One of our favourite things to do in the summer is to head over to a local ‘u-pick’ and load up with berries to freeze for the winter. Usually we do our beloved Live Earth Farm’s strawberry u-pick, but we had to miss it this year due to a clashing engagement. I’ve tried Webb Ranch Farm but have not been that impressed: no strawberries and an admission fee just to pick on top of the price you pay for the actual fruit just seems wrong to me. So this year we drove out to Swanton Berry Farm near Santa Cruz to try our luck there.
Swanton is a no frills, low-key, traditional kind of place and lots of fun. You just turn up, collect a box, and head right out to the fields where the berries are plentiful. Payment is on an honor system — you weigh your own fruit and just leave the correct change on the counter — so make sure to bring cash. In fact, bring extra cash, as there is little chance you’ll walk out of their farm shop without also buying some of the farm’s jam, pies, and crumbles.
Mmmm. So many to choose from.
The berries were good, though not as good as Live Earth Farm’s (but then no berry I have ever tasted compares to Live Earth Farm’s strawberries) but it was really nice to pick fruit with a sea view. And the kids loved it. I think we’ll be back up there for blackberry season in a few weeks.
For more information on opening times, find the farm website here. I guess prices may vary over the season, but I thought the $2.50 a pound they were asking for organic strawberries this weekend was quite reasonable.
The Outdoors Parent 
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