Berry lovers rejoice, strawberry season is upon us! Who doesn’t love strawberries? Strawberry pie, strawberry smoothies, strawberry shortcake… I’m all over it. I love the chance to get out and pick my own strawberries with the kids. It’s a really great family activity. We are so lucky here in Ottawa, that we are surrounded by farmland, so there are a ton of u-pick berry farm options.

This week I took the kids and headed out to Miller’s Farm in Manotick. We had visited Miller’s during pumpkin patch season before, but this was our first time picking berries. We went on a weekday, which was kinda perfect because we had the farm all to ourselves! The kids grabbed their baskets, a short walk later and we picking some delicious, big and juicy strawberries.

It was pretty fun teaching (or trying to teach) the kids what to look for in a berry. They tried their best to avoid the white and green ones, and any with bug bites…it wasn’t hard to find some good looking strawberries.

We really lucked out with the weather too. It was warm but cloudy – so not too hot. It was nice not to worry about the kids baking in the sun. Berries are actually best to pick when it isn’t that hot outside – so on a sunny day I recommend going in the early morning or later afternoon/evening.

Lucas and Rowan couldn’t resist sampling a berry or two…rave reviews and plenty of sticky fingers!

When our baskets were full, we headed back to the barn to pay for our berries and check out the small store.

The kids enjoyed meeting Miller’s Farm’s resident bunny “Ms.Petunia”.

A nice touch – after their “hard work” berry picking, the staff at Miller’s gave the kids a free freezie treat. Always a hit.

We had a great time at Miller’s, and we will definitely go back. The strawberries we picked are great quality and we’ve been enjoying them ever since. There are actually a lot of other great berry picking options all around the Ottawa region too.

A Few Other Berry Farms in the Ottawa Area

• Shouldice Farms – has three farm locations, and all are now open. Merivale, Woodroffe and Bells Corners. Open 8-8 pm weather permitting.
• Proulx Berry Farm – a well oiled machine that also runs an excellent sugar bush, located in Cumberland.
• Acorn Creek Garden Farm – located in Carp, has over 200 varieties of pick your own fruits and veggies.
• Avonmore Berry Farm – 20 acres of strawberries , also has on site bakery and pantry and children’s play area
• Beckwith Berries – located in Carleton Place

Strawberry season is expected to last for another three weeks or so, depending on weather. So get out there with the kids and get picking while you can. After that – it’s on to raspberry season!