PICKING TIPS

The Following is helpful tips for first time u-picker

• Come Prepared!
• If you are interested in items such as zucchini, eggplant, or okra pruning shears, small knife, or garden scissors prove to be very helpful when picking.
  
• Hydration, if you plan on making a morning or afternoon out of your picking experience come prepared with plenty of water. South Georgia heat is nothing to play with during our picking seasons.
• Bring your own 5 gallon bucket. We have plenty of buckets for you to use if you happen to not have a 5 gallon one laying around. The advantage of bringing your own bucket is that your produce gets handled less, which in turn helps with reducing possible bruising. If you wish to use our buckets we will transfer them into brown paper bags upon check out. 
• Please note if you do bring your own bucket we prefer you to bring a marked 5 gallon bucket . Measurements typically are found on the underside of most standard buckets.
• Payment: We accept cash and all major credit/debit cards
• Bring the kids/grandchildren! We love for our customers to enjoy the garden just as much as we do. Our children love the picking experience and we our confident yours will too!
• How to Pick
  
• In general, pick the produce the size in which you see/purchase it in the grocery store. Larger is not always better in terms of produce. You will come across large, overgrown squash, eggplant, cucumbers, okra, etc. However, in contrast small, tiny produce is not necessarily a desired, prime size either. Stick with what you see in the store.
• Yellow Squash and Zucchini: 4-6 inches long, no shorter than 4 inches.
• Pickling Cucumbers: No shorter than 3 inches.
• Okra: No shorter than 2 inches, no longer than 4-5 inches.
• Eggplant: 4-7 inches
• Color matters when picking items such as squash, peas, cucumbers, etc.
• Do not pick yellow squash when it is dark yellow, cucumbers and peas when they have yellowing.
• You only want to pick dark red strawberries. The sweetness of the strawberry on the day you pick it is the sweetest it will ever be. So if you pick one that has white or green to it, it is not ready nor is it going to be sweet.
• Pick ONLY IN MARKED AREAS. Upon your visit to the farm you will notice white signs at the end of the sections of produce that are available for picking. If the section does not have a clearly marked white sign at the end of the row, DO NOT PICK. These areas are not ready to be picked. 
• Corn, Watermelon, and Cantaloupe are not available at anytime for u-pick. We personally pick these items to ensure their quality and ripeness. 
• Common Field Rules
• Please use the marked restroom facility located in the field. 
• Pets, such as dogs, are not allowed in the field. The exception being service dogs/animals.
• Do not drive over produce rows. 
• Do not drive through large mud holes. 
• In general all mud holes are avoidable in the field when using reverse on your vehicle.
• Hand washing station is located under the sales barn
• Please wash hands before and after leaving field
• When parking please park to one side of the road or the other, not in the middle. Please be considerate of the flow of traffic. 
• Do not litter. Remove all trash from field and dispose of it in marked trash can that can be found under sales barn.
• Children/minors should be under adult supervision at all times during your visit to the farm. 

When in doubt call the barn 229-246-8086 with any and all questions while picking. 

We are happy to help!