Friday, June 13, 2014

Strawberry Picking in Warren County, NJ


The best berry picking in Warren County that I know of is at Race Strawberry Farms in Oxford, NJ. It's located on that road, I can't remember the number but I will mapquest it at the end of this post, that leads to Apple Mountain Golf Course. If you travel that road routinely on your way to and from Oxford in early June, you will definitely hit some minor "berry picking traffic" where you have to maybe stop your car or at the very least slow down to let some pickers meander across.

Race's Strawberry Farm is a very laid back berry picking experience – and no, you can't buy the berries already picked – if you want to do that, you can go to Mackey's Farm whom, I suspect, may actually get their strawberries at Race's and then swirl them into delicious, homemade strawberry ice cream and top their delightful sundaes with them. Of course, this is just conjecture – for all I know, Mackey's has their own strawberry fields – but this was not the point of writing this entry. Actually, it was all about Race's and how awesome the pickings are there.

So, you basically drive up and park your car, then head over to the little building where the berry girls (they're typically girls) are located. There, you will let them know how many berries (pounds worth) you intend on picking. Upon which, the workers will equip you with the proper receptacle, then direct you to the field of their choice which contains the best, ripest berries. You just walk around the back of the barn (or to the nearest strawberry fields – we always seem to be assigned there) with your berry-picking basket on your arm. Walk down the rows of strawberry plants to the farthest spot away, and pick to your heart's content.

Strawberry picking season in NJ is late May and early June. If you missed it this time, you can always just head over to Shoprite for some juicy berries, and plan better for next year!

Contact info for this farm:

H.A. Race and Son Strawberry  Hill Farm
388 Hazen-Oxford Rd.
Belvidere, NJ
908-453-2374