Picking strawberries, making memories
RUSSELLVILLE — A pick-your-own strawberry patch run by Jerri Ann Oliver draws visitors from across the area each season.
Oliver said she started the patch in 2021 after deciding to build on a family tradition of enjoying strawberries together.
The patch has sold about 300 gallons of strawberries so far this season, she said.
Oliver said visitors have come not only from Franklin County but also from Mississippi and Tennessee, and weekdays have been just as busy as weekends.
The patch includes small tractors for children to play on and photo boards for pictures, and it hosts occasional field trips for small groups such as Red Bay prekindergarten.
Oliver’s husband, Chad, and father-in-law, Larry, farm row crops including corn, wheat and soybeans, and the family also keeps cattle.
She manages the strawberry patch each spring in addition to working her main job at the Department of Human Resources. Her husband works for Russellville Electric.
The patch did not produce a crop in 2024 and 2025 because of plant supply problems and disease concerns.
Oliver said a hurricane disrupted the farm’s Canadian plant supply one year, leaving her without mature enough plants for local growing conditions.
The next year, available plants carried disease, and she decided not to risk introducing that into the soil.
This year, she found a grower in Cullman County and planted 5,000 strawberry plants.
She said the plants are uprooted and replaced with new plants each year because strawberry plants produce less fruit over time. Each fall, she removes the old plants and sets new ones.
She prepares the rows with plastic covering and irrigation laid by machine, then places each plant by hand.
This season, the patch is growing Fronteras and Ruby June varieties. Fronteras has produced the most and tasted the best so far, Oliver said.
The patch usually starts blooming in early April and opens for picking by mid-April.
Oliver said she hopes the season will last through May, but that depends on weather conditions. Rain creates the biggest challenge, she said. They try to have the berries picked soon after it rains because berries can rot if they sit in the water.
Oliver said pollination is a key part of the process. “Bees play a major role in the crop,” she said.
The patch borrows hives from LeMay Bee Farm each season to help strawberries develop properly.
Before using bees, she said she noticed misshapen berries.
“We had funky looking strawberries,” Oliver said. “When we introduced bees, it resolved the whole issue.”
Ellie Bahena holds up a freshly picked strawberry at Oliver Farms in Russellville.
The bees arrive when the plants reach about 10% bloom, helping pollinate blossoms and produce full berries.
She said her family uses strawberries in a variety of recipes. Her mother-inlaw, Rhonda Oliver, makes strawberry pudding. Her brother-in-law, Chase, of Oliver Creamery, uses fresh strawberries for seasonal ice cream.
Russellville resident Keisha DeMartin said the experience of visiting Oliver Farms has become part of her routine this season.
“It’s fun and relaxing,” she said. “I love picking strawberries.”
She said she uses the strawberries in a variety of homemade desserts, including strawberry pies and cakes.
Seeing children enjoy the patch has been one of the most rewarding parts of each season. Those moments, she said, are what keeps her motivated.
“It makes it worth it … to just see the kids and the enjoyment that they have,” Oliver said.
The patch is open daily during daylight hours through an honor system. Customers can pay with cash in a drop box, or through digital payment options. Baskets are provided for picking.
