Valley Fruits & Veggies opens strawberry season on 55 acres it kept in farming

BATH, Pa. — The strawberries are ripe again, and for the first time, families are pulling them from the rows at Valley Fruits & Veggies’ new home in Bath, a 55-acre spread that owners Deb and Chris Colitas say they fought developers to keep in farming.

That is the backdrop to opening week, which began May 26 at 6100 Locust Road. While much of the Lehigh Valley’s open ground is being eyed for warehouses, data centers and solar arrays, the Colitases spent nearly two years assembling three nearby properties to grow more food, not less.

The family wanted to grow on the land “while everybody else is … planning data centers and warehouses,” Deb Colitas said. They bought the Locust Road parcel from Donald and Janet Naylor in October 2024 for $557,000, county records show, and enrolled it in Pennsylvania’s Clean and Green program, which grants lower taxes to owners who keep their land in farming. Developers wanted the parcel too, Colitas said, describing a push to outbid solar companies for it.

For visitors, the payoff is simpler: more room to pick, play and eat. The farm has six acres planted in strawberries and more than 100,000 plants this season, according to Valley Fruits & Veggies, plus goats, kids’ activities and a food trailer all in one place.

“Everyone’s invited out to come on out and just have an awesome time,” Deb Colitas said.

What it costs

Pick-your-own berries run $3.75 a pound for five pounds or more and $4.75 a pound for smaller hauls, according to the farm’s posted pricing. A picking box is $1.50, and you can reuse one from a past visit. Pre-picked berries are available while they last.

The treats are the draw for many: strawberry milkshakes, shortcakes and a strawberry lemonade slushie are $5 each. Breakfast and lunch come from Good Eats by The Gyro Company, a Colitas-owned trailer serving gyros, burgers, chicken fingers and more.

Families can add the Valleyville Play area for $10 for children 12 and under, with parents free, plus $5 barrel train rides. A $12 wristband covers unlimited play and train rides. Goat cuddles are $5 and a cone of feed is $2.50. Parking is free, and the farm takes cash and credit.

Before you go: check the hours

Here is the one thing you need to know before you load the car. Strawberry hours are not fixed; they move with the weather and the field.

A typical season runs about three weeks, Deb Colitas said, though the farm planted a later variety and a cool spring could stretch it. The fields sometimes need a day off to ripen, and a busy weekend can pick them clean.

“It’s not like pumpkins,” she said, noting berries ripen on their own schedule. Strong turnout has already prompted the farm to close early on at least one day when the fields were picked clean, though pre-picked berries and Gyro Company food typically stay available even then.

The farm urges visitors to check its website and social media for the day’s hours before driving out.

The crop almost didn’t make it

It nearly wasn’t a season at all. In late April, the farm said on social media, a cold snap threatened the blossoms, so Chris Colitas and the crew ran sprinklers through the night, coating the plants in a deliberate layer of ice to insulate the buds from frost. The berries pulled through.

The Colitases have grown pick-your-own strawberries since 2016, building from 8.5 acres into the operation visitors see today. Deb Colitas, known locally as the “Strawberry Lady” for her steady stream of farm updates online, said the appeal is as much about the afternoon as the fruit.

People “come out and they’re not on their phones,” she said. “They’re with their families.”

Beyond strawberries, the farm plans fresh fruits and vegetables through Nov. 1 as it finishes building out the new site, and Deb Colitas teased a coming partnership for the fall corn maze with a state agency that she said had not yet been finalized.

For now, the rows are open. Valley Fruits & Veggies is at 6100 Locust Road, Bath; check the farm’s website and social media for current picking hours.