2024 Central-Northeast Minnesota Raspberry U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org
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Raspberry U-Pick Orchards in Central-Northeast Minnesota in 2024, by county
Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for raspberries that we know of in this area.
Not all areas of a state have raspberries orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!
Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!
PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.
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Aitkin County
Great River Gardens - strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. 43507 U.S. Highway 169, Aitkin, MN . Phone: 218-927-2521. Open: Pick-your-own and prepicked Strawberries are available from late June through July, raspberries start in mid-July, and blueberries are usually available beginning in late July. Click here for a map and directions. Great River GardensAlternate phone: (877) 286-3408 Call for price. (UPDATED: June 11, 2015, JBS)
Carlton County
Farm LoLa - blueberries, honeyberries, raspberries (Spring, black), Fresh eggs 840 Cemetery Road, Wrensall, MN 55797. Phone: (218) 384-9002. Email: lucie@locallylaid.com. Open: See our website for current hours. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. Farm LoLa Facebook page. July - AugustYou can bring your own bucket. We will weigh it before you pick and get the tare -- or unladen weight -- so you only pay for the fruit. Or you can buy one of our flats, at cost, for 50 cents. (UPDATED: July 19, 2020 JBS) (ADDED: March 10, 2017)
Leaning Barn Farm U-Pick - Blueberries, Raspberries 176 Thomson Rd, Esko, MN 55733. Phone: 218-349-7696. Email: anniegust@gmail.com. Open: call or email for hours Season usually starts in July. Directions: 12 miles south of Duluth, 2 miles off I-35 on the Carlton side of the Freeway. They also have picked Shiitake Mushrooms & Veggies; Asparagus, lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, honey, . Click here for a map and directions. Christmas trees. They are family, locally owned and run. We do not use chemicals and hand harvest all products. At Christmas they have U-pick, We-Cut Christmas trees In conjunction with the Carlton Holiday Market In 2019, they were $25 premium tree, $15 white pine (Dr. Seuss style) Family friendly! Dog friendly, hot coco fire and snowshoe or xc ski.
Crow Wing County
Double T Acres - blueberries, raspberries, tart cherries, sour cherries, 1822 Co Rd 29, Lake Shore, MN 56468. Phone: 218-568-5268. Email: doubletacres19@gmail.com. Open: see their website or facebook page. Click here for a map and directions. Double T Acres Facebook page. They also offer fresh prepicked asparagus, strawberries, sunflowers and other flowers for sale. Their Pumpkins, mums, gourds and ornamental corn are available in early Fall. The blueberry picking season ends in late AugustStrawberries are not pick your own, but they often still have fresh picked strawberries from their greenhouse available thru the pumpkin season. Call them to place an order, usually ready in a day or two. Pumpkin season will begin around mid-September. Pie cherries (aka, tart or sour cherries) are in July typicallyfacebook page(ADDED: August 31, 2023, JBS)
Mille Lacs County
J Q Fruit Farm - Apples, blueberries, raspberries 8082 - 33rd Street, Princeton, MN 55371. Phone: 763-389-2567. Email: jqfruit@sherbtel.net. Open: See web site or call for u-pick hours. Directions: Hwy 169 going North - take Hwy 95 going East - take a left at Rum River Drive, go approximately 3 blks to County Road 4 - turn right. Continue to 33rd Street - take a Right - go all the way to the end. Farm at the end of dirt road. . Click here for a map and directions. Blueberries - July - August Raspberries - July - August Apples - Late August - Octoberclick here for a map to our farm. We are open July, August, September, October
Raspberry
Raspberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information
Raspberries can produce an early summer crop or a late summer and Fall
crop.
In
the U.S. Spring / Summer raspberries (called florocanes) typically peak during June in the South, and in July in
the North. The primocane varieties, which produce raspberries on shoots that
come up each Spring are typically read from August until frost.
And for those of you from the upper midwest through the west and up
to Canada, if you are interested in
Thimbleberries, see this
page.
Before you leave to go to the farm:
Always call before you go to the farm - And when they are in season, a large
turnout can pick a field clean before noon, so CALL first!
Leave
early. On weekends, then fields may be picked clean by NOON!
Most growers furnish picking containers designed for raspberries, but they
may charge you for them; be sure to call before you go to see if you need to
bring
containers.
