Now is the time you can enjoy the sweet freshness of locally grown fruit plucked with your own hands. You can fill your baskets with produce, flowers or herbs and more during pick-your-own season at a variety of Montgomery County farms. Here’s a sampling.
Butler’s Orchard, at 22222 Davis Mill Road in Germantown, is now open for its pick-your-own season with strawberries and peonies available to pick through May. In June, strawberries, tart cherries, black raspberries, blueberries, sugar snap peas and English peas will be available to pick. In July, black raspberries, blueberries, flowers, black berries, peppers, tomatoes, herbs and potatoes will be available. August will have similar picking options—but instead of black raspberries, red raspberries will be ready for picking.
In September, look for red raspberries, apples, flowers, herbs, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes. The produce season will end in October with pumpkins and apples available for picking. The orchard will have Christmas trees available in November and December.
Admission is $3 per person for online purchases and $4 at the gate. Admission for patrons age 2 and younger is free. Pick-your-own is scheduled by reservation. Walk-ins are welcome provided there is availability. Prices for the current strawberry containers for the pick-your-own season are $6 each, which includes the price of the fruit.
The orchard also offers season passes for pick-and-play, which starts at $35 for adults, and pick and play plus the pumpkin festival starts at $70 for adults.
Farm at Home, at 15350 Partnership Road in Poolesville, will open in late May for its pick-your own season, starting with strawberries. From late June to mid-July, blueberries will be available. Blackberries will be available in July. In August, tomatoes and raspberries will be available. From late September to October pumpkins will be in season. From mid-June to October various flowers and vegetables are the main attractions. The season will end with pre-cut Christmas trees from late November to December.
Pick-your-own strawberries start at $25 for an hour for four quarts.
Homestead Farm, at 15604 Sugarland Road in Poolesville, will open for its produce picking season in mid-June, which is when tart cherries and blueberries are usually ready to pick. Yellow and white peaches are ripe from early July to August. Blackberries are in season in early/mid-July through late August. Apple season starts in late August and runs through late October. Pumpkins are ripe from late September though Halloween.
Admission to the farm is $3 per person, per visit with children aged 1 and younger free. Produce is sold by the pound and the price varies based on what you pick.