LEHIGHTON, Pa. — In just a few more weeks, the strawberries at Foothill Farm near Lehighton will be ready to eat, and this year, you'll be able to pick your own.
"We kind of serve a void in our area that there really aren't many strawberry farmers around, so we thought one way to get people out to our farm and make our business grow a little bit more was to plant a you-pick strawberries operation," said farm owner PJ Salerno.
It's a first for the farm that always grew strawberries, just not on this scale.
Last October, the farm planted about 25,000 strawberry plants, covering about three acres.
Salerno says they are on track for the season.
"It was a little bit cold in the beginning of the year," said Salerno. "We had some frost pretty late into the season. That got us worried but again, lucky we can irrigate and protect the berries. So the weather's been pretty much perfect for us so far this year."
Salerno posted on Facebook about this year's strawberry patch, and the response has been great.
Kelly Paul comments," Strawberries. I've never been strawberry picking, cannot wait."
Kealey Conville writes," Missed my chance to pick berries last year, so I'm really looking forward to it this year."
While the strawberry plants may be small now, Salerno says in just a few weeks, they'll be ready to pick, and if you want them, you're going to have to act fast.
"I think we'll have a lot of berries, but I think they're going to go fast," Salerno said. "The first year being in the ground, it's not their best year of production, but the years to follow, they'll be a lot more."
Foothill will offer six different varieties people can choose from.
The farm is hoping to open its fields on June 19 for strawberry picking season.