It's Pick Your Own Strawberry Season In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - There's nothing better than fresh fruit in the summer and right now it's peak strawberry season in Minnesota.
The fruit has about a three-week window for picking. Many strawberry patches in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin are opening for the season this weekend.
"That's what makes it so fun," said Lisa Willems of Ham Lake. "You don't go very far, and you get all these strawberries filled with your bucket."
At The Strawberry Basket in Monticello, customers haul them out by the bucketful.
"They're like diamonds," Willems said. "I mean look at how red my hands are: it's not from eating, just from picking."
Strawberry Basket owner Brad Munsterteiger grew up picking strawberries on his parents' farm near St. Cloud. He quit his corporate job in the cities 17 years ago and started his own berry business.
"I love working outdoors," he said. "I'll spend sun up to sun down out here."
Strawberry season is usually best right around Father's Day. The moderate rainfall and temperatures have made for a good berry season this year.
"This for the most part is a normal year," Munsterteiger said. "So far, the weather has been cooperative."
So if you've got a craving for strawberries, or just love the thrill of the hunt for the perfect one, you've got a short window to start picking.
Most strawberry patches remain open to the public until they've had all their strawberries picked.
To learn more about how you can pick your own strawberries, visit The Strawberry Basket online.