It’s the season for fresh summer produce and berry-picking fun. The following are places in or near Keizer where local produce or berry-picking opportunities can be found.
When driving northeast up River Road, Jones Farm Produce is easy to notice. Currently, Jones Farm Produce fruit stand is available for all ages and is selling farm fresh produce. Jones Farm starts its harvest in May with Oregon strawberries and asparagus, then from July–September the company starts picking over 12 varieties of peaches. Jones Farm grows a selection of produce including berries, tomatoes, peaches, apples, melons, plums/prunes, pears, beans, cucumbers, onions, peppers, summer squash, fall squash, pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn. One of the three principles that are important to Jones Farm Produce is affordable prices. The company also says that its number one goal is to sell a good product at a price that is right for everyone. Jones Farm Produce also offers an ice cream shop selling eight locally made Umpqua flavors of ice cream. The ice cream shop also offers shortcakes, sundaes, and waffle cones. Upon entering Jones Farm Produce Jones grown fruit jams, preserves and fruit syrup is also available to purchase. More information can be found at jonesfarmproduce.com.
“We pick you the berry best!” is the slogan of Nanneman Farms Fruit Stand. Located at 5662 Silverton Road NE, the Nanneman Farms Fruit Stand is open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m.–6 p.m. and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on the weekends. Nanneman Farms sells apricots, loganberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. The stand also offers flying bees honey pots for $10 and flying bees honey bears for $15. Accepted forms of payment at the stand are cash, checks, debit cards, Visa cards, and Master cards. EBT and Oregon Trail cards are accepted as well. Nanneman Farms Fruit Stand offers a 10% senior discount for customers ages 62 and up. Prices for the products are listed on nannemanfarms.com, but product prices are subject to change upon availability.
EZ Orchards is on Hazelgreen Road NE and currently has their summer produce in. Some of the products featured at EZ Orchards are grapes, tomatoes, peaches, and cucumbers. Some accepted forms of payment for produce are EBT Oregon Trail cards and the Farm Direct Nutrition Check. All summer produce at the farm market is locally grown. EZ Orchards is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m.–5 p.m., but is closed on Sundays. They also offer a fresh fruit shortcake stand, milkshakes, smoothies, and more. EZ Orchards is a locally grown farm market that stays open for business all year round.
Thank You Berry Much Farms is a family-owned farm on Culver Drive SE in Salem that has dedicated its blueberries to a full “U– Pick” operation. U–Pick sounds just like its name, anyone can come and pick their blueberries from the field. Prices for U–Pick are $1.75 per pound. Thank You Berry Much Farms have a variety of five different blueberries: Blue Crop, Blueray, Earliblues, Jerseys, and Olympias. Customers are welcome to bring containers for picking, however, the farm does have buckets available for use and provides bags and boxes for taking fruit home. ReadyPick is another product the farm sells that consists of daily picked blueberries fresh or frozen for those who don’t have time to go picking but want some local produce. Prices for ReadyPick are $5 for each quart, each half flat box goes for $20 or $38 for two. That is also the same price for the frozen one-gallon bag that weighs around five pounds. Thank You Berry Much Farms asks customers to call ahead for any big ReadyPick orders. The farm is owned and operated by the Wheeler family, who before moving to their farm had lived in Keizer for 18 years.
Rick Johnson Farms on Perkins Street NE is open for the berry-picking season. The farm currently has blueberry and cherry picking for $1.85 a pound. Rick Johnson Farms advises those coming to pick fruit to bring containers from home as the farm does not provide baskets, boxes or bags. Containers for fruit picking should be wide and flat, they shouldn’t be too deep or a person could end up with “jam” in their bucket while picking. More information can be found at Rick Johnson Farms Facebook page where information is updated often.
