DayCations from Sachem: Strawberry Picking

Before the North Fork of Long Island was known as Wine Country, the farm stands and fields brought travelers eastward for the fruits, vegetables and other fresh delicacies.  If you are curious about fresh food, conscientious about your diet or just plain hungry, then the Pick-Your-Own fields of the nearby North Fork are for you.

Early spring rains brought out a bumper crop of red, ripe strawberries.  Thousands of acres of fields are lined with strawberry patches and parked cars every weekend.   The fresh food available just east of Riverhead is no secret.  For decades families from "up island" have driven east on Sound Avenue or along Route 25 for fresh vegetables, apple cider, pies, flowers and antiques.

But picking your own food from the fields is an amazing experience both from the "consumer conscious" mental approach to the delicious overload your taste buds enjoy.  From the moment you enter the strawberry fields, your mouth is watering and your eyes are riveted on the short, leafy bushes.  With each step into the field, the hints of red, ripe strawberries amid the leaves become more prevalent. 

At Lewin Farms, about half way through the field, the strawberries were enormous, red and literally all over.  With each step there were four or five "treasures" waiting to be picked from short vines. The smart pickers harvest with steel buckets, large baskets and sturdy cardboard boxes.  No matter how prepared you think you are with containers to hold all of the berries, in minutes you will find yourself wishing you had a wagon to pull home your haul.

Strawberry picking is the official start of the pick-your-own season, with several larger farms having websites to notify the public about their crops, expected harvests and hours.  Jerry was the Lewin Farms checkout farmhand.  It was a slight surprise that the Memorial Day weekend  coincided with the prime harvest.  He expects just one more weekend for most of the strawberries and then he moves on to the peaches in July, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, apples, pumpkins and then Christmas trees. 

Lewin Farms on 812 Sound Avenue in Calverton is one of many Pick-Your-Own farms that dot the North Fork and East End. 

Here is a list of nearby Pick-Your-Own farms: 

Anderson Farms - strawberries (in June)

Middle Road, Riverhead, NY 11901. Phone: 631-727-1129

Baiting Hollow Nursery -Apples, pumpkins and Christmas trees
Sound Avenue, Calverton, NY. Phone: 631-929-6439   

Condzella's Farm Stand - strawberries
6233 North Country Road, wading river, NY. Phone: 631-929-5058  - U pick vegetables: tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, beans, peppers, eggplant, okra.
Mattituck, NY 11952. Phone: 631-298-5195

Fort Salonga Farm - Apples, raspberries
30 Meadow Glen Road, Northport, NY 11768. Phone: (631) 269-9666 

Fritz Lewin Farms - apples, broad beans, corn (sweet), eggplant, pumpkins, summer squash, winter squash, strawberries, tomatoes, other vegetables 

1989 Sound Avenue, Baiting Hollow, NY 11933. Phone: 631-727-3346

Golden Earthworm Organic Farm - U-Pick organic Strawberries, lavender
652 Peconic Bay Blvd, Jamesport, NY 11947. Phone: 631-722-3302

Hank's Farm Stand - Strawberries
Country Rd. 39, Southampton, NY.  Phone: 631-726-4667 

Krupski's Vegetable & Pumpkin Farm - U-pick peas and sugar snap peas, tomatoes, pumpkins and peppers
38030 Route 25, Peconic, NY 11958. Phone: 631-734-6847

 Lenny Bruno Farms - eggplant, pumpkins, strawberries, tomatoes, other vegetables, farm market, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, picnic area
740 Wading River Road, Manorville, NY 11949. Phone: 631-591-3592

Lewin Farms - PYO apples, strawberries, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, pumpkins, cut your own Christmas trees
830 Sound Avenue, Wading River, NY. Phone: 631-929-4327

May's Farm Stand - strawberries, peas, peppers, tomatoes, string beans and eggplant
6361 Route 25A, Wading River, NY 11792. Phone: 631-929-6654

The Milk Pail Farm and Orchard - pick-your-own apples, wagon rides, pumpkins
Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, NY. Phone: 631-537-2565   

Patty's Berries and Bunches (Formerly Harbes Berry Farm) - Minimizes chemical and pesticide use, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, other berries, peaches, raspberries (red), raspberries (Spring, red), raspberries (Autumn, red), raspberries (yellow), raspberries (Spring, yellow), raspberries (Autumn, yellow), raspberries (black), raspberries (Spring, black), raspberries (Autumn, black), strawberries, other vegetables, Other fruit or veg, Honey from hives on the farm, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, school tours
410 Sound Avenue, Mattituck, 11951, Mattituck, NY 11952. Phone: 631 298 4679   

Rottkamp's Fox Hollow Farm  - PYO strawberries, pumpkins. 
143 Sound Avenue, Calverton, NY 11933. Phone: 631-727-1786

Seven Ponds Orchard - apples, raspberries, corn maze
65 Seven Ponds Road, Water Mill, NY.  Phone: 631-726-8015  

Distance from the heart of Sachem: 24 miles

This is the second in a series of articles detailing day trips residents of Sachem can take on Long Island. Check out our other stories on Mitchell Park and Marina and Davis Park Ferry.

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