Rowe’s Produce Farm

I took my 4 year old twins, my 17 month baby and my neighbor’s 5 year old to pick strawberries yesterday. I was not sure what I was expecting, but Rowes runs such a well organized program, that it was a blast for everyone! They have staff set up to help direct you to where you should park & pick. They have a porta-​potty out in the fields (which was helpfully pointed out, though I’m so thankful NONE of my crew needed to use it) and they even have signs reminding you not to lock your keys in your car. The boxes they give you to put the berries in are sturdy and easy to carry (if you are over 48 inches tall). The kids loved being able to roam through the rows of berry plants and I even heard the kids quoting the Rowe’s employees a few times, «Remember to look under the leaves, guys!»
After about an hour, my box was getting full and the kids were getting restless, so we decided to pack up and head out. Again, the directions and assistance form staff were helpful and you don’t really have to get out of your car to pay, unless you put your berries in the truck (under the stroller, because when you have 4 car seats in the vehicle, there’s no other place!) They sell a few other items at checkout, like the stuff to make strawberry jam & smoothie mix, which is a nice touch too, saving a trip to the grocery store if you were going that way with your take home. My berries, will likely be eaten plain, as there are so many hungry and active kids around here. Thanks, Rowe’s for a fun Friday morning!

I came here on Father’s Day (sans father, the realities of living so far from California) with a good friend to pick strawberries. It was an extremely hot day and of course we decided right around 11am was a good time to start. No shade cover but you have to know that going in! There were a lot of people picking strawberries out there, but it didn’t feel crowded, and we had no problems filling up our trays! I did ~9.5 lbs and my friend did 15 lbs! The price was very good, as my total came out to be just over $ 18. Weighing and paying was easy, and I appreciated they had cobbler mix and pectin for those who want to get straight down to strawberry business when they get home.

I went for the u-​pick English shelling peas and strawberries 2 days ago. The majority of the strawberries were completely mold-​covered and rotting. One really needs to search and search to find a few good ones. I was pretty disappointed and only managed to scrounge up 1 ½ lbs. after an hour. The English shelling peas are in much better shape. I collected a little over 3 lbs. un-​shelled.
Strawberries are $ 1.99/lb and the peas are $ 1.50/lb. However, considering you can’t eat the shell (which is the bulk of the weight)…I took them home, shelled them and re-​weighed them and was charged $ 3.59 for 1 lb. Considering they are not organic… those are some pretty expensive peas.
I also am disappointed that they are not organic and use pesticides on their crops. My child and I loved the experience of gathering our own fruits and vegetables but, I will try to hunt down an organic farm in the area that allows u-​pick for next year.

Has everything we need for our weekend bar b ques. Love the convenience from home. Visit this farm frequently every year.

Great outing for kids and adults. The berries are fresh and plentiful. Go when it is cool, or you will sweat!

This is a conversation I had with a representative of Rowe’s Produce Farm, verbatim:
Me: Hi there. Could you tell me, do you use any pesticides on your raspberries?
Rowes: YES
Me: Thanks.
Do you use Pesticides on all of your crops?
Rowes: YES
Me: This is too bad. I’m sorry, I cannot buy my produce from you any longer.
Rowes: WHY NOT?
Me: Because pesticides are toxic, they kill beneficial insects, they cause cancer, they get into our ground water and kill animals.
Rowes: If that’s what you are led to believe then we are sorry. We use less pesticides now than were used in the past 20– 30 years.
Me: Led to believe? I’m an educated individual, it’s a proven fact. Monsanto is one evil company. I’m happy that you’ve used less, but there are thriving farms in the area who are completely organic.
Rowes: Ok thanks for your past business.
Need I say more?
Don’t get me wrong, the place is one of a kind, and offers such a huge variety of you pick produce… but if such a large operation cared about the environment they could at least consider alternative pest control options.

I’m sure they have fantastic things here. I think… Uh…
I’ve stopped in literally 5 or 6 different times. Everyone I know brags about the great stuff they got there. I must be showing up at the wrong times. I’ve only made one purchase in all my visits. I bought 2 bushels of tomatoes for juice. I asked the girl what kind they were and she said, «Michigan tomatoes.» I told her that wasn’t a variety and she just shrugged. The corn is always a little pricey and the selection is kind of small.
I understand they have a great upick but I’ve never done it. For a farm stand I feel the selection is small and a littler more expensive than some other local places.

