Imagine 400 to 500 people showing up at your house. On a near-daily basis. For weeks.
That's the Rowe family's experience each June, when their tidy U-pick farm is inundated with strawberry enthusiasts drawn by the prospect of getting their hands — literally — on the sweet, juicy fruit at its alluringly ripe peak. The Rowes cultivate the hardy Jewel variety, favoring its big berries and high yields.
Keeping costs under control is one hallmark of the customer-as-laborer format and, boy, do they pick. Co-owner Cliff Rowe measures the 11-acre patch's annual output in "many tons."
With 30 years of strawberry experience, Rowe offers sage advice to those who want to plant ("Spend a year getting the soil prepared and getting the weeds out, because weeds are the biggest battle any strawberry grower faces") and to those who want to pick ("Get them in the refrigerator right away, and don't wash them until you're ready to eat"). The family also raises raspberries and pumpkins.
As for the crowds, "We enjoy interacting with people, that's part of the business," he says. "Coming here makes people happy, it's not like going to the dentist. It's a very positive family outing. But by the end of the season, we're ready to be done with it and get back to having some privacy."
Berry Hill Farm, 6510 NW. 185th Av., Anoka, berryhillfarm.com
For a full list of area strawberry U-pick farms:
