Did you know that July is National Blueberry Month?
In honor of this antioxidant-rich superfood, I compiled a list of U-Pick farms in the Tri-State area. Wherever you hail from, one of these farms should be close by! (Please note that these farms have blueberries, strawberries, peaches — summer produce! I’ll be back in the fall with an apple picking guide!)
A&M Farm Orchard
22141 State Route 251, Midland, OH 45148
(513) 875-2500
Alpine Berry Farm
26185 Pocket Rd., Batesville, IN 47006
(812) 212-2605
Barrett’s Strawberry Farm
11434 Fairfield Rd., Leesburg, OH 45135
(937) 780-4961
Berryhill Farm
330 E. Krepps Rd., Xenia, OH 45385
(937) 374-8747
Bet-ter Farms
1971 Sicily Rd., Mount Orab, OH 45154
(937) 446-2593
Blooms n’ Berries
9669 Ohio 48, Loveland, OH 45140
(513) 697-9173
Branstrator Farm
885 N. George Rd., Clarksville, Ohio 45113
(937) 203-8289
Fryman Farms
9716 East Bend Rd., Burlington, KY 41005
(859) 586-4576
Hidden Valley Fruit Farm
5474 N. Ohio 48, Lebanon, OH 45036
(513) 932-1869
Irons Fruit Farm
1640 Stubbs Mill Road, Lebanon, OH 45036
(513) 932-2853
McBreezy Acres Fruit Farm
3470 Waynesville Jamestown, Xenia, OH 45385
(937) 372-3549
Stokes Berry Farm
2822 Center Road, Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-4004
McGlassen Farms
5832 River Rd., Hebron, KY 41048
(859) 689-5229
TCC Berry Farm
1466 US Highway 50, Milford, OH 45150
(513) 248-0452
The Berry Patch
8171 West 300 North, Etna Green, IN 46524
(574) 527-2317
The Homestead Berry Farm
5427 W Enon Rd., Fairborn, OH 45324
(937) 864-1279
U-Pick hours vary based on weather and supply, so call the morning you plan on going to confirm whether they’re open for picking!
On Friday, we took the crew to Irons Fruit Farm in Lebanon. It was an overcast day, nice and cool — perfect for picking!
As we pulled in the driveway, we were met by an array of animals: peacocks wandering the grounds, turkeys chortling and lucking, emus racing around their pens, cows bellowing in the barns and big, fluffy bunnies in their cages. Mary, my animal lover, was in awe.
Julian, on the other hand, was in awe of the assortment of tractors and farm machines on the grounds.
We were met by one of the staff, who was very enthusiastic with the kids and helpful with answering all our questions. She kindly notified us of the farm’s very liberal “berry tasting” policy, encouraging the kids to try some as they picked!
The fields were lush and green, with blueberry bushes as far as we could see. We walked up and down the rows, examining each bush for the ripest, bluest berries. Julian was really good at picking out the ripe berries — as was Harvey!
There is something so relaxing about being out in a big, green farm field. I loved that the kids could wander freely and explore. I loved that they were learning about where their food comes from. I loved that Harvey could pluck and eat berries. I loved that there were fresh baked, apple cider donuts as we checked out!
So put “berry picking” on your summer bucket list, for sure. And, I may be biased, but I highly recommend Irons, for their beautiful facilities, fun animals, kind staff, convenient hours and very reasonable prices.
Happy Picking!