Blueberry U-Pick Orchards in Wellington area of New Zealand 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 New Zealand 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.

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 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

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Wellington

• Akatarawa Blueberries - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, blueberries, Honey from hives on the farm, U-pick and already picked, picnic area
  1229 Akatarawa Rd, Upper Hutt, NZ 05372. Phone: 027 480 2556. Email: niceberries@yahoo.com. Open: for picking from late December until the first frost. Directions: We\'re located in the beautiful Akatarawa Valley. Our property is only a few minutes drive from Upper Hutt. Take the Akatarawa Road turnoff from SH2, Upper Hutt north and proceed 4.5KM to our farm. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Cheque.
  Akatarawa Blueberries Facebook page. . Wednesday to Sunday, from 11am to 5pm; January to April/May (First frostWe're located in the beautiful Akatarawa Valley. Our property is only a few minutes drive from Upper Hutt. Take the Akatarawa Road turnoff from SH2, Upper Hutt north and proceed 4.5KM to our farmWe use natural practices, but are not seeking organic certificationThere are 2 Blueberry farms sharing the same entrance at 1229 Akatarawa Road. Please follow the signs to. ur farm is the only Organic pick your own farm in the Wellington Region and has been farmed organically since 1994. Come and enjoy our delicious desserts cafe and then take a picnic to our swimming hole, one of the best in the Wellington region. The adults and children will enjoy the petting zoo with the baby animals. We do not charge an access fee to picnic on our portion of the river. We offer birthday party packages as well as school tours of the farmWe grow 16 varieties of berries so you can pick all summer long. We're open
• BerryHealthy Blueberry Farm - Uses integrated pest management practices, blueberries,
  247b Paekakariki Hill Road Pauatahanui, Porirua, NZ 05381. Phone: 04 234 7073. Email: shelley.struthers@xtra.co.nz. Open: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Directions: BerryHealthy is 2.47km up the Paekakariki Hill Road heading North on the left hand side. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. . February to mid April - please check. We use integrated pest management practicesPauatahanui has many other activities to offer, great coffee and Lighthouse cinema, Battle Hill Regional park for walks and nature, the Pauatahanui Inlet for kayaking or learning to windsurf, and award winning fish and chip shop at Plimmerton. In Pauatahanui there is also a pyo apple orchard in March and April, a regional park for walking and mountain biking, a cafe with great food and outdoor village setting, a boutique movie theatre and we are close to the Pauatahanui inlet where you can kayak, there are also b and bs in our area if you need a place to stay.
• Bluebank Blueberry & Emu Farm - ORGANIC, Blueberries
  1301 Akatarawa Road, Upper Hutt, Wellington, NZ . Phone: (64) 4 526 9540. Email: Info@bluebank.co.nz. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, eftpos.
• Blueberry Fields Forever - Uses natural growing practices, blueberries,
  971 Whitemans Valley Road Whitemans Valley , Upper Hutt, NZ 05371. Phone: 04 5287581. Email: carolann@blueberrypyo.nz. Open: Typically the PYO for blueberries will start around the end of the first week in January and go through to the second week of March; on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9am till 5pm; If you are unable to come during these times please ring me and see if we can arrange another time. Directions: From Wellington take Highway 2 for about 20kms until you see a turn off for Silverstream . Ignore the first roundabout at the second roundabout turn right under the train over-bridge and left at the next roundabout. Turn right at the next roundabout past the New World Supermarket along Whitemans Road. Blue Mountains Road is the third on the left after the supermarket. Follow the signs from there. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, eftpos or internet banking.
  Blueberry Fields Forever Facebook page. Click here for our Facebook page. . As seen on the Topp Twins programme. Again lots of beautiful ripe huge blueberries. The blueberries aren't certified organic but I have been using Biodynamic preparations and principles for 20years. The blueberries are $22kg. Carolann has a stall at Thorndon Farmers Market in Wellington by Parliament, Saturday from 8.30am to 12.30pm. I look forward to seeing you all again this year and welcome new faces. The ONLY pyo crops offered are Organic Blueberries(UPDATED: 18 November 2020 JBS) (UPDATED: January 04, 2019)
• Noho Blueberry Farm - blueberries
  7 Heatherlea East Rd, Levin, NZ 05571. Phone: . Email: nohofarmnz@gmail.com. Open: See thier website or Facebook page for seasonal hours. Directions: Located on State Highway 1, just north of Levin. Click here for a map and directions.
  Noho Blueberry Farm Facebook page.
• Pukeawa Blueberry Farm - Minimizes chemical and pesticide use, blueberries, picnic area, picnic area you may bring your own food, farm animals
  405 Paekakariki Hill Road Pauatahanui, Porirua, NZ 05381. Phone: 04 2374783. Email: terrie@blueberries-wellington.co.nz. Open: See website for hours of operation; the farm is listed for sale as of December 2020, so the future is uncertain. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only.
• Waikawa Blueberries - Uses natural growing practices, blueberries, restrooms, picnic area you may bring your own food
  123 Waikawa Beach Road, Manakau, NZ 05573. Phone: 6421712217. Email: waikawaglen@gmail.com. Open: Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays from 10 am to 4 pm during December, February, March and until mid - April. Directions: From Wellington, drive North on State Highway 1 - drive through Otaki and travel 6 minutes until you reach Manakau. Turn left down Waikawa Beach Road, and we are 800 metres down the road on your left. From Levin, drive South for 10 minutes until you come to the sign for Waikawa Beach, turn right. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Cheque. We use natural practices, but are not yet certified OrganicIn 2020-2021, $22/kg for PYO and pre-picked at $10/375g (3 of the supermarket 125g packs). Real fruit ice cream and coffee available. (UPDATED: 18 November 2020 JBS) (ADDED: March 09, 2015)

 

Blueberry

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