"pick your own" news and stories

It is blueberry season and those almost-purple, chocked with antioxident little berries are all over the markets. I've been out to pick them twice now and I'm planning to go at least one more time before the season is out. Melissa (aka The Boastful Baker) recently went picking and came back with 13 pounds (I have to admit that I only picked six pounds last time I went out to the u-pick farm).

Thanks for adding your pic to the Slashfood Flickr pool, Melissa!

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With the weather starting to warm up (especially down here in Florida), I thought that some help finding u-pick farms would be useful. I've always relied on PickYourOwn.org. They have extensive county-by-county listings for u-pick farms (as well as some other orchards) throughout the U.S. There are also listings for Canada, Australia, the U.K., New Zealand and South Africa. Aside from farms, the site also has listings for regional festivals, mostly those related to fruits and vegetables. Contacting state agriculture departments is another good way to find local u-pick farms. Many ag departments will even have listings on their websites.

[Photo: Sharp Ranch]