Come mid-May, it’s time to PYO—that is, “pick your own”—produce, particularly the blueberries, blackberries, and peaches that will soon make for some tasty late-spring cobblers. Here, a few farms around the state where you can fill up a bucket or two with the season’s finest produce.
BLUEBERRIES
Brownsboro // Echo Springs Blueberry Farm
With more than fifty acres you likely won’t be bumping elbows with other eager pickers. This year’s season reopens on May 27.
McDade // Chickamaw Farm and Ranch
The McCranie family will school you on their organic BioDynamic growing methods as you fill up a “liberal” pint. If you find the season’s biggest blueberry, you’ll win a free pint. Call before you go (512-567-3456).
Quitman // The Blueberry Farm
From mid May to mid July, you can scoop up a one-gallon bucket of berries ($14 “u-pick,” $20 “we-pick”); you can also scoop up homemade blueberry ice cream, jams, and jellies.
And don’t miss the Texas Blueberry Festival, coming up on June 11, in Nacogdoches.
BLACKBERRIES
Cypress // Blackberries of Houston
Thornless and grown on trellises, these blackberries are particularly painless to harvest. Call before you visit for hours and to hear the daily blackberry report (281-373-5357).
Marble Falls // Sweet Berry Farm
You’ve got till the first week of June or so for prime blackberry picking. When the novelty wears off, take the kiddos to play in the Berry Bounce or to ride on the Sweet Berry Express Barrel Train. And for the “freshest” news (strawberries, peaches, potatoes, and onions are also grown here), check the site’s daily updates.
Sanger // Duck Creek Blackberries
Though self-described as a “no-frills” operation, this family-run farm invites you to come picnic underneath their hundred-year-old shade tree after you’ve picked your fill from more than five thousand blackberry plants.
PEACHES
Fredericksburg // Marburger Orchard
While strawberry season is coming to a close (you still have until early June!), the peach harvest has begun earlier than expected. Daily online updates let you know what’s ripe for the picking.
Hempstead // E&B Orchards
Approximately a thousand fruit trees—including peach and nectarine—are waiting for you to enjoy their sweet treats. The promise of homemade peach and blackberry ice cream further sweetens the deal.
Terrell // Ham Orchards
First planted in 1979, this family farm has grown to a hundred acres with about ten thousand peach trees. Harvesting of the more than thirty varieties of the “jewels of summer” has already begun and will continue until mid August.
