Taste– Dare to compare side-by-side; fresh picked taste so much better. There are two reasons to pick your own fruit: the varieties grown for sale in a grocery store are bred for toughness in mechanical harvesting equipment and shipping, and for store shelf appearance.

Taste is way down the list! In addition, they are usually picked unripe and then often subjected to gases (ethylene) to change the color to make the fruit appear ripe. It doesn’t actually cause true ripening, which changes properties like sugar content and flavor.

Cost - The price per pound of PYO fruits and vegetables is invariably lower than any store. Sometimes it is a lot less, other times just a little bit less. It usually is related to the other amenities offered. The more extensive and elaborate the ancillary farm activities (hay rides, music, picnic areas, etc.) the closer to parity the prices are.

Health / Diet - There’s no doubt that fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables contain more vitamins and are healthier than processed, frozen or store-bought “fresh”. Store-bought strawberries are also sprayed with fungicides and pesticides to prolong their shelf and shipping life that (as with other soft and thin skinned fruits, like blackberries, raspberries, blueberries) cannot be washed off.

Fun and Family - It’s a fun family bonding activity, that all ages enjoy. You usually see families with toddlers up to grandparents at a farm. You can extend the experience for months afterwards by picking some extra to can, freeze, make into jam or applesauce. When you open a jar of your homemade jam on a cold winter morning, the aroma and taste will bring back the experience of that warm Spring, Summer or Fall day.

Fitness – Whether it is just walking through an orchard, picking a few apples, or gathering as many strawberries or blueberries to make a year’s worth of jam, it’s better for both the kids and adults than watching tv!

Food Education - Few can argue the impression that a visit to a farm has on children. They retain the experience and the learning about the food production cycle for the rest of their lives.

Fiscal Education – If you have a budding entrepreneur in the family, he or she can do what I did every summer: collect orders from the neighbors then go to a farm to pick and fill the orders. Given that the Pick Your Own Fruit farm prices are usually substantially lower than grocery stores, and the quality is so much higher, you can usually charge a premium and have happy customers! In the process, the kids get a lesson in operating their own small business and make some spending money!

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