Pick of the season
Story by Lance Hanlin
As convenient as curbside pickup may be, many of us still prefer choosing our own fresh produce. Across the Lowcountry and coastal Georgia, u-pick farms offer a hands-on way to harvest strawberries, blueberries, flowers and seasonal vegetables straight from the field. From St. Helena Island to Hardeeville and Bloomingdale, these drive-worthy farms turn seasonal shopping into an experience. Because crop availability varies with weather, it’s always best to check farm social media pages before heading out.
U-Pick Strawberry Farms on St. Helena Island
Barefoot Farms, St. Helena Island
The hand-painted red letters along Sea Island Parkway are hard to miss, and so is the iconic local farmer behind them. Barefoot Farms is the longtime passion project of Jacky Frazier, who planted his first watermelons here more than 30 years ago and never looked back. Spring kicks things off with u-pick strawberries, followed by a rotating lineup of warm-season produce. Expect the unexpected, from seeded yellow and Black Jack watermelons to Gullah and Geechee melons, speckled butterbeans, pinkeye peas, bull grapes, sugar plums and EverCrisp apples, alongside staples like tomatoes, okra, cantaloupe and field peas as the season allows…