Blueberry U-Pick Orchards in Citrus County, west Florida in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for blueberries that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have blueberries orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

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Citrus County

• Bette's Blues Blueberry Farm - blueberries, blackberries, porta-potties are available
  4752 West Abeline Drive, Citrus Springs, FL 34433. Phone: (352) 746-2511. Open: Typical season is May and June, last reported hours were Everyday: 7 am to 7 pm. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards. 94720">Bette's Blues Blueberry Farm Alternate Phone: (352) 302-7849. Fax: 352-746-7230. (UPDATED: April 06, 2018)
• Cavallo Farm and Market - blueberries, birthday parties, weddings and wedding parties, school tours, group reservations, events at your location (call for info)
  8123 S. Lecanto Hwy, Lecanto, FL 34461. Phone: (352) 228-9289. Email: info@cavallowinery.com. Open: Sunday through Saturday, 8am to 5pm; 7 days a week in season, typically April, May, but call to check. Directions: Blueberries season typically starts in April;. We are Certified naturally grown for all . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx. . crops. We will provide you with all of the necessary equipment for picking once you arrive. Equipment includes a plastic one-gallon bucket and bags to take your blueberries home in. Our blueberry bushes and rows are very well maintained, which make it easy to access the fruit. They are also stroller accessible. We suggest wearing a hat, closed toe shoes and sunscreen to make your visit to the farm an enjoyable one! Refreshments and snacks are available for purchase (cash or credit card) in the Pavilion. Dependent on the weather, blueberries usually blossom between the 3rd and 4th week of March. To make sure you know when to visit, please join our email list or you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. There's plenty of blueberries for everyone. Come by and pick a bucket by yourself, or make it a family event. . Formerly called Daisy's. (UPDATED: April 05, 2018) (ADDED: April 03, 2018)
• Florida Best Blueberry Farm - Uses natural growing practices, blueberries, flowers, Honey from hives on the farm, U-pick and already picked, restrooms, picnic area, school tours, group reservations
  11135 East Nottingham Drive, Inverness, FL 34450. Phone: (813) 928-9028. Email: lengelrusscindy@gmail.com. Open: Tuesday - Sunday 8 am to 2 Closed Monday. Directions: : From 175 take the Wildwood Exit West toward Inverness On State Road 44 enjoy the beautiful scenic drive until you cross the Withlacoochee River. You are 1 mile from Little John Avenue Take Right onto Little John Avenue Go one mile, take a Left \(dirt road\) you will see signs for the farm From Inverness: Head East on SR44 toward Wildwood. When you pass the Speedway Gas Station, you are about a mile from turning Left on Little John Avenue Go 1 mile. Turn Left on Nottingham Drive \(Dirt Road - truncated. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard. . : From 175 take the Wildwood Exit West toward Inverness On State Road 44 enjoy the beautiful scenic drive until you cross the Withlacoochee River. You are 1 mile from Little John Avenue Take Right onto Little John Avenue Go one mile, take a Left (dirt road) you will see signs for the farm From Inverness: Head East on SR44 toward Wildwood. When you pass the Speedway Gas Station, you are about a mile from turning Left on Little John Avenue Go 1 mile. Turn Left on Nottingham Drive (Dirt Road). We have more than 11,000 plants to pick. Our fresh season is only 2 months long, but we also have frozen blueberries the rest of the year for purchase; All berries sold frozen are picked during peak season;. We use natural practices, but are not seeking organic certification. Farm honey and canned yummies We will bag your blueberries or put them in your containers. Make sure they are large containers with lids Close toed shoes advisable, large hats are difficult to maneuver with as the bushes are overhead, not low to the ground A bucket takes around 45 min. to pick give or take. We are a 5 Star Rated Farm! Our customers always exclaim how much fruit there is here and how fast picking is! (UPDATED: February 3, 2024, JBS) (UPDATED: April 18, 2021)
