The so-called “U-Pick” season is underway in eastern Contra Costa County.
The annual harvest coincides with Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer.
There are dozens of farms in Brentwood, Knightsen, and Byron. Some farmers grow commercial but others let you come pick your own fruit, hence the name, “U-Pick”
Deneen Vornhagen, owner of Vornhagen Farms Cherries on the Byron Highway, told KCBS Radio that there are least 15 farms in Brentwood alone, and people from all over the Bay Area came out to pick at her orchard this Memorial Day weekend.
“U-Pick season this year is great and we still have a whole other variety of cherries that are just now becoming ripe,” Vornhagen said. “We’ll be open for at least three more weeks.”
Vornhagen’s farm is unique in that it has a grassy picnic area with tables and umbrellas for patrons to use while picking.
“Look at the picnic areas, I think that’s how they track us because we need a place to eat and hang out,” Janelle Sy said. “It’s pretty nice here.”
Sy brought her extended family of 21 people to Vornhagen Farms. They picked 20 pounds of cherries, stopped for lunch at the picnic area and then headed back into the orchard.
Of course, you pay for what you pick, with cherries costing $3.50 a pound at Vornhagen Farms.