In the South Bay, Webb Ranch, a family-run farm in operation since 1922, opens its 2012 u-pick berry season on June 14. The farm in Portola Valley is open for u-pick Thursday through Sunday through July 8, and/or when the berry season finishes.

Down the coast near Santa Cruz, Swanton Berry Farm has u-pick organic strawberries. Olallieberries should be available this month, followed by blackberries in late July; call for availability. In Pescadero, a little further north along the coast, Phipps Country Store and Farm offers u-pick strawberries and olallieberries, as well as a farmstand selling dozens of heirloom and hard-to-find dried beans, many of which are grown on the farm. (And if you can't wait to get home to the kitchen, you can always get inspired with a slice of olallieberry pie at Duarte's Tavern.)

Another way to get great pick-your-own access at very affordable prices is to join a local farm’s CSA (community-supported agriculture) program. Many farms with CSA programs offer u-pick days to members when too many tomatoes, strawberries, or peppers are ripening all at once in the fields. It’s a delicious way to meet your farmers and see just where the produce in your weekly veggie box is coming from.

Mariquita Farm grows a wide variety of vegetables, specializing in intriguing and heirloom varieties, with pick-ups in San Francisco and the Peninsula. The farm typically hosts several members' u-picks of tomatoes and padron peppers throughout the summer. While May's strawberry parties are past, Eatwell Farm in Dixon has plans for a members' summer solstice/garlic braiding party on June 23rd along with a tomato-saucing party in August and a chili cookoff in September.

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Pick Your Own: Family-friendly U-Pick Orchards and Farms