2024 Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California Pumpkin U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Pumpkin U-Pick Orchards in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for pumpkins that we know of in this area.

Not all areas of a state have pumpkins farms 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.

New! As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

New! Road tripping and camping is a great way to have a fun, safe and inexpensive family trip. The national and state parks and monuments are open, and campgrounds usually cost between $10 and $40 per night. September to November is the best camping weather.  See our new website Road Tripping and Camping.com for tips, tricks, guides, checklists and info about parks, monuments and other places to visit.

New! We just went live with our latest website, FunFactoryTours.com - As they name implies, you can find a fun factory tour, including chocolate, automobiles, historical forts and sites, famous buildings, Active Federal facilities even fun geology: like fossils and volcanic areas

Contra Costa County

• G and S Farms - cherries, pumpkin patch, pumpkins
  1151 Chestnut St, Brentwood, CA 94513. Phone: 916-717-8143. Email: info@gsfarms.net. Click here for a map and directions. . Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm, Saturday + Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. We do accommodate private groups and may have intermittent closures for our classroom encounters. G and S has THREE cherry orchard locations. Check in next spring when our Cherry U-Picks re-open! Each May, we welcome Bay Area families into our orchards for our Annual Cherry U-Picks. We will provide buckets and a beautiful crop of cherries for you and your family to pick yourselves! The U-Pick season, ranging from early May to mid June, has become a treasured tradition in the Brentwood farming community. We hope you will come spend a day in the sun, enjoying the natural beauty of a fruitful orchard in spring! Depending on their availability and ripeness, a few or all of these varietals will be available when visiting our U-Pick: Coral, Sweetheart, Lapin, Rainier, Brooks. In October, we welcome you to come join us at our seasonal U-Pick Pumpkin Patch! Bring your families, enjoy our fall activities and pick your favorite pumpkin right off the vine! Bring your classroom to the farm with our grade-appropriate education programs & field trips. (ADDED: October 04, 2019, JBS)
• Smith Family Farms - boysenberries, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, pumpkin patch, tunnel of hay, a barnyard where kids can pet the farm animals, picnic area, and a replica of a Miwok Indian village.
  4430 Sellers Road, Brentwood, CA . Phone: 925-625-5966. Open: daily 8 am to 6 pm for Upick from May call for exact opening date through October and throughout the month of December for Christmas trees. Directions: in Eastern Contra Costa County, about 45 minutes east of Oakland or one hour from San Francisco; call for detailed directions. U-pick and picked boysenberries, tomatoes \(50 varieties including Roma, beefsteak, and heirloom\), peppers \(15 types of hot and sweet\), and a wide selection of other vegetables, herbs, stone fruits, apples, and fresh-cut flowers. Fall pumpkin harvest hayrides and special events offered. Picnic area. . Click here for a map and directions.
  Smith Family Farms Facebook page. daily 8 am to 6 pm for Upick from May (call for exact opening date) through October and throughout the month of December for Christmas treesin Eastern Contra Costa County, about 45 minutes east of Oakland or one hour from San Francisco; call for detailed directions. U-pick and picked boysenberries, tomatoes (50 varieties including Roma, beefsteak, and heirloom), peppers (15 types of hot and sweet), and a wide selection of other vegetables, herbs, stone fruits, apples, and fresh-cut flowers. Fall pumpkin harvest hayrides and special events offered. Picnic area. Click here for their Facebook page. (UPDATED: April 28, 2015, JBS)
  Comments from a visitor on July 12, 2009: "They have a marvelous collection of unusual heirloom tomatoes, all kinds of other vegetables, Brentwood sweet corn. They also have seasonal fruits. You can pick or they have a stand you can buy from with very reasonable hours. Their prices are very good also. At Halloween and Christmas they have special hayrides and barn activities for the kids along with corn and hay mazes. I am a very satisfied customer. "
• Three Nunns Farm - Uses natural growing practices, apples, apricots, blackberries, cherries, corn (sweet), cucumbers, flowers, melons, nectarines, other berries, 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, watermelons, Honey from hives on the farm
  550 Walnut Blvd, Brentwood, CA 94513. Phone: (925) 550-1484. Email: Threenunnsfarm@gmail.com. Open: Call for current hours. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover.
  Three Nunns Farm Facebook page. . Alternate Phone: (925) 550-0780. ^ Picking updates: Click here for picking updatesWe use natural practices, but are not yet certified OrganicFormerly called George's Roadside Berry Farm. (UPDATED: April 22, 2020) Another list of farms and farm stands in this area (not necessarily PYO)

 

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Do you want it for a party, decoration or eating?

For a wedding or party:

See this page: Finding pumpkins for weddings

Decoration to paint or carve:

OK, Then you need only look for any pumpkin that is

• visually appealing, evenly a deep orange. The shape is just whatever appeals to you. If it grew on its side and has a flat spot, you can either make that the make or use it as part of your design!
• free from cuts, soft spots, bruises. The flesh should feel hard, and not give easily. Infections can invade easily and cause rot
• Make sure the stem is attached.

Store it carefully, especially if you pick it from the vine yourself. Cure a fresh-picked pumpkin by keeping it in a dry place. Don't handle or disturb it. Curing toughens the rind, making it less prone to rot. Pumpkins will keep for months in a cool (50 F to 65F dry, low humidity environment; such as a cool, dry basement.

Tip: If you like roasted or baked pumpkin seeds, you can save the seeds from any pumpkin!

To make a pumpkin pie!

Then you need a small, sweet type of pumpkin that has been developed for eating. They are smaller, typically about 8" to 10" diameter. The meat is much less stringy and smoother than a decorative pumpkin variety. Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A and potassium. One-half cup of cooked pumpkin provides more than the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A. One cup of cooked pumpkin contains only 81 calories. It's low in fat and sodium! Usually you can get these at the grocery store, and some of the pumpkin patches and farm stands have them. Be sure to tell them that you intend to use it for a pumpkin pie. Again, look for firm, no soft spots, or signs of any rot. See this page for easy, illustrated directions to make a pumpkin pie from a fresh pumpkin!

Varieties of Pumpkins

• Sugar - Excellent for baking
• Jack O'Lantern - most common for carving
• White Lumina - unusual, medium-sized white pumpkin
• Mini - Great for decoration
• Gourds - Many varieties, used for decorations

For a very complete, detailed list of many varieties of pumpkins and where to get the seeds, see this page!

Want to Grow Your Own Pumpkins?

Then see this page!

Pumpkin recipes

• How to prepare cooked pumpkin from a fresh pumpkin (for use in all the recipes)
• Illustrated instructions to make a pumpkin pie from a fresh pumpkin - the best pumpkin pie you will ever taste! (metric version for the UK, Europe, Australia, Japan, etc.)
• How to home-can pumpkin (in a cooked, cubed form) and why you shouldn't home-can the pureed forms.
• Traditional Pumpkin Pie
• Chocolate pumpkin pie
• Pumpkin Spice Muffins
• Pumpkin muffins
• Pumpkin Bread
• Pumpkin Butter!
• Pumpkin cheesecake - INCREDIBLE!!! You have to try this one!
• Pumpkin Cookies
• Pumpkin soup - even if you normally aren't a soup lover; you will love this one.
• Butternut-Chestnut Panchetta-Bacon Soup - Pumpkin or Butternut squash combines with chestnuts and bacon, ham or panchetta in this great soup
• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
• No Sugar Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Cider Doughnut Recipe (with maple glaze or sugar glaze)

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