• Hatfield's Orchard - Apples. Blueberries, Muscadine grapes, Pears, Peaches, Nectarines, Oranges, Sugar cane, elderberries
  2659 N. Virginia Rd. Crystal River Fl., Crystal River, FL. Phone: (352) 794-1176. Email: lauradodds2121@gmail.com. Open: always see their page for dates and availability; Typical harvest dates (always check their page before you go): Valencia and Hamlin orange in December-January. Sugar cane. Blueberries in May and June. Apples in June. Payment: Cash, Venmo, Cash app, PayPal, zelle. Sorry, no card machine available.
  2023 Prices: Upick Blueberries were only $5/lb, Apple Upick $3/lb, Elderberry U-Snip $3/lb, Elderberry U-Snip $3/lb.
  Please, *do not* bring your dog(s) or animals to this orchard, leashed or not, small or big, *we are not a dog park*.
   (UPDATED: October 21, 2024, JBS) (ADDED: January 12, 2024, JBS)
• Misty Meadows Blueberry Farm - pyo blueberries, already-picked blueberries
  8801 East Greys Lane, Inverness, FL 34453. Phone: 352-726-7907. Email: mistymeadows@tampabay.rr.com. Open: UPDATE for 2019, Does anyone have current information, are they still offering pick your own or are even open? If so, please write me, last reported hours were Thursday through Sunday, 7 am to 7 pm Closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; Due to the vagaries of Mother Nature please phone ahead or check our website for crop availability, unexpected closings or changed hours of business. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Blueberries: Mid-April to End of June; Call ahead to order already picked blueberries. The price per pound for U-Pick in 2015 is $3.50. We provide buckets to pick into and plastic bags to take your berries home in. Some people like to bring their own containers but it isn't necessary. Since this is Florida please wear sensible shoes and a sunhat. Pets should be left home. We look forward to seeing you this year. A visitor writes on May 10, 2019: "Misty Meadows Blueberry Farm may be closed; Called 5/10/19 the phone # listed was not working. Could not find a current website. Thank you for keeping this website going. I've used it for the last two years locating different you pick farms."A visitor writes on June 07, 2013: "I've been picking at Misty Meadows for the past few weeks, their blueberries are fabulous, and the owners are very friendly and helpful. They do suggest you always call ahead, to make sure the berries are plentiful. And great site, I use it often, and just passed it along to 2 FL friends that are jealous of all the produce I find that I can pick myself. Thanks for doing all this work for us, it's appreciated. ;)"
• Superfly Bonsai - No pesticides are used, blueberries, U-pick and already picked, restrooms, events at your location (call for info)
  9333 East Bushnell Road, Floral City, FL 34436. Phone: 1866256149. Email: superflyservice@superflybonsai.com. Open: Blueberries March 7, 2021 to April 15 Thursday, 2022 Bonsai Year Round Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, PayPal, ApplePay, AndroidPay, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx. 2. . Blueberry Season is typically March through May 2022 Blueberry Season will be March 7 through late April Bonsai Season is All Season Long. We do not use pesticides on the crops. We are a Bonsai Farm with seasonal U-pick and pre-picked Blueberries. Blueberries are usually ready for picking early March through the end of April. We have Bonsai available year round. (ADDED: February 26, 2022)

