It's fruit picking season at Central Ohio farms
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Strawberries are the first fruit to peak during u-pick season. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images
With warmer weather and sunny days comes Central Ohio's pick-your-own-fruit season.
Why it matters: Grocery store produce does the job, but it's no substitute for ripe locally grown fruit — you can taste the difference.
🍓 State of play: We're in the midst of strawberry season, the summer's marquee self-pick fruit.
- Locally, the popular berry has a short and weather-dependent season — they're beginning to peak, and picking should continue through June.
- The strawberries you buy from farms are often completely different from the ones you buy in plastic cartons. Fresh berries are smaller and quicker to spoil but are picked at their ripest and much more flavorful.
Area farms offering u-pick strawberries include:
- The Berry Farm outside of Marysville.
- Mitchell's Berries & Blooms and Jacquemin Farms in Plain City.
- Hann Farms on the South Side.
- The Farmstead Market in Circleville.
- Folck Family Farm in Mechanicsburg and Yutzy's Farm Market in Plain City should have their fields ready for picking in June.
Unfortunately, Licking County's Legend Hills Orchard and Farm Market is missing from this year's list after a fire "devastated" the family-owned farm last September.
What's next: Set a reminder for these fruit seasons as the summer goes along.
- 🧺 Raspberry season is typically late June into July.
- 🫐 Blueberries follow, usually early July into August with blackberries close behind.
- 🍑 Peaches are next, usually later in July and into August.
- 🍎 Apples take center stage in September, and their season reaches from August through the fall.
Plus: You can pick more than fruit!
- Make your own flower bouquet at farms like Pickwick Place and Tulip Ridge.
- Some farms let you pick sunflowers, pumpkins, sweet corn and other vegetables.
Between the rows: Keep an eye on the weather and verify farms are allowing u-pick before planning a trip — conditions can change quickly.
- This week, heavy rains paused picking at some farms.
- Dry conditions, overpicking and crop diseases can lead to summer closures.
Don't feel like picking your own but want higher quality fruit than what's available at your grocery store?
- Check out a local farmers market — there's almost surely one in your neighborhood.