Vegetable U-Pick Orchards or farms in California in 2024, by area of state
Keep in mind, not all areas of a state have vegetables farms that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!
These are the areas of the state that have vegetable orchards to pick vegetables. Click on the area closet you!
- Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California
- Fresno area of California
- Marin and Sonoma counties in California
- Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties in California
- California North Mountain Region (Butte, Glenn and Tehama counties)
- Northeastern California (Modoc, Lassen and Plumas counties)
- Orange County, California
- Riverside County, California
- San Diego and Imperial Counties in California
- San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties in California
- San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, California
- Eastern Central California
Vegetable PYO
Vegetable Picking Tips, Recipes and Information
Pick veggies that are firm and free of blemishes.
Canning, Freezing, Drying, Preserving and more!
Below are links to pages with easy and reliable directions about how to can, preserve, freeze and make other goodies fromveggiess. Some of these require a Pressure Canner to prevent potential spoilage and
food poisoning, due to the low acid content of the food. For others, you
can use a water bath canner OR a Pressure Canner. I've noted what's
required for each, below, following each entry, with
W for water bath,
P for Pressure canner, and
W, P for either may be used!
-
Canning asparagus - P
-
Canning fresh shelled beans - P
- How to can beets - P
- How to make home canned
carrots - P
-
How to can corn (hot pack method)
- P
-
How to can corn (raw pack
method) - P
- How to can creamed corn
(hot pack method) - P
- How to make canned greens,
like Spinach, Turnip Greens, Collards, Kale, Swiss Chard
- How to can green beans,
yellow beans, snap beans, broad beans, etc. - P
-
How to make canned dried beans
and peas (from kidney beans, peas, lima beans, broadbeans, chickpeas, pole
beans, etc.) - P
-
How to Make Homemade Canned Baked Beans With Tomato or Molasses Sauce
- P
-
How to Make Homemade Canned Baked Beans With Back, Pork or Ham and Tomato
or Molasses Sauce
- P
-
Mixed vegetables - P
-
Mushrooms - P
-
How to can peas (English peas,
Crowder peas, blackeye peas and purple hull peas) - P
- Boiled Peanuts! Now
Southerners who move to other parts of the country can make their own
home-canned boiled peanuts to eat later or give away as gifts
-
How to can peppers (removing
the skins)- P
- How to can peppers
(leaving the skins on) - P
- How to can Hot peppers
in oil - W
- How to make fresh basil Pesto
(only fresh and frozen - this can't be home-canned)
- How to make canned Pineapple - W
-
How to can potatoes - P
-
How to home-can pumpkin (in a cooked, cubed form) and
why you shouldn't home-can the pureed forms. Note: Pumpkin is difficult
to can safely - it is a low acid food, so that rules out open water bath
canning immediately. Pressure canners can be used, but according to the
health authorities (like the National Center for Home Food Preservation)
only if the pumpkin is cubed, rather than mashed. I usually just freeze the
cooked pumpkin! - P
- How to make pumpkin pie from a whole, fresh
pumpkin - the easy way! for fresh or frozen use
- More
pumpkin recipes (roasting seeds, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin
cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, etc.) - fresh or frozen use
-
Rhubarb - how to can rhubarb - W
Pickled vegetables
- Pickled asparagus - W,
P
- Pickled beets - W, P
- Branston pickle relish
(an English tradition)
- Pickled Brussels
Sprouts (or Cauliflower) - W
- Bread-And-Butter
Zucchini pickles - W, P
- Pickled green beans -
W, P
- Pickled Dill beans - W, P
- Pickled cabbage - W, P
- Pickled carrots - W, P
- Southern Chow-Chow (also
called Piccalilli) - W, P
- Pickled corn relish -
W, P
- Pear relish
- How to Make Pickled Eggs (to
store in the fridge!)
-
Spiced Green tomatoes
- Pickled Green Tomatoes
- another pickled green tomato recipe, this one sweet
- Pickled garlic - W, P -
(photos coming!)
- Hot relish (Dixie Relish,
Fall Garden Relish)
- Mixed vegetable pickles
(cauliflower, peppers, onions, celery, cucumber mix) - W, P
-
Mustard beans (pickled
mustard beans)
- Pickled dilled okra! - W, P
- Olives
-
Pickled pearl onions - W
-
Pickled onions (red or white)
- W
- Pickled peaches (also
nectarines, apricots, etc.) - W,P
- Pickled peppers - W, P
- How to make sauerkraut
- homemade and naturally fermented! - W, P
-
Pickled Three-Bean Salad
- W
- Pickled
watermelon rind - W, P
- Zucchini pickles (dill) - W
Canning Tomatoes in Pressure canners
Freezing Tomatoes
Drying tomatoes
Ripening green tomatoes in your garage or basement
If you want to bring your green tomatoes indoors before a freeze in the
Fall, and ripen them, see:
And if you'd like to start you own tomatoes from seed (you can save a small
fortune and grow the heirloom varieties you like)
see this page for easy
directions for growing your own tomato plants from seed.
Many more recipes and directions: