As I sit here savoring a bowl of local, organic cherries (and trying not to stain or dirty the keyboard), I want to share three ways to save money during this season when the local, naturally-grown fruit is abundant and delectable.
1. Buy in bulk, ask for a discount
Rather than getting a pint of this and a pint of that, ask the farmer if they will give you a discount if you buy an “abundance” amount. Usually, this will be about 10 pounds or more. Of course, this supposes that you have willing hands to clean and prepare the produce for freezing, as well as a freezer to accommodate the abundance. The food I usually purchase this way are plums, berries, apples, pears, and tomatoes. The last three of those – the apples, pears and tomatoes, separately -I wash and then blend into a raw sauce, and freeze.
2. U-Pick
If you do the work yourself, food from U-Pick farms can be very reasonable – downright cheap, even. I don’t do much of this; I wish I did more. The reason for this is because we live off the beaten track and keep our forays away from home limited to once per week. If I lived in town or closer to town, I’d be all over this! To get in touch with your areas u-pickings, check PickYourOwn.org or LocalHarvest.org. In addition, your newspaper may print a list of the farms participating in the U-Pick season. This comes out prior to or at the beginning of the season.
3. Gleaning from friend and neighbors
So many people (and I wish I knew more of them!) have an abundance of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. One family we know has acres full of blackberry bushes, more berries than they can use.They graciously allow us to come and fill up boxes to our heart’s content. They also have pear and apple trees and often allow us to pick the excess (which is what we are doing in the picture at the top of this post). This is such a blessing! Also, watch your local free shopper publication or other advertisements for notices of fruit or nut trees, ripe for the picking.
Of course, you save the most money if you’re able to grow and cultivate your own berry patches and/or fruit or nut trees! How do you save money on local, seasonal produce? Please share!
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We pick wild berries. I suppose that could fall under “grow your own”, since we pick the berries on our own property. Some of the fruit we have growing wild are chokecherries, saskatoons (also known as June berries), pincherries, currants, wild plums and hazelnuts (they are really small in our area). I know my neighbors have high bush cranberries. You can go looking for wild berries but keep in mind that they are on someone’s property and if there is a house close by, it is courteous to ask permission to pick there and if there are ‘no trespassing’ signs, they should be respected.
.-= Marg´s last blog post… The barn roof =-.
Marg – That is great, thanks for adding “wild” berries, of course! You’ve got quite a bit around you, what a blessing!
My favorite way to save $ is to purchase #2 fruit. Sure, it might be slightly marred or undersized. A peach’s blush might not be perfect, but the flavor is fantastic AND it’s very cheap. Just last week I purchased loads of beyond organic #2 cherries for $1.50 / lb compared to the $6 they wanted for the prime fruit.
.-= Jenny @ Nourished Kitchen´s last blog post… Reader Questions: GMO-free Infant Formula =-.
Jenny – Thanks for adding that great suggestion! You got a great deal on the cherries. Like you, I don’t mind quality-grown fruit which is undersized or marred – it can’t be beat for flavor or satisfaction.
I just went berry picking today! It was a huge blessing, you are right. 🙂 I am still “processing” them for the freezer. But we got it for the same price or cheaper as buying non organic frozen berries from half way around the world, that you can buy at costco. So, much higher quality, and much cheaper! So happy.
.-= Kimi @ The Nourishing Gourmet´s last blog post… Pennywise Platter Thursday 7/16 =-.
Just gleaned 3 boxes of ‘perfection’ apricots and rainier cherries today from a friends orchard with my kids and I’m canning, freezing and drying tomorrow!
Kimi and Christi – That is awesome! I’m so happy for you and your families! Enjoy!
I suggest growing your own blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. You can even grow them in big containers, though you’ll have to get thorn free and prune and tie them to porch railings or something. Most berries fruit a little the same year they are grown if you plant them early (February here in south western Oregon) and will fruit prolifically the following year. You must water blueberries often, and also they like coffee grounds for fertilizer.
Larisa – great tips! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us! I would love to do this someday, once we can make sure the deer don’t eat everything 🙂 Do you have deer fencing?