Find a local pick your own farm here!

click here to go to the Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations page in US at http://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/inspection_programs/consumer_food_inspection.shtml

or click here for the PickYourOwn.org home page

 

Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations in US Information

Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations is usually open year-round. It's ALWAYS advisable to see the Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations website, and/or to call or email them before you head out there, as many factors, can affect their availability and open hours. And that can change not only from year to year, but day to day!

When are common crops available?

Below is a general month by month overview for the northern hemisphere (North America). Be sure to see the US-specific harvest calendar for local dates.

Below is the general info, keep in mind this is very general, this is NOT a list of what Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations has this year or ANY year or will have on any day. See the US-specific harvest calendar for typical crop harvest dates in US and see Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations website for their current availability. This list below is a general list for many commonly grown crops.

The South will be the earlier end, and the North, the latter:

  • November to March - Citrus (oranges, grapefruit, mandarins, etc, in so Cal, AZ, NM, TX, FL
  • March - April: Asparagus
  • Late April-June: strawberries
  • June- July: cherries
  • June-August: blueberries, blackberries
  • July-September: peaches, figs, tomatoes, green beans
  • July-October: raspberries
  • August - Figs, Fall raspberries start, early apples
  • September-October: apples and grapes
  • October: late apples, Pumpkins
  • December: Christmas trees

Specific Fruit and Vegetable Picking and Preserving Guides and Recipes

After you go to Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations, you may want to freeze, can, make jams, jellies, sauces, pickles or preserve the fruit or vegetables you get there. See these pages below for detailed, illustrated, step-by-step instructions that make it easy!

McSunley Stainless Steel 21QT Canner, Any Stovetop

Pressure Canners for all stovetops

Looking for canning equipment and supplies?

Water bath canner with a jar rack

Electric pressure canner

Pressure canners for gas, electric and induction stoves: Presto 23Qt or T-fal 22Qt

Canning scoop (this one is PERFECT)

Ball Blue book (most recent version)

8oz canning jars for jams

Regular canning lids

Wide mouth canning lids