O snap! 54.5 lbs of strawberries are now mine! MUAHAHAHA!
Okay, in retrospect we may have been a little overzealous. I mean, that’s a lot of strawberries. But I guess that means I’ll just be making a crap ton of jam. I’m ready for the challenge!
But it’s so easy to go hog wild here at Rowe’s! What with all the gorgeous berries they have hiding in the rows of plants. It’s almost like an addiction. I mean, I was suffering from a stomach bug and despite the fact that I was seriously about to black out I was still bending over picking those berries because every leaf I turned had another batch of shiny red beauties underneath.
And Rowe’s makes the process relatively easy. Pull in, get your trays (we took 5 – we were crazy!) and then roll on over to the patches. The second you step out you will smell the sweet scent of these gorgeous jewels. It’s like a cartoon where the scent drags you by the nose out of your car, floating along like a crazy person. But first be sure to slather on the sun screen because their is absolutely NO shade. Once you’ve got that covered – get to pickin’. Now, it’s not easy – your legs will be cramping, your knees will get stiff, the sweat will be dripping down your face and into your eyes – sunscreen stinging you poor little peepers – but you’ll keep picking. Picking until your fingers bleed. Wait, no. That won’t happen, at least not with the strawberries. That part is actually pretty easy. It just looks like a bloodbath thanks to all that delicious juice. Avoid the urge to lick it off, it just makes things stickier. But the berries themselves are all you can eat while you pick so go to town!
Once the trays are filled (5 trays=FILLED) get back in your ride and pull on over to check out. Friendly folks will be on hand to compliment your haul and weigh your berries. As for price? Crazy good. I think they were something like $ 1.50 or so per pound. Holy cow that’s cheap! Also they’ve got bottled water and soft drinks, pectin, and other goodies for getting your strawberry processing on. Thank them profusely and then drive away, overwhelmed by the delicious smell in your car and where the heck you’re going to store FIVE TRAYS OF STRAWBERRIES. Oh, boy.
If you’re looking for some veggies for those fruits they’ve got rows of U-​pick peas as well. July to September sees the arrival of raspberries. More sticky fingers. More jam. I can’t wait!

Whatever I don’t grow in my own garden I can pick here. Love the berries and love the staff! If you don’t feel like picking your own stuff, they have some already harvested for sale as well.

If you ever dreamed of being a migrant farm worker, Rowe’s is your place to go. They also have a neat little market which sells pre-​picked, local fruits and veggies; a nice change from many of the farmers markets in the area that sell out-​of-​state produce even when local produce is available. Sign up for the e-​mail list so you know whats happening at the farm.

I love u pick places.
I have gotten great sugar snap peas and pea pods here as well as awesome strawberries. The season runs starting in June and through until the fourth of July. They have a list you can get on and they will notify you when the season begins, which I appreciate.
They also have raspberries which are some in late July and through August. They then have a season season that starts in September. Raspberries right off the vine nom nom nom.
They don’t frown on sampling and are really very sweet in general.
I like their market but nothing beats getting out there and picking my own for dirt cheap. Next summer you need to give them a whirl.

LOVE this place! We have picked both strawberries and sugar snap peas. They are yummy! So fresh and delicious.
They encourage you to sample whilst you are picking. My daughter was covered! The prices for the berries are $ 1.46 per pound. Well worth it and better than the store berries around here.

I’ve picked strawberries and bought produce from their farm market stand almost every year for the last eight years, so you could definitely say I’m a fan.
This year, I also picked sugar snap peas and Chinese pea pods, and they were fantastic. Later this summer, they’ll have raspberries for the picking, and they’re usually good for almost two months.
Rowe’s location is fantastic for being accessible both for Ann Arbor residents and those living in the Detroit suburbs. It’s technically in Ypsilanti, but it’s so far east and south that it’s almost in Wayne County. For me, it’s less than a 10-​minute drive, so I could go there almost every weekend they’re open.
The prices are really low if you do your own «U-​pick» on berries and peas. You just drive up to the barn and tell them what you want to pick, and they’ll tell you the prices and give you a container. Afterward, you bring your pickings to the back of the barn where they’re weighed and you’re charged.
The prices on the farm market pre-​picked produce aren’t great. They are comparable or even more expensive than supermarket produce. But it’s generally good quality, and I like supporting local farmers.
Everyone I’ve encountered there is really nice, too, from the owners to the high school students that help get the farm in shape for U-​pick season.