Strawberry Picking at Basse’s Taste of Country

Strawberry picking has been on our summer bucket list for years! Somehow we’ve just never had time in June or early July to go strawberry picking when they are at peak season. This year I made sure to save a date for us to head out for strawberry picking at Basse’s Taste of Country.

Basse’s Taste of Country is located in Colgate, WI, which is just west of Menomonee Falls. It was about 15-20 minutes from Tosa, which was much closer than I was anticipating. Basse’s offers u-pick berries throughout the summer for raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. Strawberry season begins Friday, June 21st and runs for about 3 weeks. U-pick raspberries are estimated to start mid-July and continue to the end of July. New this year, Basse’s will also have U-pick Blackberries in Mid-July to Mid-August.

This year we decided to stick with the strawberry picking at Basse’s and we went in late June – peak season! It was truly the perfect time to go. The berries were at peak ripeness and SO juicy!

When you arrive at Basse’s Taste of Country, there’s a fantastic little country market with local family farm treats – apple cider donuts, strawberry donuts, the Basse famous strawberry sundae, fresh salsas and a TON more. We made a stop at the market on the way out and grabbed quite a few little treats to take home. I, personally, can’t wait to try the corn salsa we grabbed!

They also offer different varieties of fresh picked peas! They aren’t you pick but they are super delicious.

There’s also a little petting farm area, playground and tons of other climbing activities for kids to the side of the country market. Don’t be tricked, though! That area is only open in the Fall for the Basse’s pumpkin picking festival. We will definitely be back in Fall to check that out!

For strawberry picking at Basse’s they give you a big metal bin with a cardboard box to bring out to the fields for picking. There is a 5 lb. minimum for picking strawberries and you can use as many bins as you want in the fields and then combine them when you’re done. We grabbed two bins to bring to the field. In hindsight, it would have been much easier to bring only one bin out to the field because the rows are pretty narrow and you really stick together while picking. Two bins wasn’t necessary at all, and actually kind of annoying to keep track of the second one.

To get out to the fields, you just hop on the tractor! They don’t allow people to walk out to the fields or back.

When you get out to the field, the Basse’s staff explain to you how to pick the berries and then walk you to a specific section of the field and they assign each family a row to pick their berries. I was a little surprised that you get assigned a specific section but it totally makes sense – it made picking the berries so easy because they were all ripe and we there were a ton to choose from!

It happened to rain a TON in the last few days so we had Noah wear his rain boots out for picking. I’d highly recommend doing the same, even if it hasn’t rained. There’s hay covering the ground to protect the strawberry plants and I can imagine that would be really hard on regular tennis shoes. Plus, if there happen to be any puddles out there, it presents an opportunity for some puddle splashing.

A few more tips for your trip out to the strawberry fields:

• If your kid even has the slightest seasonal allergies, I’d also highly recommend giving them something for their allergies before heading out. Mine were horrible!
• Bring lots of water, if it’s a hot day! And, maybe even a sun hat. The fields are directly in the sun and quite toasty warm. There are no water coolers out in the fields.
• Don’t bring a stroller. We ran into someone as we were leaving who asked if we thought they could bring a stroller out in the fields and I’d highly recommend against it. The fields are tilled so pretty uneven and the berry rows are all layered in hay. A stroller would be very difficult. Stick with a carrier.
• Eat tons of berries! They are sooo delicious fresh off the vine!

Overall, strawberry picking at Basse’s was a ton of fun! I certainly can’t wait to head back in the fall for pumpkin picking this year and to play in the huge play area!

U-pick strawberry hours:
8am-5pm (weather permitting) daily until season ends
Special extended picking hours: Wednesdays ONLY 8am – 7pm!
4:30pm last hayride to strawberry fields (Wednesdays last hayride to field at 6:30pm)