Blueberry U-Pick Orchards in Tallahassee area: Gadsden, Leon and Wakulla County, Florida in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for blueberries that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have blueberries 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.

Gadsden County

• Beare's Berries U-pick - ORGANIC, blueberries, restrooms
  7858 Havana Highway (state Road 12w), Havana, FL 32333. Phone: 850-539-5346. Email: lordbeare@cs.com. Directions: north of Tallahassee, Florida about 15 miles. head north from Tallahassee on US 27, to Havana, turn left at the first traffic light, It is State Road 12W go west toward Quincy 1 12 miles our road is Beare\'s Blueberry Lane. Turn left. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Fax:. . north of Tallahassee, Florida about 15 miles. head north from Tallahassee on US 27, to Havana, turn left at the first traffic light, It is State Road 12W go west toward Quincy 1 1/2 miles our road is Beare's Blueberry Lane. Turn left. Beare's Berries U - Pick, sunrise to sunset,7 days per week; We grow everything naturally, without any poisonous sprays or chemical fertilizers; We are applying for "Certified Naturally Grown" designation and expect to have it soon. We use natural practices, but are not yet certified Organic. Our blueberries are the "rabbiteye" type, which grows well in the South. We have a Porta Potty available. Iced Drinks at a reasonable cost to the pickers.
  Comments from a visitor on June 14, 2009: "I noticed that someone commented on Beare's Farm that when they went, no one was there and they were upset because the listing says sunrise to sunset. I have been to that farm and want to point out that they work on the honor system. So if no one is there, they have buckets out and a scale, and you pick your blueberries, weigh them, and leave the money in the receptacle they provide. I have been several times when no one was there and did this." A visitor reports on July 4th, 2008: "Drove all the way out to Beare's farm and not a sole was there! This was at 1:00 in the afternoon on a Friday. Not happy being gas is $4.00 gallon. They said open 7 days a week sunrise to sunset"
• Sweetwater Farm - Uses natural growing practices, blueberries, U-pick and already picked
  8101 Blue Star Highway, Quincy, FL 32352. Phone: 850-856-5967. Email: myralynn4s@aol.com. Open: Sunday through Saturday 8:00am to 8:00pm June - July. Directions: Highway 90 west on the right just past the Talquin water tower at Oak Grove. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. . . We use natural practices, but are not seeking organic certification.

Leon County

• Windy Hill Farms - blackberries, blueberries, muscadines, scuppernongs, strawberries, prepicked produce
  14663 Mahan Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32309. Phone: (850) 894-1511. Email: info@windyhillvineyard.com. Open: Weekdays except Wednesday and Saturday: 9am to 7pm Sunday: 10am to 7pm Wednesday: Closed. Directions: Located directly off US90 halfway between Tallahassee and Monticello, Florida. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Weekdays (except Wednesday) and Saturday: 9am to 7pm Sunday: 10am to 7pm Wednesday: Closed. Crops are usually available in February, March, June, July, August, September. We invite you to visit our farm between Tallahassee and Monticello, Florida located off US 90.We are family owned and operated and have been growing and selling grapes to the public for 35 years. We operate a U-pick operation but also have grapes already picked for sale.

Wakulla County

• Red Barn Farm - Uses natural growing practices, blueberries,
  57 Valley Rise Rd off Bob Miller Rd. Woodville Area., Crawfordville, FL 32327. Phone: 850-421-1627. Open: 7 days a week; from 7am till dusk. Directions: From Woodville Hiway and Summerhaven Dr. turn right on Summerhaven, go one block, turn left on the Old Woodville Hiway, go approximately one block and take a right on Bob Miller Road Go approximately 1and a quarter miles to Valley Rise Road Follow the road back and take the left driveway follow signs back behind the rustic house. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Opening Date is usually the first of June; Please call closer to season for specific date. We use natural practices, but are not seeking organic certification. some garden vegetables: Tomatoes, eggplant, squash bell peppers, and collards. We have everything you need for your picking pleasure. Buckets for picking, bags for carrying your berries home, and most of all plenty of big juicy berries. Also called Saladino's.
  Comments from a visitor, April 16, 2008: "We love it and return every year!! Steve and Tina are so friendly and know the history and variety of each bush. The blueberries are plum and the field is very well maintained"
• Saladinos Red Barn Blueberry Farm - blueberries, restrooms, school tours
  57 Valley Rise Rd, Crawfordville, FL 32327. Phone: (850) 421-1627. Email: calgal58@embarqmail.com. Open: 7 days of week from 8 am to 7 pm; note we are closed at 1 pm on Fathers Day and 4th of July. Directions: From Tallahassee go south on hi way 363 to Woodville. From the light in Woodville go 2 more miles south to Summerhaven take a right and follow the signs. We provide buckets and bags. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. Saladinos Red Barn Blueberry Farm . No pets ( service dogs allowed). Clean restroom. Water and Gatorade for sale. Small kitchen garden veggies are upon availability.(UPDATED: April 8, 2018, JBS)Comments from Blake, July 7, 2016: "There are reviews (all positive as of this date) on their unofficial Facebook page.

