Flooding Affects Some Area Berry Farms

Heavy rains and flooding has wreaked havoc on at least one area berry farm, destroying crops and bringing to an end its popular U-Pick season.  

Over five inches of rain fell at both Tom's Farm Market locations in Huntley, 10214 Algonquin Road, and in Union, since Tuesday, according to an update on the Tom's website. 

The flooding put to end the strawberry season at Tom's, as well as its short-lived U-Pick season, which started on June 19. 

"This amount of rain destroys strawberries and unfortunately the remainder of our strawberry crop has been ruined. This is a huge loss for the farm and a disappointment to many of our customers that is out of our control," according to the update. "We were hopeful that a portion of the crop would survive but they did not."

Peaches, cherries, grapes and tomatoes are currently available at Tom's and the rain has been great for the sweet corn fields, according to a post on Tom's Facebook page. 

Meanwhile, strawberry picking conditions at Stade's Farm & Market in Woodstock are good. 

"There is an abundance of fresh berries ready ... We did not flood and our strawberry patches are all lined with a thick layer of straw so mud is generally not an issue," according to a post Thursday on Stade's Facebook page. 

This weekend is expected to be one of the best for strawberry picking at Stade's, according to the post. 

For a full listing of area pick-your-own farms, visit pickyourown.org.