them at home where it is cool instead of in the car.
- Children must be supervised at all times – we are a real working farm with moving cars and equipment
- We gladly accept cards and cash – but card fees really add up for small businesses like ours so cash is always appreciated when possible.
- Follow us on social media or check back here for updates – we often don’t know when the berries will be ready until a couple days before.
- Our narrow rows make it difficult for strollers to be in – please plan accordingly with extra bodies to help or plan to park it at the end or side of the rows
U-Pick Strawberry FAQ's
Unlike many farms, we only pick when the rows are busting with berries! If we were open everyday we’d likely get picked over and the rest of the week people wouldn’t have enough berries to pick.
We are at the mercy of the weather, crop conditions, and nature and things can change rapidly or slowly depending. We take it a few days at a time, usually picking for 2-4 days then letting the field rest before picking again. As soon as we know when berries will be ready, we will always update our social media, website and email list and let you know – so keep an eye out for updates throughout the season!
Click here to sign up for our email list
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Nope! We don’t. This is great news for our u-pickers because you get the first pick of all our berries – not what is left after a crew of pickers have picked the best for market.
Hoods are your classic Oregon berry. They are smaller than the other varieties but they are the sweetest! Hoods are known for great flavor and sweetness, but they are the most delicate berry and don’t have a long shelf life.
Mary’s Peak are a large, juicy berry that has a sweetness very comparable to Hoods and is actually part of the Hood family – a great choice for hood lovers who want bigger berries.
Chandler berries are a large berry similar to a Tillamook but sweeter! Larger and fleshy, these berries hold up better than a Hood and are easy to pick. Especially great if you’re adding sugar for jam, smoothies or desserts.
Tillamooks look like a strawberry from the grocery store but have a much better flavor. They are less sweet than the other berries but if you need to pick a lot for recipes, jam, desserts or smoothies where other sugar is added they are fast box-fillers.
Just you, clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, and cash or a card. We provide the boxes for picking. No containers from home, please. If it’s hot you may want sunscreen, a hat, and a water bottle. Please leave snacks and outside food in the car so we don’t litter or attract other critters.
We gladly accept cash and cards. As a small business, card fees really add up so cash is always appreciated!
We are not a certified organic farm, but we strive to use healthy, sustainable methods for growing our produce. We rotate our strawberry fields every 2-3 years and plant cover crops in off-seasons. This method is costly and time-consuming, but the benefits are worth it. Rotating helps keep disease out of the field and minimizes pests which allows us to use less pesticides. Cover crops help add organic matter back into the ground, which reduces the need for fertilizer.
This farm is our job and livelihood so losing a crop to mold, disease, or pests would be devastating. We are grateful for safe, effective, pesticides (organic and conventional) that allow us to save our crops when absolutely necessary. We try using organic pesticides whenever we can. We eat everything that we grow, and it is important to us that it is healthy!
Feel free to email us at lara@bushuefarming.com with any other questions!
