Strawberries - 8 quarts- Pick up day Monday 6/21/21- FARM PICK UP
RAIN IS FORCAST FOR THIS DAY, and we are limiting this to a smaller number of pre-orders.
An 8 quart flat of strawberries reserved for you to pick up from our roadside farm stand on Monday, June 21st between 9 AM and 12 noon.
We will have staff on site from 9 AM-noon, helping to make sure
your order is filled. PLEASE DO NOT COME TO THE FARM IF YOU ARE SICK, OR
HAVE SYMPTOMS OF COVID19. Thank you for your cooperation! Our farmstand
staff is fully vaccinated.
1. Do I need to order my strawberries in
advance? Due to high demand during especially the first few week, we are suggesting
advance ordering for entire 8 quart flats of strawberries. This system should be
convenient especially for customers who drive from a distance to our farm,
and/or like to make plans in advance. It is possible to come to our farmstand
without pre-ordering between 9 AM and 12 noon and purchase individual quarts (although
we may have to have a limit of 2 quarts per customer at times). We suggest that
customers looking for an entire 8 quart flat DO pre-order to help us anticipate
how many berries to pick, and to guarantee availability.
2. Where do I go? Our farmstand is located at our farm at 7990 E Horn Road, Lake Leelanau,
MI. We are located approximately 1 mile north of M-204 on Horn Road (about
halfway in between 45 North Winery and Aurora Cellars Winery). Look for the big
red truck planted with flowers in front of our driveway.
3. What if it rains? Please leave your phone number during check out so that we may contact you in the case of rain if we need to reschedule your berries. If rescheduling is not possible, your payment will be 100% refundable.
4. Can I just order over the phone bycalling Bardenhagen Berries at 231-271-3026? No.
While in the past, we have taken orders by phone, and had customers picking up
strawberries from the warehouse on our farm, since last season, we heard how much
everyone LOVED the new system, so we are keeping it! From our end, it was also much more efficient.
5. What if something happens and I can’t pick up my berries? Unless we are rained out, we are not offering refunds once your berries have been picked and are waiting for you in our farmstand. If you are running late, please look in the farmstand for the flat of strawberries marked with your name on it. Our farmstand is not air conditioned. If you can’t make it for some reason at the last minute, please try to arrange to have someone else pick up your berries in your place. If you need to cancel or reschedule your order, please contact us at least 36 hours in advance by calling 231-271-3026.
6. WHERE ELSE CAN I FIND BARDENHAGEN BERRIES?
· Visit our farm stand between 9 AM and 12 noon Monday thru Saturday
to purchase quarts and/or entire 8-quart flats. We will plan to have the farm
stand staffed and stocked during this time. While we plan to keep the stand
stocked, we suggest coming before 11 am in order to better guarantee we haven't
sold out. For many, this approach may be more convenient than pre-ordering -
and allow for more last-minute shopping!
· Visit us in person at any of the farmers markets where we plan
to vend during strawberry season. (Tuesdays-Glen Arbor; Fridays-Northport;
Saturday - Traverse City).
· We hope to be able to supply some local grocery stores with our
strawberries, although we anticipate this will be limited this season, as we have
a very small picking crew this and also fewer acres of production.
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS REGARDING BARDENHAGEN
BERRIES:
7. Do you offer U-Pick? We
have not offered it in the past, and do not plan to offer it this season.
8. Who picks the strawberries? We are very grateful to offer employment to a crew of between 10 and 20 mainly migrant workers from Texas and Florida help harvest the berries during the short 2-3 week harvest season. Picking strawberries is hard work and we believe
deserves to be paid well. We hope you agree. This is one reason Bardenhagen Berries may sometimes cost more than other strawberries. If you or someone you know may be interested in applying to pick strawberries on our farm during the 2021 season, please visit our job postings on our website.
9. Are your strawberries organic? No. Our strawberries and cherries are grown conventionally. We work hard to the least amount of pesticides as possible.
10. What does Bardenhagen Berries do to protect the
environment? We can’t really list everything, but here are a few
things. We are one of the few farms in Michigan certified with the Michigan
Environmental Assurance Protection (MEAP) area in all three
areas: Farmstead, Cropping and Wildlife & Habitat. Our strawberries
are grown in straw, not plasticulture like mass produced strawberries from
California, Mexico, and Florida. Mass produced strawberries also typically
fumigate their soil between crops with toxic chemicals. We practice crop
rotation and “biofumigate” our soils with cover crops that naturally help to
repel some problematic soil organisms. Our farm has a 42 kWh solar array that
produces at least as much electricity as our farm uses annually. Our 180 acre
farm is protected from future development through a conservation easement with
the Leelanau Conservancy. For berry packaging,
we are working to avoid plastic as much as possible, using more expensive
cardboard and paper packaging.
11. What are you doing for food safety? Our
farm has an extensive food safety program which involves frequent handwashing
& hand sanitizer use, frequent sanitizing of harvest equipment, employee
training, traceability of product, and much more. As with all produce, we
recommend washing our strawberries before consuming.
12. What is the best way to store my berries if I am not
going to use them right away? If not using
right away, we suggest storing in refrigerator. For the longest possible
storage, do not remove caps or wash first. Click here for more suggestions. For
maximum enjoyment, we suggest enjoying the same day they were picked, and then
buying more!
13. What is a good way to enjoy Bardenhagen Berries in the
winter? Simply wash, remove caps (green part), arrange in a single
layer on cookie sheet and put in freezer. Once frozen, transfer to resealable
freezer bags to store and enjoy in your favorite recipe (smoothies, jam, etc.)
during the rest of the year!
14. Thank you for supporting local!