If you use your own containers, remember that heaping raspberries more than
5 inches deep will bruise the lower berries.
Plastic dishpans, metal oven pans with 3 inch tall sides and large
pots make good containers. I like the Glad storage containers like the one
at right.
Bring
something to drink and a few snacks; you'd be surprised how you can work up
a thirst and appetite! And don't forget hats and sunscreen for the sun. Bugs
usually aren't a problem, but some deet might be good to bring along if it
has been rainy.
Tips on how to pick raspberries
Raspberry bushes don't have thorns, but they are a pick prickly, so if you
want to hold the stem while picking, a pair of lightweight gloves is
helpful.
A ripe raspberry is deep color with a
plump, soft but firm feel. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug. The
center will remain on the plant. Keep in mind, raspberries come in many
colors: red, yellow, black, purple, so you want to pick the darker shade of
whichever it is.
Pick only the berries that are fully ripe. Reach in between the stems to
grab for hidden berries ready for harvest. Bend down and look up into the
plant and you will find loads of berries that other people missed!
I find it helps to hold the stem with one hand, while picking with the
other.
Repeat these
operations using both hands until each holds 3 or 4 berries. Repeat the picking process with both hands.
Don't overfill
your containers or try to pack the berries down. Ideally, the collection
containers should be wide so the pberries aren't more than a few deep.
Pick berries into a shallow container. If they get piled too
deep they will crush each other.
Avoid placing the picked berries in the sunlight any longer than necessary.
It is better to put them in the shade of a tree or shed than in the car
trunk or on the car seat. Cool them as soon as possible after picking.
When you get home
DON'T
wash the berries until you are ready to use them or freeze them. Washing
makes them more prone to spoiling.
DO refrigerate! Right after picking, place raspberries in
the fridge. If your fridge tends to dry out produce, lightly cover the
container.
Raspberries don't store for very long, usually just a few days. The reason
the ones from the grocery store last longer is they are covered with
fungicides!
Pour them out into shallow pans and remove any mushed, soft or rotting
berries
Put a couple of days supply into the fridge, wash off the others, drain
them and freeze them up! (Unless you're going to make jam right away)
raspberries are less perishable than blueberries or strawberries, but
refrigerate them as soon as possible after picking. Temperatures between 34
F and 38 F are best, but, be careful not to freeze the raspberries (while
they are in the fridge)!
Even under ideal conditions raspberries will only keep for a week in a
refrigerator, so for best flavor and texture, use them as soon as possible
after purchase
Raspberries are a very healthy food;
packed with anthocyanins!
Raspberries contain more vitamin C than oranges, are super high in fibre,
lhave a good amount of folic acid, are high in potassium, vitamin A and
calcium.
The USDA says 1 cup of raspberries has about 62 calories.
11 cup of raspberries, not packed down weighs about 140 grams.
An average raspberry has 100 to 120 seeds.
Select plump, firm, fully raspberries. Unripe berries will not
ripen once picked.
Raspberries belong to a large group of fruits known as brambles, such as
blackberries, in the plant genus Rubus.
Raspberries come in red, yellow, orange, purple and black colors.
Yellow raspberries are red raspberries that don't make red pigment.)
In most areas, raspberries begin to bloom in late May or early June.
Bumblebees, honeybees, and other wild bees love to visit brambles.
60-70 pints of fruits can be
harvested from 100 feet row. Raspberries can be harvested from early
summer through fall, usually right up until a freeze
The United States is the world's third-largest
producer of raspberries (FAOSTAT, 2013).
Production occurs across
much of the country, although most of it is concentrated in California,
Oregon and Washington. California leads the nation in both black and red
raspberry production (NASS, 2015).
According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, the United States
has 8,052 raspberry farms totaling 23,104 acres (Census of Ag, USDA, 2012).
U-pick raspberry farms typically sell berries by the pound. A quart
equals 1 and 1/4 pounds of fresh berries.
Do the math and be careful not to over-purchase as raspberries quickly
mold when left at room temperature, and only last a couple of days in the
refrigerator.
You can easily freeze berries that you cannot use right away - just
wash, cut the hulls off and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much
air as possible. Those vacuum food sealers REALLY do a good job of this!
The berries will keep for many months frozen without air.