Those juicy local strawberries are back in season. Here’s where you can buy them
The local strawberry season was delayed a few days due to cooler weather, but local stands are now opening for business.
Spooner Berry Farms opened its main stand at 3327 Yelm Highway SE last Wednesday and will open its other locations in Olympia, Aberdeen, Shelton, Centralia, Seattle and Yelm by the end of this week.
Spooner’s stands are open daily. The main stand opens at 8 a.m. and other locations open at 9:30 a.m. All stands close when they sell out.
Sue Spooner, Spooner Berry Farms co-owner and manager, said the farm is looking forward to a good season.
“This is gonna be one of the nicest crops that we’ve had in quite a few years,” Spooner said. “I mean, the fields look beautiful. The berry size is gonna be big.”
By the end of this week, Johnson Berry Farm will open its stand at 2908 Wiggins Road SE and add strawberries to its stand at the Olympia Farmers Market, which is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.
Johnson’s roadside stand will open at 8 a.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and close when it sells out. James Johnson, Johnson Berry Farm owner, said the roadside stand may also open on Thursdays and Fridays “if we have the labor and the fruit.”
“The weather right now is ideal,” Johnson said. “We got that nice lot of water and wet and now it’s starting to warm back up, and it looks like it’s gonna be a fantastic crop.”
Spooner Berry Farms raises two of the sweetest strawberry varieties: Mary’s Peak and Puget Crimson. Johnson Berry Farm raises an old Washington variety of strawberries and is certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers.
Both farms pick their strawberries fresh the morning they sell the fruits.
“We go straight from our fields, straight to the berry stands,” Spooner said.
Spooner Berry Farms only sells strawberries in June, but its stands will remain open until mid-September for the raspberry, marionberry and blueberry seasons.
Johnson Berry Farm will close its roadside stand in mid-July after the caneberry season.
In cooler weather, strawberry season lasts for four weeks, Johnson said. But if the weather stays warmer, the season lasts for three.
