2024 Northeast New Jersey Blackberry U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Blackberry U-Pick Orchards in Northeast New Jersey in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for blackberries that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have blackberries orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

Morris County

• Alstede Farms - apples, apricots, beans, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, corn (sweet), cucumbers, currants (red and black), eggplant, flowers, gooseberries, herbs or spices, melons, nectarines, onions, other berries, peas, peaches, peppers, pumpkins, raspberries (red), raspberries (Spring, red), raspberries (Autumn, red), raspberries (yellow), raspberries (Spring, yellow), raspberries (Autumn, yellow), raspberries (black), raspberries (Spring, black), raspberries (Autumn, black), summer squash, winter squash, strawberries, tomatoes, other vegetables,
  1 Alstede Farms Lane, Chester, NJ 7930. Phone: 908-879-7189. Email: info@alstedefarms.com. Open: PYO Hours: Spring & Summer: 9 am to 6 pm, Fall: 9 am to 5 pm check website to see when hours change Click here for current open hours, days and dates. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx, WIC Vouchers, SFMNP Vouchers.
  Alstede Farms Facebook page. . . PYO Hours: Spring & Summer: 9 am to 6 pm, Fall: 9 am to 5 pm (check website to see when hours change) Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. We are also a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The basic idea of CSA farming is a cooperative relationship between the farmer and his customers. Based on an annual commitment to one another, community members provide a pre-season payment to purchase a share of the harvest . The member then receives a weekly box of a wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruit through the growing season, harvested at the peak of ripeness and flavor. We strongly recommend purchasing tickets for all Pick Your Own (PYO) activities in advance, online, utilizing our website. We can not guarantee PYO entry for walk in guests. Any (PYO) entry ticket that is purchased at the PYO sheds will incur a $5.00 per ticket convenience fee.Click here to view our updated Pick Your Own policies.Click here to purchase advance tickets.(UPDATED: September 7, 2021, JBS) (UPDATED: April 23, 2018)
  Comments from a visitor on July 19, 2019: "Blueberries and raspberries are $6.99/lb, which is high, but Peaches are $2.79/lb is is a good price."
  Comments from a visitor on August 12, 2012: "No longer is the price $3.00 (and optional $2.00 hayride). It is $5.00 each to enter farm with $3.00 credit per person. I said I did not need hayride to bring me to the apples and peaches that i could walk myself, but price is still $5.00. Taking hayride to fruits/ veggies OR NOT it is still $5.00 (with the $3.00 credit). Pretty expensive though, spent close to $100.00 on apples and peaches.."
  Comments from a visitor on September 22, 2010: "In reply to the post from Sept 11th 2010. I agree that at first it was a little unsettling to have to pay up front for the privilege of picking my own stuff. They charge $3.00 per person for admission to the fields and an additional $2.00 per person if you want to take the hayride. The hayride is completely optional, as the orchards/berry fields are easily within walking distance of the main areas and they actually give you back the $3.00 per person as credit towards paying for whatever you picked, you just need to hand over your ticket stubs to the cashier. My $30.00 worth of apples (My 3 yr old son had to pick an apple from every tree, lol) was reduced to only $12.00 after the credit. All in all, my family and I have a great time here and we come back every year for apples and pumpkins. We highly recommend it!"
  Comments from a visitor on September 11, 2010: "We visited today to pick our own fruit, something I've done multiple times per year with my daughters since we moved here 9 years ago. Sadly we were greeted with the new policy of paying $5 per person just to go out to the fields to pick..then you pay for the lbs of fruit on top of that. Can you imagine paying $20 for some raspberries?? That's what it would have cost us if just me and my 8 year old went out to the field and filled a basket! OUCH We didn't pick fruit and we didn't stay. What you used to be a fun simple low cost place to take your children has become a money hungry pit and almost commercial like. I can understand when they want to charge for the kids to play on the blow up rentals they have or ride the ponies but WHY would you charge a customer $5 to go out to the field and pick the berries FOR YOU and then pay for them? I know there are plenty other farms that don't do that and that's a shame. Shame Shame Shame"
  Comments from a visitor on June 27, 2009: "We love this farm!"
  Comments from a visitor, May 30, 2008: "They are open all year and have a fabulous store (if you don't want to get out in the brambles and pick your own) They are kid friendly with hayrides, horse rides, festivals, corn maze. They take credit cards and have restrooms. They make their own homemade ice cream (oh boy is it good!). They have farm markets in local communities throughout central NJ. You can even cut your very own wildflowers to take home in a bouquet! :D They are a great farm in a great little town (which also has a Sally Lunn's Tea Room and many wonderful little antique stores and old fashioned privately owned boutique stores."

 

Blackberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

In the U.S. Blackberries typically peak during June in the South, and in July in the North. Crops are ready at various times of the month depending on which part of the state you are located. In order to produce good local Blackberries, producers depend on ideal spring and early summer weather conditions. See this page for a list of blackberry festivals around the U.S.

