Modesto farm offers U-pick fruit and a deep history. ‘This place is family ground’

Fifteen years ago, mother-and-son duo Corrie VanderHelm-Davis and Ron VanderHelm transformed their family dairy farm into a blueberry farm and haven’t looked back.

VanderHelm Farms made the transition beginning with five acres of blueberries. Ron VanderHelm said there no longer was a market for the dairy farm and they needed to make a switch.

“We started with only blueberries and now we grow almost everything,” VanderHelm said.

VanderHelm Farms offers U-pick, allowing visitors to enter the fields and pluck the fruit themselves.

The farm also offers online ordering of blueberries, nectarines and peaches for those who don’t want to pick themselves.

What’s available

U-pick season at VanderHelm farms is typically March through August, though exact days depend on the crops. According to its website, strawberry season is March to July, blueberry season is May to August, nectarines and peaches are offered May to August, and cherries are available May and June.

Currently, the farm has blueberries, cherries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines and apricots. It also offers hybrid fruits including plumcots, a plum crossed with apricot, and pluerries, a plum crossed with cherry.

Among the eight fruits, the farm offers over 50 varieties. Fifteen of those are different types of blueberries, which Ron VanderHelm said are his favorite.

The farm also offers tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and squash. Over 20 varieties of tomatoes grow and over five types of zucchini.

Rows of fruit section the farm with signs labeling the exact variety. It also has a small playground and picnic tables that can be enjoyed on a nice day.

Fruitful family history

The VanderHelm family has owned and operated the farm since the 1980s.

In 1967, Corrie and Arend VanderHelm emigrated to California from the Netherlands. Arend VanderHelm worked on multiple dairies until the two saved up enough to purchase their own, which became the U-pick farm it is today.

Ron VanderHelm grew up on the farm and, after high school, joined the Army, where he was trained as a mechanic. He can always be found at the farm, picking berries, mowing, weeding and pruning. He puts his mechanic skills to use in his spare time, building the farm’s specialized equipment.

The farm is more than a job for the VanderHelms. The whole family plays a role. Sarah VanderHelm, Ron’s wife, leads the administrative end, and their four kids can be found helping customers in the barn.

“It’s my home, I helped rebuild it from the ground up,” Ron VanderHelm said.

Saturday mornings prove to be the busiest time of the week with optimal weather for picking fruit, he said.

The VanderHelms describe their practice as sustainable agriculture, a type of farming that strives to “meet society’s food and textile needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” according to UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program.

The VanderHelms compare their sparing use of chemicals to the use of modern medicine, saying that while some may prefer holistic practices, modern medical tools are invaluable.

“That is the way we view the chemicals that are available for the control of pests and disease; use them sparingly and only when necessary to save the crop,” according to the farm’s website.

VanderHelm Farms does not grow GMO crops, and it provides the freshest produce possible by selling directly to the consumer.

“This place is family ground. We’re not just producing fruit, it’s our life,” Ron VanderHelm said.

If you go

U-Pick fruit starts at $3 per pound, varying depending on the type.

The farm is at 1678 Albers Road.

It’s open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and welcomes large groups without reservation.

This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 6:00 AM.