EXPERIENCE MAINE BERRIES

MAKE THE MOST OF MAINE’S BOUNTIFUL BERRY SEASONS

BY CRYSTAL SANDS

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, fresh berries were my favorite foods, and because we were a food insecure family, fresh berries were a luxury and a rare treat. When my husband and I moved to Maine 12 years ago, one of my favorite things about our new home state was berry season. It felt like we were so rich and so fortunate to have access to so many beautiful berries all summer long.

Our Maine summers begin with strawberry season in June, and usually raspberry season will take us through July. We get to wrap up the summer with the amazing Maine blueberry season in August. The berries are joyful to me, but one of the most joyful parts is that there are so many farms in the greater Bangor area that allow you to pick your very own berries. This allows everyone to experience the process of picking berries from nature and enjoy fruits that are fresh, delicious and so very good for you. It’s a lot more fun than just buying berries in the grocery store, and picking fresh berries provides an excellent opportunity for families to teach children more about where their food comes from.

WHERE TO PICK TREWORGY FAMILY ORCHARDS In the Bangor area, Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant is a popular destination for berry picking and is a wonderful farm experience. With beautiful views, Treworgy offers a fun summer experience complete with an ice cream stand for a cool treat after picking berries on a hot summer day. Treworgy is a great choice for berry picking because they offer strawberry, raspberry and blueberry picking.

ADAM’S STRAWBERRY ACRES A little farther outside of Bangor, Adam’s Strawberry Acres in Corinth also offers pickyour-own strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Adam’s is a little less formal than Treworgy but offers smaller crowds on most days, and the berries are, of course, delicious. You can bring your own containers or purchase containers on site, and the blueberries, located on the back side of the farm, offer a kind of retreat into the woods while you pick large, beautiful blueberries.

RJ HALL’S FAMILY FARM Also located in Corinth, RJ Hall’s Family Farm specializes in strawberries and offers some of the most delicious berries you will ever taste. RJ Hall’s Family Farm is a smaller farm but still offers the same wonderful experience of picking your own berries. Jessica Hall runs RJ’s Family Farm with her husband, Ray. For those new to the berry-picking experience, Jessica says “when people arrive, they start at our box stand right in the driveway. There, they can purchase empty quart boxes if they don’t have their own.” From there, Jessica says

someone directs you to the best picking. “They drive their car right into the field,” she says, which is great if you have small children who want to pick berries but may not be able to make long walks.

WHEN TO PICK Strawberry season generally runs from mid-June to mid-July; raspberries are generally ripe from mid-July to midAugust; blueberries are usually ready to pick from mid-July through the end of August. However, in 2021, berries ripened early due to a warm summer, so it’s a good idea to check often with local berry farms to make sure you don’t miss a berrypicking window. Treworgy Orchards, Adam’s Strawberry Acres and R.J. Hall’s Family Farm update their Facebook pages regularly with information on when the berries are ripe, hours of operation each day and costs per pint or quart. It’s a great idea to follow their pages if you want to pick the best berries.

The summer sun can be relentless, even here in Maine, so pick berries early in the morning to avoid the heat. You should also bring hats and water, especially for the little ones, if you plan to pick for some time. It’s good to be prepared to make the most of this wonderful Maine experience. It’s one of our family’s favorite Maine summer activities because we not only have the joy of picking berries, but we also have berries for jam and freezing that allow us to enjoy some of Maine’s summer all year long.