Before you leave to go to the farm:

1. Always call before you go to the farm - And when they are in season, a large turnout can pick a field clean before noon, so CALL first!
2. Leave early.  On weekends, then fields may be picked clean by NOON!
    
3. Most growers furnish picking containers designed for Blackberries, but they may charge you for them; be sure to call before you go to see if you need to bring containers.
   If you use your own containers, remember that heaping Blackberries more than 5 inches deep will bruise the lower berries. Plastic dishpans, metal oven pans with 3 inch tall sides and large pots make good containers. I like the Glad storage containers like the one at right.
4. Bring something to drink and a few snacks; you'd be surprised how you can work up a thirst and appetite! And don't forget hats and sunscreen for the sun. Bugs usually aren't a problem, but some deet might be good to bring along if it has been rainy.

Tips on How to Pick Blackberries

1. There are two types of blackberries to know about: thorny and thornless! Obviously, the thornless are easier to pick, but some people claim the thorny varieties are sweeter. With the thorny plants, you want to reach into the plant in the gaps, so you don't need to touch anything but the berry you're after, avoiding the thorns.
2. A ripe blackberry is deep black with a plump, full feel. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug.  If the berry is red or purple, it's not ripe yet.
3. Repeat these operations using both hands until each holds 3 or 4 berries.Unlike strawberries, blackberries are usually pretty tough, I dump mine into the bucket. Repeat the picking process with both hands.
4. Don't overfill your containers or try to pack the berries down.

General Picking Tips

Whether you pick Blackberries from your garden or at a Pick-Your-Own farm, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Pick only the berries that are fully black. Reach in between the stems to grab for hidden berries ready for harvest. Bend down and look up into the plant and you will find loads of berries that other people missed!
2. Avoid placing the picked berries in the sunlight any longer than necessary. It is better to put them in the shade of a tree or shed than in the car trunk or on the car seat. Cool them as soon as possible after picking. Blackberries may be kept fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week, depending upon the initial quality of the berry. After a few days in storage, however, the fruit loses its bright color and fresh flavor and tends to shrivel.

When you get home

1. DON'T wash the berries until you are ready to use them or freeze them.  Washing makes them more prone to spoiling.
2. Pour them out into shallow pans and remove any mushed, soft or rotting berries
3. Put a couple of days supply into the fridge, wash  off the others, drain them and freeze them up! (Unless you're going to make jam right away) Blackberries are less perishable than blueberries or strawberries, but refrigerate them as soon as possible after picking. Temperatures between 34 F and 38 F are best, but, be careful not to freeze the blackberries (while they are in the fridge)!
4. Even under ideal conditions blackberries will only keep for a week in a refrigerator, so for best flavor and texture, use them as soon as possible after purchase

Blackberry Recipes, Freezing and Jam directions

1. How to make Blackberry jam - It is VERY easy - especially with our free Blackberry jam directions - very easy!
2. How to make Blackberry jelly
3. How to freeze berries
4. Blackberry syrup, make and can it! 
5. Seedless blackberry pie!
6. Blackberry Festivals: Where, When and More to Find an Blackberry Festival Near You this year:

Blackberry Facts and Tips

• Black Raspberries, also known as "black caps" are a very healthy food; packed with anthocyanins!
• The USDA says 1 cup of blackberries has about 62 calories.
• 1 cup of blackberries, not packed down weighs about 140 grams.
• Select plump, firm, fully blackberries. Unripe berries will not ripen once picked.
• Ohio State University's Article Regarding Their Prevention of Cancer
• Oregon Berry Black Raspberry Brochure
• Blackberry tea was said to be a cure for dysentery during the Civil War. During outbreaks of dysentery, temporary truces were declared to allow both Union and Confederate soldiers to "go blackberrying" to forgage for blackberries to ward off the disease.
• Blackberries were enjoyed by the ancient Greeks, who believed them to be a cure for diseases of the mouth and throat, as well as a preventative against many ailments, including gout.
• The blackberry leaf was also used as an early hair dye, having been recommended by Culpeper, the English herbalist, to be boiled in a lye solution in order to "maketh the hair black".
• Guide to blackberry varieties
• Researchers have known for quite some time that berries contain antioxidants which help to fight cancer causing free radicals.  A study at the University of Ohio has found that blackberries are the most potent cancer fighting berries of them all, by nearly 40 percent!
• U-pick Blackberry farms typically sell berries by the pound. A quart equals 1 and 1/2 pounds of fresh berries.
• Do the math and be careful not to over-purchase as Blackberries quickly mold when left at room temperature, and only last a couple of days in the refrigerator.
• You can easily freeze berries that you cannot use right away - just wash, cut the hulls off and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible.  Those vacuum food sealers REALLY do a good job of this! The berries will keep for many months frozen without air.
• Want to go to a blackberry festival? See this page for a list!

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers