Next to an extra tablespoon of sugar, there aren’t many ingredients that can make a homemade strawberry pie or blueberry tart taste much sweeter than the lasting memories made with loved ones while picking the berries yourself.
Unlike fruits and vegetables ripening on a vine, most things in the modern world come instantly. U-pick farms offer a chance to slow down and intentionally engage with and appreciate our food, the farmers who grow it and the earth it comes from.
Start the u-pick season off while it’s still relatively cool out with one of these farms organized alphabetically by the city they grow in.
Deep Spring Farm
Location: 16419 W. County Road 1491, Alachua
Although their blueberries aren’t quite ready until late May and early June, Deep Spring grows blueberries to be picked by the gallons. Muscadine grapes will be ripe enough to pick by late July and early August. Visit the farm’s Facebook for updated picking schedules.
Crossroads Farm & Apiary
Location: 3831 NW 156th Ave., Gainesville
Strawberries are available now for u-pick at $4 per pound and $4.50 per pound for pre-picked strawberries and will run through mid-April. While there is no fee to enter the farm for strawberry picking, recreation area access is $3 per person for ages 3 and up. The farm also offers a store with handmade crafts and other produce like strawberry onions, multiple varieties of honey and a menu featuring milkshakes, strawberry lemonade, shortcake, bread and jam. Farm hours adjust with weather and field conditions and can be found online and on Facebook or Instagram.
Santa Fe River Farms
Location: 8910 E. County Road 225, Gainesville
Family-owned Santa Fe River Farm offers six acres of organic, u-pick blueberries. Some berries are ready now, but mid-April will be the peak of the season. For more information on berry picking schedules, pricing and available Moso bamboo, contact the farm at 904-788-1905 or santaferiverfarms@icloud.com.
Frog Song Organics Springs Festival
Location: 4317 US-301, Hawthorne
Funded in part by Visit Gainesville, Alachua County, the Spring Festival on Saturday, March 22, is the farm’s biggest event of the year. The program will feature live music, farm tours, farm-to-table food, drinks and dessert, a farm stand, kid’s activities, and u-pick fruit and vegetables that will be released closer to the event. Visit the farm’s Instagram for more updates as the event approaches.
Miller Blueberry Plantation and Nursery
Location: 394 County Road 315, Interlachen
This commercial farm offers u-pick and pre-picked strawberries, blueberries and blackberries, as well as custom packing, nursery plant sales and micro propagation. U-pick days run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with strawberries in season now for $4 per pound as u-pick and $5 per pound as pre-picked. Check the farm’s Facebook page for updated schedules.
The Bryer Patch
Location: 5700 SW 250th St., Newberry
The fourth-generation family farm opens at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for u-pick strawberries now through early April. There is no admission for berry pickers and the strawberries are charged at $4.50 per pound. Pre-picked strawberries are $5 per pound. The farm also offers u-pick flowers and will host a sunflower festival in April. Additional activities for $5 per person include a hayride, barrel train ride, farm animal petting and feeding, play paddock, basketball hoops and corn bin.
Amber Brooke Farms
Locations: 36111 N County Road 44A, Eustis; 8151 Jones Ave., Mount Dora; 3250 NE 140th Ave., Williston
Between its three locations, Amber Brooke Farms provides spring, winter and fall u-pick seasons. The spring 2025 window offers u-pick strawberries, blueberries, sunflowers, zinnias, sweet corn and various other vegetables 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. The farm will also host its first Sunflower Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends of March 22-23 and March 29-30, an Easter celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an egg hunt on April 19, blueberry festivals in April and May and a sweet corn festival in May. Tickets can be purchased online.
Sweet Berry Farms
Location: 4851 NE 190th Ave., Williston
Founded in 2020, Sweet Berry Farms is a family and veteran owned and operated blackberry farm. They also host farmer’s markets each Saturday during their u-pick season, which starts on April 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit the farm’s Facebook page for the updated picking schedules.