Thompson Farms

My family has been getting produce from the Thompson farms for as long as I can remember. Their produce is always fresh and flavorful. The employees are always friendly and helpful. My only complaint is that they haven’t found a way to magically provide me with berries all year round. Love the produce, love the service! No complaints here.

We love and depend on Thompson Farms. It’s sad how many of the fruits we all eat and love (especially kids) are on the most highly sprayed with pesticides and herbicides list. I love that Thompson’s has committed to sustainable farming to ensure our health and also the health of the land and neighbors and especially pickers. These are the costs we often forget when we consider «cheap» fruit. Picking at Thompson’s lets us eat well affordably and support farmers who farm with all of us in mind. All their produce is high quality but do not miss their peaches which are amazing.

Well… I should start by saying our family was a very loyal customer of Thompson Farm for the last 3.5 years; I appreciate that they do not use insecticides/​fungicides as we only eat organic produce.
However, I had such a horrible experience last week at their farm stand, I feel inclined to share with others. Last year I purchased a flat of marionberries only to find that they were infested with little white worms. I called the farm, they apologized and refunded my money, they also told me they would be destroying the rest of that crop to control the pest problem. Although I was thoroughly disgusted by my experience I took it with a grain of salt (understanding and appreciating that they do not use pesticides) and thought I would give the marionberries a try again this year. I purchased 2 flats of Marionberries this year And even double checked with the women at the stand to make sure they had not had any more problems with the worms. After getting the berries home and spending much time (that I do not have– with 2 toddlers running around) I was shocked to find the same white worms infesting my marionberries this year… Yuck! (The worms do not surface until after you have washed the berries or put them in the fridge for a day or so and there are not just a couple of random worms– the berries are THICK with them.)
When I called the farm this year they essentially denied that there was a problem (saying I was probable confusing worms with pieces of wheat straw)… But did agree to credit my purchase towards more produce. When I got to the farm stand they again denied any problem (even though I explained that I was 100% positive they were the same worms as last year); they also proceeded in making me feel like a thief… Stating that I had already come by to exchange my berries (which I most certainly had not). They made me feel embarrassed and horrible. They also commented on the vehicle that one of their customers was driving (I believe it was a Mercedes Benz or something like that)… They said «there is no way I would refund someone driving a car like that). That comment was the final straw for me… Why should it matter what kind of car someone is driving? If you sell a bad product (in this case worm infested Marionberries) you should do the right thing and refund the purchase. I left the stand nearly in tears. I have never been made to feel like a criminal before.
Thompson farms has lost my respect and my trust (being as they did not properly take care of the worm problem and treated me so offensively when I confronted them about it). It makes me question what else they are hiding from their consumer and leads me to question the quality of their produce. I feel regretful that I had reccomended this farm to so many of my friends and family over the past few years.
Until I find another local organic farm to support this mom is sticking to my tried and true neighborhood New Seasons.

Insecticide and Fungicide free! Woo hoo!
We bought the sugar snap peas and they crunched and then practically melted in or mouths!
The zucchini were yummy!
The strawberries: JUICY AND SWEET! We bought the strawberries at the fruit stand. The U-​pick Strawberries should be ready by the end of the week.
We are definitely going to go picking this week! My gelato maker feels the need for strawberry gelato and who doesn’t need a strawberry margarita or daiquiri?

We’re fans of PB&J in our house. We’re also fans of organic foods. We’re not fans of paying $ 6 per 10oz jar of local, organic jam at our local grocery store. I decided I would attempt to make our own freezer jam, using fresh, local berries. This morning I headed out to Thompson Farms for strawberries.
I have yet to locate a u-​pick place that is certified organic (probably something to do with how much it costs for the certification) but I chose Thompson because they don’t use insecticides or fungicides. I chatted with the knowledgeable, sweet woman working the strawberry fields stand this morning and she told me that they’ve been chemical free for the past 15 years. They do a lot of crop rotation, natural and introduced cover crops that provide a natural insect habitat for beneficial insects and keep the soil fertile and high in organic matter.
I picked 15 pounds of berries in no time and paid $ 1 per pound. Half of those berries have resulted in 12 pints of strawberry freezer jam and the remainder has been frozen for smoothies (another love in our household). Not only is it tasty and local but a great price compared to what we’ve been paying for our beloved jam.
I will definitely be going back in a few weeks for raspberries and blueberries. They also grow marionberries, boysenberries, tree fruits, sweet corn and veggies (I picked up lettuce, sugar snap peas and cherries this morning too!). They have u-​pick for many things but you can also just purchase directly from the stand. They update their message every morning with up to date information on what is available for u-​pick and in the stands. I think they also attend several Farmers Markets. While it’s a bit of a drive (past Damascus), the drive was beautiful, the staff friendly and helpful and the produce to die for.