Monday, August 12, 2013
Saving Money and Having Fun: Visiting a U-Pick Farm in Portland
Thank you, Amy, for the cute pic of myself!
On Friday I got to do something that I've only done one other time since I've lived in Oregon, which is visit a u-pick farm. What's a u-pick farm, you ask? Well, it's a farm where you get to go pick all the fruits, vegetables, and flowers you want and it's cheaper that way because you're doing the work yourself! I coerced Amy to go with me right when Sauvie Island Farms opened because I wanted to get out there and get pickin' before the sun got super hot. Luckily she was game (after a yummy coffee) and we had a great time!
My main goal was to pick a bunch of blueberries, but I was open to getting other fruits or berries, as well. Jonathan makes smoothies every morning and fruit really adds up in cost! Since it's something we use daily I wanted to stock up. Blueberries, marionberries (a kind of blackberry that only grows in Oregon), and blackberries at the farm were only $2 a pound! We also ended up getting broccoli ($1/lb), kale ($3/lb), beets (don't remember price), corn on the cob (25 cents an ear), and more! We spent four hours at the farm and picked.....
wait for it.....
35lbs of berries!
After getting home I began the task of cleaning and processing everything. This has taken a few days, because it takes time to freeze things in batches. You have to freeze the blackberries and broccoli on cookie sheets and then transfer them into bags or containers because otherwise you end up with a large chunk of plant matter frozen together and it's hard to get it out later for use. Also, vegetables contain an enzyme that makes the plant mushy if you don't blanch them before you freeze, so I've had to do the corn and broccoli in small batches because there is only so much room in our freezer. But Amy and I had a great time and I'm happy to save money and do something fun with my friend!
Back at home I processed the berries first since they are the most delicate. Sunday afternoon I started in on the broccoli. I had to trim all of it and clean it. I ended up only being able to blanch and freeze one bowl's worth, so I'll have to do the rest later.
This is what our freezer is currently looking like. It's getting more and more filled and soon will be lined with containers full of fruit and vegetables and in a few days I'll be stocking up on chickens and those will be in the freezer as well!
Everything I bought ended up costing $66, which sounds like a lot until you think about how much this can all cost at the grocery store. Blueberries are usually $4-6 per pound, broccoli is usually a couple bucks, and those are foods we eat quite a bit. I have bought several 2lb bags of blackberries at New Seasons and Whole Foods that are in the $9-10 range! I'm hoping to go get more fruits and veggies later but will have to see how full our freezer is first.
Have you ever done a u-pick farm? Would you ever do one?
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Wow! You don't mess around! 35 lbs!!! I don't think I've ever picked more than 5. You are awesome!
ReplyDeleteHa, thank you!! I just figured that since I had all day and an empty freezer I should take full advantage of it situation. ;o)
DeleteAwesome! I looooooooooove u-pick farms! I don't eat much fruit these days but back when I did, I used to go at least twice/summer to get blueberries at a favorite place in Hillsboro (Rowell Brothers farms, $1/lb!) and peaches at another favorite place, Jossy Farms. Don't think we ever picked 35 pounds of berries but one time I did enlist my husband and his siblings and we got a TON! I still have some in the freezer! Definitely did the baking sheet trick so they didn't get stuck together in one big mass! (Okay, just searched my blog for a post about berry picking... found this one, I guess I picked 23 pounds once!! http://www.adventuresindressmaking.com/2010/08/23-pounds-of-blueberries.html)
ReplyDelete23lbs is great!! After reading your blog post I didn't even think about making sure they were no-spray. I'm used to picking wild blueberries in AK so it's not something I'm used to needing to know, but I'll for sure be doing it from now on! Thank you (inadvertently ;o) for the tip!
DeleteI love berry picking and want to go again this week. This is the first year that we've jumped on the blueberry bandwagon and we haven't been able to get enough! They haven't lasted to go in the freezer because we've eaten so much. It's actually kind of addicting as you pick. It's methodical and you can always see "just one more" amazing one (or 20) that are calling your name.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! I would think I'd be done on a certain section and then just see more and more clustered together! It was definitely easy to get into the I MUST GET ALLLLLLL THE BLUEBERRIES mindset!
DeleteThat's a huuuuge savings! And an experience as well to be at the farm! Also love that you also threw in broccoli and kale too- I've never thought of buying them fresh and freezing them, so it's good to know this blanching and cookie sheet trick!
ReplyDeleteI have never picked fresh veggies and done anything to them, so I had to look it up and didn't know about the enzyme and needing to blanch them! So hopefully that works for you in the future. It would be horrible to have all these lovely fresh veggies and then have them get gross when you went to eat them!
DeleteI LOOOOOVE UPick farms. There's a great one in Palmer called Pyrah's Pioneer Peak UPick that I always used to filled my freezer when I still lived in AK. I'd been going there since I was 21 or 22, and NEVER stopped being amazed at just how much I could get for $50-$60. Especially in AK, the difference in price btw/ upick produce & store produce was SO dramatic!
ReplyDeleteI had a couple of farms I loved in Greenville too.
I haven't found any near Scott yet, but I haven't really been looking since I've been super broke & am not sure where I'm actually settling yet.
I LOOOOVE the pic of you in the blackberries!