 

Blueberry

Blueberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruit to prepare and serve. There's no peeling, pitting, coring or cutting. They have few natural pests, (other than birds), so pesticides are generally unnecessary! This year's crop is fantastic (see related news story), thanks both to the weather and to more farms planting more blueberry bushes due to increased consumer demand over the past few years as more studies proclaim the anti-oxidant and other health properties of blueberries.

Click here to find a local Blueberry Festival (usually held between April and July).

If you are looking for information about a similar berry, the saskatoon (also called the June berry or Serviceberry) see this page about saskatoons.

Picking tips:

Select plump, full blueberries with a light gray-blue color. A berry with any hint of red isn't fully ripened.

Ripening AFTER picking?

First, it is key to know that once picked, blueberries will NOT become any sweeter, nor will the flavor improve. The only change that occurs is the color. They will APPEAR to ripen, but it is only a color change, from white to green to rose to red to pale blue to fully blue. So, white and green colored blueberries will not "ripen" after they are picked; while blueberries that have already turned purple, red or blue-ish usually DO change color after they are picked (if they are kept at room temperature to "ripen").

As the blueberries ripen ON THE BUSH, the flavor goes from tastless to bitter to tasteless tart to tart blueberry flavor to sweet blueberry flavor.

Grocery stores sell blueberries that are tart, not sweet because they had them picked unripe by machine so they are very firm and can handled being bumped around in shipping. They may look good, but are not as tasty as those picked when actually ripe.

So, the key is, PICK ONLY RIPE BERRIES!

How to pick blueberries

Since blueberries hang on the bushes in bunches a but like grapes do, the easiest and fastest way to pick them is hold your bucket under them in one hand and with your other hand, cup a ripe bunch and gently rub them with your fingers. The ripe berries will drop into your bucket, while the unripe ones will remain attached to the bush.

When the bushes are at peak, I can easily pick 2 gallons per hour (if I'm not being distracted by the kids and the sun isn't too hot!). A newbie might do 1 gallon per hour.and at the beginning or end of the season it takes more time as the berries are not as plentiful nor concentrated in clusters.

Tips for storing blueberries after harvesting:

• Once picked, don't place the berries, still warm from the sun, in a closed bag or container. Leave the container open so moisture doesn't form in the container.
• Don't wash berries until just before using, to prevent berries from becoming mushy.
• Chill berries soon after picking to increase shelf life. Store your fresh blueberries in the refrigerator as soon as you get them home, without washing them, in a covered bowl or storage container. If refrigerated, fresh-picked blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days.
• Freeze berries in freezer containers without washing to keep the skins from toughening. Place berries one layer deep. Freeze, then pour the frozen berries into freezer containers. Because unwashed blueberries freeze individually, they can be easily poured from containers in desired amounts. Remember both frozen and fresh berries should be rinsed and drained just before serving. Just before using, wash the berries in cold water.

Blueberry Measurements and Conversions

Keep in mind that blueberries vary considerably in density and moisture content, so these ranges are approximates.

• 1 gallon of blueberries weighs about 7.5 lbs or (4 liters of blueberries is about 3.5 kg)

• 1 pint of fresh blueberries weights about 3/4 of a pound. (1 liter of blueberries is about 700 grams)

• 1 pound of fresh blueberries is usually between about 2 and 3 cups of berries.

• It takes about 4 cups (about of blueberries to make a blueberry pie (see this fantastic and easy blueberry pie recipe)

• A normal batch of blueberry preserves, jam or jelly requires 5 pints of berries.

• Blueberries do come in a variety of sizes from small (190-250 berries per cup) to extra large (<90 berries per cup).

Blueberry Recipes, Canning and Freezing Blueberries

Recipes

• The world's best Blueberry pie, recipe and directions and illustrated!
• Blueberry buckle coffee cake: illustrated directions for this great crumb-topping blueberry coffee cake
• Other easy directions to make blueberry desserts: cobblers, etc.

Canning, freezing and other blueberry recipes:

• How to Freeze Blueberries
• How to Can Blueberries
• How to Make Homemade Blueberry Jam
• How to make blueberry jelly
• How to make and can blueberry syrup (it works for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, too)
• blueberry pie filling to use later,
• blueberry butter

Baking tips

If you have trouble with blueberries settling to the bottom of muffins and blueberry breads, try one or more of these tips:

• Coat them with flour before adding to the batter. Just gently shake the blueberries in a bag (plastic or paper) with 1/2 cup of flour, then dump them mix in a sieve to remove excess flour.
• It may just be that your batter is too thin. try making the batter a little thicker!
• Fill the muffin cups or baking pan up to 1/4 full with batter (which hasn't had blueberries added to it yet); then stir the blueberries into the remaining batter, and continue to fill the muffin cups or bread pan. The blueberries will start off higher in the mix!

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers