Strawberry season is back! Franklin’s Farm, founded in 2010, is located on Highway 301 in Statesboro. This weekend I went strawberry picking, and here’s my experience.
Process of strawberry picking
Once you park at the front entrance of the farmer’s stand, you have the option to pick a ½ gallon basket for $12 or 1 gallon for $20. I chose a ½ gallon basket (which you get to keep!)
After you pay, you are directed to the fields. This year Franklin’s farm has a variety of “Fontera” strawberries. Since strawberries do not continue to grow or ripen once picked, Farmer Bill Rentz recommends picking them once they’re dark red all around.
I made sure to pick as many strawberries as would fit in my basket.
This past November, Franklin’s Farm discovered a disease that wiped out most of their winter berries, according to Rentz. This impacted their wholesale season.
Citrus, peaches, and more!
Along with strawberries, Franklin’s Farm is known for its orange varieties.
“Strawberries have become just as important as citrus to us actually,” Rentz said.
“But as far as, if you want to zoom out, look at the farm as a whole, yeah, citrus is still way bigger for us. We do a lot of wholesale distribution with citrus. That’s what originally got on the farm.”
Strawberries and citrus are boxed up for sale at the front and are freshly in season. Peaches are also coming into the stand, which you can buy individually or bagged. Besides fruit, they also have fresh spring onion, local honey, and slushies to enjoy in the heat.