Strawberries ripe for picking

MARQUETTE - The fragrant smell of fresh strawberries is heavy near the dirt road leading to the middle of the berry-laden fields of Ostanek's Strawberries.

Just east of Trenary, the Ostanek farm has been a pick-your-own strawberry farm since 1959. Friday was the third day the 8-acre farm was open for pickers this summer and co-owner Peter Maki said the picking has been excellent.

"We supply quite a few freezers," Maki said, explaining that some people like to freeze the berries they pick so they can enjoy them year-round.

The farm is open to pickers for about two to three weeks a summer or "until the berries are gone," Maki said.

Maki said he meets pickers from around the Upper Peninsula, but the majority come from Marquette and Alger counties.

One such picker, Don Keippela of Harvey, picked five quarts and was headed out to pick some more.

"He does a nice job of growing berries here," Keippela said. "We're fortunate to have a good season. With the economy the way it is, at least something works."

Keippela said he freezes the berries he picks and adds them to a variety of food throughout the year.

Miriam and Emma Smyth of Skandia planned on canning and making jam out of some of the berries they picked and freezing the rest of them. They said they pick at the farm every summer.

"This is our favorite place to pick," Miriam said. "There's good strawberries and friendly people."

Mercy Cady of Trenary held up a box of big fresh strawberries she had just collected.

"This is a good collection. I like the bigger berries," she said. "They're pretty, sweeter berries."

Maki said this year's crop, although slowed down by cooler weather, is a good one.

"The cold weather slows them down and keeps them from wanting to go," he said. "More sunshine helps the berries ripen."

The farm plants 25,000 strawberry plants a year.

"Every year we plant a new field so you have good plants to pick from," Maki said, adding that each field usually yields at least two years worth of harvests before it has to be replanted.

The farm has five varieties of strawberries, which cost $1.35 per quart.

Strawberry farms are open across the U.P. for the short season, including farms in Chassell, Hancock, Escanaba and Cooks. Hours and days open for picking may vary depending on how many pickers hit the fields.