 

Blueberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruit to prepare and serve. There's no peeling, pitting, coring or cutting. They have few natural pests, (other than birds), so pesticides are generally unnecessary! This year's crop is fantastic (see related news story), thanks both to the weather and to more farms planting more blueberry bushes due to increased consumer demand over the past few years as more studies proclaim the anti-oxidant and other health properties of blueberries.

Click here to find a local Blueberry Festival (usually held between April and July).

If you are looking for information about a similar berry, the saskatoon (also called the June berry or Serviceberry) see this page about saskatoons.

Picking tips:

Select plump, full blueberries with a light gray-blue color. A berry with any hint of red isn't fully ripened.

Ripening AFTER picking?

First, it is key to know that once picked, blueberries will NOT become any sweeter, nor will the flavor improve. The only change that occurs is the color. They will APPEAR to ripen, but it is only a color change, from white to green to rose to red to pale blue to fully blue. So, white and green colored blueberries will not "ripen" after they are picked; while blueberries that have already turned purple, red or blue-ish usually DO change color after they are picked (if they are kept at room temperature to "ripen").

As the blueberries ripen ON THE BUSH, the flavor goes from tastless to bitter to tasteless tart to tart blueberry flavor to sweet blueberry flavor.

Grocery stores sell blueberries that are tart, not sweet because they had them picked unripe by machine so they are very firm and can handled being bumped around in shipping. They may look good, but are not as tasty as those picked when actually ripe.

So, the key is, PICK ONLY RIPE BERRIES!

How to pick blueberries

Since blueberries hang on the bushes in bunches a but like grapes do, the easiest and fastest way to pick them is hold your bucket under them in one hand and with your other hand, cup a ripe bunch and gently rub them with your fingers. The ripe berries will drop into your bucket, while the unripe ones will remain attached to the bush.

When the bushes are at peak, I can easily pick 2 gallons per hour (if I'm not being distracted by the kids and the sun isn't too hot!). A newbie might do 1 gallon per hour.and at the beginning or end of the season it takes more time as the berries are not as plentiful nor concentrated in clusters.

Tips for storing blueberries after harvesting:

• Once picked, don't place the berries, still warm from the sun, in a closed bag or container. Leave the container open so moisture doesn't form in the container.
• Don't wash berries until just before using, to prevent berries from becoming mushy.
• Chill berries soon after picking to increase shelf life. Store your fresh blueberries in the refrigerator as soon as you get them home, without washing them, in a covered bowl or storage container. If refrigerated, fresh-picked blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days.
• Freeze berries in freezer containers without washing to keep the skins from toughening. Place berries one layer deep. Freeze, then pour the frozen berries into freezer containers. Because unwashed blueberries freeze individually, they can be easily poured from containers in desired amounts. Remember both frozen and fresh berries should be rinsed and drained just before serving. Just before using, wash the berries in cold water.

Blueberry Measurements and Conversions

Keep in mind that blueberries vary considerably in density and moisture content, so these ranges are approximates.

• 1 gallon of blueberries weighs about 7.5 lbs or (4 liters of blueberries is about 3.5 kg)

• 1 pint of fresh blueberries weights about 3/4 of a pound. (1 liter of blueberries is about 700 grams)

• 1 pound of fresh blueberries is usually between about 2 and 3 cups of berries.

• It takes about 4 cups (about of blueberries to make a blueberry pie (see this fantastic and easy blueberry pie recipe)

• A normal batch of blueberry preserves, jam or jelly requires 5 pints of berries.

• Blueberries do come in a variety of sizes from small (190-250 berries per cup) to extra large (<90 berries per cup).

Blueberry Recipes, Canning and Freezing Blueberries

Recipes

• The world's best Blueberry pie, recipe and directions and illustrated!
• Blueberry buckle coffee cake: illustrated directions for this great crumb-topping blueberry coffee cake
• Other easy directions to make blueberry desserts: cobblers, etc.

Canning, freezing and other blueberry recipes:

• How to Freeze Blueberries
• How to Can Blueberries
• How to Make Homemade Blueberry Jam
• How to make blueberry jelly
• How to make and can blueberry syrup (it works for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, too)
• blueberry pie filling to use later,
• blueberry butter

Baking tips

If you have trouble with blueberries settling to the bottom of muffins and blueberry breads, try one or more of these tips:

• Coat them with flour before adding to the batter. Just gently shake the blueberries in a bag (plastic or paper) with 1/2 cup of flour, then dump them mix in a sieve to remove excess flour.
• It may just be that your batter is too thin. try making the batter a little thicker!
• Fill the muffin cups or baking pan up to 1/4 full with batter (which hasn't had blueberries added to it yet); then stir the blueberries into the remaining batter, and continue to fill the muffin cups or bread pan. The blueberries will start off higher in the mix!

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