Low-Hanging Fruit

Adam’s hand with strawberries

“PYO is the soul of the farm; come enjoy the fruits of our labor!” –Jessica Sanford, Adam’s Berry Farm

Anyone who has a garden knows the thrill of relishing food harvested by your own hands. Here in Vermont, you can experience that same joy by partaking in a time-honored tradition: visiting a pick-your-own farm or orchard. We are in the thick of PYO season, which kicks off in the middle of June with ripe strawberries and doesn’t end until our hands are too chilly to gently twist those last crisp apples off the trees in October. July and August offer juicy berries and fruits all around the state: red and black raspberries, blueberries, cherries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries, peaches, plums, apples, and pears. Some farms even grow elderberries, quinces, medlars, and kiwis—who knew?

Picking berries is a perfect family or friends outing enjoyable for hands of all ages and abilities. It’s literally a low-hanging fruit experience; you can pick for 20 minutes or fortify yourself with a creemee, cider donut, or a farm-baked pie and make it a day’s outing. Not all PYOs are the same. Locations offer creative ways to engage from yoga to petting zoos to CSAs where you can work and keep the fruit of your labors. And if you crave an aqua cardboard basket of fresh fruit but are short on time, most PYO farm stands stock plenty of justpicked bounty to go.

Following is a sampling of six pick-your-own farms around the state. The owners remind you to call ahead or to check social media to see what’s currently ready for picking and any other weather-related information.

To find a location near you, visit pickyourown.org/VT, or take a road trip and explore one farther afield. You won't come home hungry!