Some Modesto area farms let 'u-pick' for yourself

RIPON — Farmer Loren Jessop gives blueberry-picking instructions to a group of tourists, clad in broad- brimmed hats, straight from San Francisco.

Cup your hands under a bunch, he says, pinch the berries and pull. Gently.

"The trick is to do it so the rest of the blueberries stay on the bush," he said.

Jessop, a longtime almond grower, is one of a handful of farmers making an old concept — u-pick fruits and vegetables — new again.

Back in the day farms used to open their doors to people who wanted to pick their own produce, charging by the pound. But the tradition waned as busy families turned to supermarkets for fresh fruit and the like.

Enter today's consumers, interested in fresh, locally grown food. They're also attracted to the experience of picking fruit off the tree, Jessop said. Or, in his case, the blueberry bush.

"That's building memories," he said. "That's the fun of what we do."

Jessop isn't the only grower building memories in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Otherfarms offer u-pick cherries, apricots, apples and lavender, among other things.

At Fantozzi Farms in Patterson, you can pick apricots off the tree, no ladder required. Families come back year after year, said Denise Fantozzi, who owns the farm with her husband, fourth-generation apricot farmer Paul.

"It gives them the experience of going out on a farm," Fantozzi said. "And, when you pick the fruit off the tree, it's ripe and delicious."

Ripe, ready ... and fun

Cooky Yu, an accountant from San Francisco, agreed. She and two friends visited Jessop's farm on Sunday. They learned about it on the Web.

"I think it's more fun when you pick," she said, kneeling to pluck blueberries from a bush. "It makes you feel good when you look at your basket and it's full."

A few Web sites, including www.pickyourown.org, have lists of u-pick farms.

Farms, including Jessop's, also sometimes have Facebook pages, where people who have picked fruit and vegetables can discuss their experiences, post pictures and tell their friends about their day on the farm.

Ask any farmworker: Picking isn't easy. There's the heat — you might want to go in the early morning. The bending — blueberries and strawberries grow low to the ground. The time involved? It took Yu more than an hour to fill her bucket.

By the bus load

Still, it appeals to many.

Alice Taylor of Escalon, who owns the farm Lavender Hollow with her husband Bill, said her u-pick operation attracts bus loads of people from out of the area.

"People really enjoy it," said Taylor, who also sells boxed lunches and lavender products. "They like to go out in the field and cut their own bunch."

Like Jessop, the Taylors give instructions to u-pick customers. They walk each group out to the field and give them a basket, clippers and a twist-tie.

"We show them how to cut it so they don't damage the plant," Alice Taylor said, "or themselves."

Families with young children dot u-pick fields, and some farms cater to them. Jessop has a bounce house, sandbox, miniature golf course and picnic tables.

"We're trying to make it a little destination," he said.

Bee staff writer Kerry McCray can be reached at kmccray@modbee.com or (209) 578-2358.