Whitted Bowers Farm

Love the farm. My daughter had a good time picking the berries. Definitely call before you pick. I didn’t and they were pretty picked over but we were still able to find some ripe berries.

My wife and I visited the Farm several times throughout the Spring and Summer. Strawberries were great, blueberries were great, and we really enjoyed conversing with the owners. We appreciate their values in good farming practices and look forward to seeing them achieve their goals.

Let me start by saying I REALLY wanted to like this farm – it is certified organic and biodynamic, close to my home, they tell you the variety of strawberry you are picking, they do the honor system, and their philosophies mesh with my family’s. But, after two seasons trying them out, I can only give them three stars. The quality is lower than other local organic farms to which we go – the plants seem smaller, the berries are smaller, and ripe berries seem hard to come by. The only other thing I can think of is that the quality we have experienced may be due to the fact that they are biodynamic. I surely would give them 5 stars for effort, and I would love to see things improve in the future.

This review is only reflective of the day that we went, so maybe it could be better?
My friends and I had been super excited to go strawberry-​picking, and Whitted Bowers was one of the farms we were wavering between (the other was DJ’s Berry Patch, haven’t been yet). However, we were a little disappointed because even though the pick-​your-​own season had only opened 3 days before, the fields were pretty much picked clean of the ripe, juicy berries we had been imagining. In hindsight, we should have called ahead to ask about the selection.
That said, it was a very peaceful farm with a few barefoot kids, braying goats, and rows and rows of standard and «experimental» strawberries. We still had fun and picked a decent amount of almost ripe berries (good enough for baking!) at $ 2.50/pound. And the few ripe berries we did get were yums. The honor system is nice, so make sure you bring cash!

In college, I took a Cosmo mag quiz that was supposed to measure one’s relationship faithfulness. One of the questions asked if you came upon a field of luscious, red strawberries whether you would stop and eat any. If Cosmo is to be believed, today’s gluttonous visit to Whitted Bowers (picture me with red juice dripped onto my shirt-​front, scooping up berries into my mouth as much as into my bucket) is a clear indication that Phil should watch his back.
Down a dirt road, there are about 50 rows of organic strawberries, labeled and divided into three sections. The first section (apparently «delicacies») was recently out-​of-​season, the second type was ripe for the picking, and the third was also available (supposedly best paired with chocolate, so I’m guessing they are tarter). The farm provides different sizes of baskets for picking, and you weigh the total, subtract the weight of the basket, and pour into your own container to take home. Out there among kids in wellies, barefoot grown-​ups, and a couple of visitors’ dogs roaming freely, we filled nearly a whole bucket. The cost is $ 3.00/lb for less than 20lbs, and $ 2.50/lb for more than 20. This seemed a little steep; with some hunting, we found berries in good condition, but the patches were a little picked over. Of course, the season is nearly over — the farm expects to close the you-​pick option on 5/​18, stating that the season started and will end earlier than usual this year.
I thought the coolest thing about this place is the honor system they do payment on. We weighed our berries, pulled out our cash, and plopped it in the box they had out on the table. These days, you don’t see that kind of trust very often, and being out in their bucolic fields under blue skies … well … it was nice to spend a moment or two in a time gone by!