It’s officially strawberry season! This is hands down my family’s favorite time of year. Strawberry picking is the perfect family outing and will guarantee fun for all ages. We always pack up the family truckster and head to our favorite pick-your-own farms. We are so lucky to have so many local farms to choose from.
Our family likes to make a day out of it, so we headed north to Patterson Farm, and stopped at Carrigan Farms along the way. The strawberries that we picked are the most delicious we’ve ever had. All of the kids said unanimously, “these strawberries are better than candy!”
Patterson Farm is by far our fam’s Smarty pick when it comes to all things strawberries. Patterson has everything you can imagine on one property. They host everything from field trips, special events, pick-your-own strawberries, a market, a petting zoo, Homeschool Day (May 27th) and so much more. I love the rich NC farming history of the Pattersons – this is a 3rd generation family of North Carolina farmers. We always load up on their strawberry preserves, an iced-cold Cheerwine and bask in the beauty of this farm.
Here are some pics from Patterson Farm:
Our Favorite Smarty Strawberry Recipes:
Cream Cheese Pound Cake (this is the best I’ve ever made!):
3 sticks margarine
(1) 8-oz package cream cheese
3 C sugar
6 eggs, add one at a time and stir
3 C plain flour sifted
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon or almond extract
Mix ingredients. Blend well. Bake in greased bundt pan (butter and flour pan) at 300 for 1 1/2 hours. Serve with fresh NC strawberries and homemade whipped cream.
We made this super easy Strawberry Cream Cheese Crescent Roll recipe and it was DELISH!
NC Strawberry Association’s Strawberry Jam Recipes (freezer jam, old fashioned and sugarless – it’s all here!)
Winners of the 2013 NC Strawberry Association Strawberry Recipe contest: strawberry crepes, strawberry pizza, strawberry cream cheese cobbler, and strawberry rice salad w/chicken and almonds. Y-U-M!
Local Pick-Your-Own Farms:
Hall Family Farm in Ballantyne
Wise Acres ORGANIC Farm in Indian Trail
Pick-Your-Own Piedmont Listings
Happy picking, Smarties! Make sure you call ahead before you plan your trip. You never know what Mother Nature can bring, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. Strawberry picking season is strong through mid-June, so you have plenty of time!
Also, share your favorite farms and recipes below, we’d love to see them and add them to our Smarty list above!
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4 comments
Wise Acres in Indian Trail is an organic pick your own strawberry farm.
Thanks, Kristen, I just pulled Wise Acres into the blog. Yes, ORGANIC – we totally should have gone there too!
I just picked at Wise Acres last week…it is a perfect picking farm! You and your family will love it! Make sure you bring a little extra cash for their strawberry smoothie! Super good after picking strawberries in the hot sun!
Love it! I totally plan on taking the twins.