Blueberry U-Pick Orchards in Madison area of Wisconsin 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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Dane County

• Appleberry Farm - Uses integrated pest management practices, apples, blueberries, pears, pumpkins, raspberries (red), strawberries, Cider mill (fresh apple cider made on the premises), gift shop, picnic area, school tours
  8079 Maurer Road, Cross Plains, WI 53528. Phone: 608 798 2780. Email: fun@theappleberryfarm.com. Open: Labor Day through Halloween, Monday through Thursday, 9 am to 12 pm; Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm; For Summer Berry hours, call ahead. Directions: Westside of Madison 1218 Beltline, Exit Mineral Point Road, West 4 miles, turn left on Timber Lane, 1 mile, turn right on Maurer Road. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard. . Westside of Madison 12/18 Beltline, Exit Mineral Point Road, West 4 miles, turn left on Timber Lane, 1 mile, turn right on Maurer Road. Call ahead to verify what is ripe and available 608 to 798 to 2780. We use integrated pest management practices. Come feed the Chickens and sit by the Duck pond. Enjoy a Hayride or walk through the Orchard and explore our oak savanna with beautiful views towards Blue Mounds. Apple varieties: Over 30 Antique apple varieties, plus McIntosh, Cortland, Connell Red, Idared, Empire, Jonathan, NW Greening, Russets, & Prairie Spy.Strawberries are ripe in June after school gets out for the summer. We have a large field of several varieties for pick your own. Learn all about how strawberries are grown and enjoy their delicious taste fresh from the Farm. Call ahead for dates/hours open. (UPDATED: May 14, 2016, JBS) .

Sauk County

• Country Bumpkin Farm Market - Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, a vast assortment of fresh produce raised on our farm & picked fresh daily, pumpkins, haywagon rides to the pumpkin patches in the fall, corn maze,
  E9745 Hwy P, Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965. Phone: 608-254-2311. Email: countrybumpkinfarm@yahoo.com. Directions: We are located 2 miles West of Lake Delton on County Hwy. P, off Hwy. 23 South in the heart of the surrounding vacationland area of Wisconsin Dells. . Click here for a map and directions. . every day from April 22 to October 31, from 10am to 6pm, for both U-Pick & We-Pick; Strawberries ripen June 1 and are good picking for 4 weeks; Special open hours during strawberry season: U-pick = 8am to 6pm daily, rain or shine, We-pick = 10am to 6pm daily, rain or shine. Phone for updated picking report and current prices. We have two types of raspberries: the summer bearers that start July 1 and are great picking for the month, and the fall bearers which start giving berries in July and give their largest yields in August and September and right through October until hard frosts. Blueberries are ripe by July 1 and continue through August 15 when all the berries have been picked and are gone until next year! Please call to set up a picking time and for current prices. Blackberries both thorn and thornless will be ripe August 1 through September 15. They also have a fun ride all season long on the Express! Ice cream cones, gift shop, our own honey, local maple syrup and sorghum, jams & dressings, salsa, mustard, pickles, local fresh farm brown eggs, much more!
• The Berry Farmer - blueberries
  E10222 Hoot Owl Road, Baraboo, WI 53913. Phone: 608-355-1965. Email: info@theberryfarmer.com. Open: Wednesday evening from 5 pm to 8 pm; and Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm; Blueberry season early July to mid-August. Directions: Located in Sauk County Wi is no longer offering u-pick strawberries per their May FB post. Click here for a map and directions. . . 2 1/2 miles west of Hwy. 12 on CTH. W towards North Freedom. Strawberry season mid-June to early July. In the past they have also had pick your own and already-picked strawberries and peas but from 2022, there is nothing on their website about it, so apparently they no longer grow these. Picking containers provided or bring your own. Children always welcome. (UPDATED: June 09, 2022, JBS) A visitor writes on June 09, 2022: "The Berry Farmer . I believe they are still doing, usually in July. "

 

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