Raspberry U-Pick Orchards in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties in California in 2023, by county
Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for raspberries that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have raspberries orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!
San Luis Obispo County
- Cal Poly Fruit and Crops - apples, apricots, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, olallieberries, pears, peaches, pumpkins, raspberries
California Polytechnic State University Use the Highland Drive entance off of Hwy 1, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407. Phone: 805-756-2224. Email: orchardmanager@calpolyfruitandcrops.com. Directions: From Hwy 101 in San Luis Obispo, Take Highway 1 north toward Morro Bay, Right on Highland Drive, Follow the signs to the designated U-Pick area, Parking is free on weekends. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Better call before you go; their website disappeared over the winter, so I put a link to the department's website; Saturdays 10am to 1pm Occasionally Wednesdays 3pm to 5pm Picking is available when the crops are ready. Crops are usually available all year. We have Satsuma Tangerines in the Winter months and Various Navel Oranges, blood oranges and other citrus for most of the year. We also have many varieties of prepicked avocados that change throughout the year. (UPDATED: May 02, 2018, JBS) - Rutiz Farms - strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, pumpkins
1075 The Pike, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420. Phone: . Email: info@rutizfarms.com. Open: Tuesdays and Fridays: 1-6 pm Saturday 10 am-3pm. Click here for a map and directions. - Talley Farms - Uses natural growing practices, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, olallieberries, pumpkins, raspberries (red), raspberries (yellow), gift shop, restrooms, picnic area, school tours, group reservations
Talley Vineyards 3031 Lopez Drive, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420. Phone: (805) 489-5401. Email: FreshHarvest@TalleyFarms.com. Open: Talley Vineyards is open seven days a week, 10 am to 4:30 pm. Directions: We are approximately 10 miles inland from Pismo Beach, on the way to Lopez Lake. We use natural practices, but are not yet certified Organic. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx.
Talley Farms Facebook page. . Alternate Phone: (805) 489-0446. Fax: 805-489-5201. . Our CSA boxes are available for sign up at our winery and farm stand. We can deliver our farm boxes most anywhere in the Western United States. (ADDED: May 02, 2018)
Santa Barbara County
- Santa Barbara Blueberries at Restoration Oaks Farm - Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
1980 US Highway 101, Gaviota, CA . Phone: 805-686-5718. Email: info@santabarbarablueberries.com. Open: Call for availability and hours; during the season typically starts in May from 10 am to 6 pm; UPick closes at 5:30 pm; Fall Hours Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm for UPick raspberries and blackberries. Directions: Email, or call or . Click here for a map and directions. . Alternate phone: 805-683-2143. . Call for availability and hours; during the season (typically starts in May) from 10 am to 6 pm; UPick closes at 5:30 pm; Fall Hours Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm for UPick raspberries and blackberries. The farm store will be stocked with already picked raspberries and blackberries as well as lots of other fun stuff through the weekend. see this page. Blueberry UPick season is from late May through June and July every year, and if the weather is good, we may open as early as April and have blueberries into August. After many surveys of our regular pickers, we planted 6 varieties of raspberries that will be ripe and ready from August through October. We will also have watermelons, cantaloupe and other fun fruits and veggies for picking in the late summer and fall. Every year, we open the fields for a day or two in the off-season to our registered VIP guests. The select fields will be open, even though the freeway signs will say "closed". We've had these VIP private field openings as late as Dec 10th. To participate in our private field openings, add your name to our VIP Email list. (UPDATED: March 19, 2021 JBS)
Comments from a visitor on May 26, 2009: " I've been driving by and seeing their huge Pick Your Own Blueberries sign for months but I have not gone there yet. I just called to confirm they are open and my daughter and I plan to go this weekend and pick blueberries" - Summerset Farm & Dale's Nursery - apples, blackberries, raspberries (Autumn, red), strawberries,
3450 Baseline Ave, Santa Ynez, CA 93460. Phone: 805-895-1199. Email: summersetfarmsyv@gmail.com. Open: Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 4:00 pm, Saturday from 9 am to 4:00 pm, Sunday 10:00 to 3:30. Directions: Hwy 154 At Baseline & Edison. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check Produce Stand, Pick-Your-Own Berries Local Honey, Homade Jams. . Alternate Phone: 805-895-7902. . Eggs, and the Greatest Pumpkin Patch in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Comments from a visitor on June 30, 2010: "Went in June so we picked berries. They'd just finished their artichoke season and they have other crops and a pumpkin patch in the fall.,The farm is small but friendly and very convenient just off the main road and easy to pick fruit and vegetables in a contained area with a variety of easily-accessible produce. Also, right in the middle of Santa Ynez wine country so just adds to the experience of the region!"
Raspberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information
Raspberries can produce an early summer crop or a late summer and Fall
crop.
In
the U.S. Spring / Summer raspberries (called florocanes) typically peak during June in the South, and in July in
the North. The primocane varieties, which produce raspberries on shoots that
come up each Spring are typically read from August until frost.
In addition to the variety a farm plants, the berries are ready at various times depending
the local climate, such as which part of the state you are located.
See this page for a list of
raspberry festivals around the U.S.
And for those of you from the upper midwest through the west and up
to Canada, if you are interested in
Thimbleberries, see this
page.
Before you leave to go to the farm:
-
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!
-
Leave
early. On weekends, then fields may be picked clean by NOON!
-
Most growers furnish picking containers designed for raspberries, 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 raspberries 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. -
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 raspberries
-
Raspberry bushes don't have thorns, but they are a pick prickly, so if you
want to hold the stem while picking, a pair of lightweight gloves is
helpful.
- A ripe raspberry is deep color with a
plump, soft but firm feel. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug. The
center will remain on the plant. Keep in mind, raspberries come in many
colors: red, yellow, black, purple, so you want to pick the darker shade of
whichever it is.
- Pick only the berries that are fully ripe. 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!
- I find it helps to hold the stem with one hand, while picking with the
other.
- Repeat these
operations using both hands until each holds 3 or 4 berries. Repeat the picking process with both hands.
- Don't overfill
your containers or try to pack the berries down. Ideally, the collection
containers should be wide so the pberries aren't more than a few deep.
- Pick berries into a shallow container. If they get piled too
deep they will crush each other.
-
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.
When you get home
-
DON'T
wash the berries until you are ready to use them or freeze them. Washing
makes them more prone to spoiling.
-
DO refrigerate! Right after picking, place raspberries in
the fridge. If your fridge tends to dry out produce, lightly cover the
container.
-
Raspberries don't store for very long, usually just a few days. The reason
the ones from the grocery store last longer is they are covered with
fungicides!
- Pour them out into shallow pans and remove any mushed, soft or rotting
berries
- 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)
raspberries 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 raspberries (while
they are in the fridge)!
- Even under ideal conditions raspberries will only keep for a week in a
refrigerator, so for best flavor and texture, use them as soon as possible
after purchase
- See this page for
illustrated freezing instructions.
Raspberry Recipes
- Now, get ready to make raspberry jam - It is VERY easy - especially
with our free
raspberry jam
directions - very easy! or for a jam with a little kick, try
raspberry
chipotle jam
- And if you want to freeze them to use later, see my
How to freeze berries
page.
- You can also make your own
raspberry vinaigrette,
- See this page for an easy recipe to make
raspberry
chipotle sauce
Raspberry Facts
-
Raspberries are a very healthy food;
packed with anthocyanins!
-
Raspberries contain more vitamin C than oranges, are super high in fibre,
lhave a good amount of folic acid, are high in potassium, vitamin A and
calcium.
- The USDA says 1 cup of raspberries has about 62 calories.
- 11 cup of raspberries, not packed down weighs about 140 grams.
-
An average raspberry has 100 to 120 seeds.
-
Select plump, firm, fully raspberries. Unripe berries will not
ripen once picked.
-
Raspberries belong to a large group of fruits known as brambles, such as
blackberries, in the plant genus Rubus.
-
Raspberries come in red, yellow, orange, purple and black colors.
-
Yellow raspberries are red raspberries that don't make red pigment.)
-
In most areas, raspberries begin to bloom in late May or early June.
-
Bumblebees, honeybees, and other wild bees love to visit brambles.
- 60-70 pints of fruits can be
harvested from 100 feet row.
Raspberries can be harvested from early
summer through fall, usually right up until a freeze
- The United States is the world's third-largest
producer of raspberries (FAOSTAT, 2013).
- Production occurs across
much of the country, although most of it is concentrated in California,
Oregon and Washington. California leads the nation in both black and red
raspberry production (NASS, 2015).
- According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, the United States
has 8,052 raspberry farms totaling 23,104 acres (Census of Ag, USDA, 2012).
- U-pick raspberry farms typically sell berries by the pound. A quart
equals 1 and 1/4 pounds of fresh berries.
- Do the math and be careful not to over-purchase as raspberries 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 raspberry festival?
See this page for a list!