2025 Essex County, Massachusetts Blackberry U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Blackberry U-Pick Orchards in Essex County, Massachusetts in 2025, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for blackberries that we know of in this area.

Not all areas of a state have blackberries 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.

New! As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

New! Road tripping and camping is a great way to have a fun, safe and inexpensive family trip. The national and state parks and monuments are open, and campgrounds usually cost between $10 and $40 per night. September to November is the best camping weather.  See our new website Road Tripping and Camping.com for tips, tricks, guides, checklists and info about parks, monuments and other places to visit.

New! We just went live with our latest website, FunFactoryTours.com - As they name implies, you can find a fun factory tour, including chocolate, automobiles, historical forts and sites, famous buildings, Active Federal facilities even fun geology: like fossils and volcanic areas

Essex County

• Cider Hill Farm - apples, flowers, tulips, zinnias, sunflowers, blueberries, cherries, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries,
  45 Fern Avenue, Amesbury, MA . Phone: 978-388-5525. Open: for the season 7 days a week from early May until the day before Thanksgiving. Directions: Interstate 95 to Exit 1 in New Hampshire. Go West 2 miles Route 107 to Route 150. South 2 miles on Route 150, turn left onto Fern Ave. to barn and farm store. Or, Route 495 to exit 54. Turn right at bottom onto Rt.150. Go North through Amesbury. Turn right onto Fern Ave. . Click here for a map and directions.
  Cider Hill Farm Facebook page. Our hours are 8am to 6pm every day until daylight savings ends, and from 8am to 5pm thereafter. Go West 2 miles Route 107 to Route 150. South 2 miles on Route 150, turn left onto Fern Ave. to barn and farm store. Or, Route 495 to exit 54. Turn right at bottom onto Rt.150. Go North through Amesbury. Turn right onto Fern Ave. . Tulip Fest starts at the beginning of May, where you can both tour the beautiful blooming tulips and also cut your own. Tulip picking lasts until mid-May. However, flower lovers can enjoy cutting our farmhouse bouquets all summer long in the Summer Cutting Garden. . offers over 25 varieties of flowers, from zinnias to lisianthus, snapdragons, cosmos, amaranth, millet, carnations, marigolds, strawflowers, celosia, herbs, stock, dahlias, sunflowers, and coneflowers from early to mid-July and closes in mid-September. Outdoor pumpkin stand at the farm store, you’ll find a large selection of pumpkins, gourds, specialty pumpkins, corn stalks, and bal..
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• Russell Orchards - apples, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, currants, strawberries, raspberries.
  143 Argilla Road, Ipswich, MA . Phone: 978-356-5366. Open: 7 days, 9am to 5pm during picking season; Call for picking dates. Directions: On the road to Cranes Beach-Castle Hill, 3 miles South of Ipswich Center. Off Routes 1A or 133. Click here for a map and directions.
  Russell Orchards Facebook page. Off Routes 1A or 133. In June 2025, their website is DOWN, see instead. 120 acres of fruit trees, berries, vegetables, fields, animal barns. The farm store with full scratch bakery and winery are housed in our soaring 1800's barn. PYO Opens in June with strawberries, then Raspberries Late June-July. Blueberries July-August. Blackberries July-August. Currants July. Apples Sept-Oct.
  Comments from a visitor on July 22, 2011: "Picked here on July 20, 2011. Place was nice. cost $3 a person to go into the fields, but it was refunded when you returned with your fruit. But the price per pound for the blueberries was $5.50 so for me that was $5 a pint. Too expensive to go back "
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• Smolak Farms - apples, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, plums, pumpkins, raspberries (red), raspberries (Spring, red), raspberries (Autumn, red), strawberries, gift shop, concessions or refreshment stand, porta-potties are available, restrooms, farm market, picnic area, picnic area you may bring your own food, inflatables or bounce houses, farm animals, birthday parties, weddings and wedding parties, school tours, group reservations
  315 S Bradford St, North Andover, MA 01845. Phone: (978) 682-6332. Email: inform@smolakfarms.com. Open: Fields are open from 9 am to 4 daily; Check our facebook page for the latest crop of the day!. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, AmEx.
  Smolak Farms Facebook page. Please visit our website for our Strawberry Festival Information and more information about our farmFall Festivals begin September 12 and 13 and run every weekend through October 31; Choose and Cut Christmas trees will be available the first weekend after ThanksgivingPayment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard(UPDATED: June 29, 2025, JBS)
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• Turkey Hill Farm - Blueberries, blackberries and raspberries., sunflowers, Christmas trees
  380 Middle Road, Haverhill, MA . Phone: 978-372-9474. Email: turkeyhillfarm@hotmail.com. Open: 8am until 6pm; Blueberries and Raspberries in July and August; Sunflowers from mid July to early September; Christmas trees for you to choose and cut in November and December. Directions: From Route 495 take Exit 52, go 1 mile East on Route 110 East to Middle Road which is on the right. This is a beautiful hilltop farm growing Blueberries and Raspberries for you to pick in July and August. We also grow . Click here for a map and directions.
  Turkey Hill Farm Facebook page. . This is a beautiful hilltop farm growing Blueberries and Raspberries for you to pick in July and August. We also grow Christmas trees for you to choose and cut in November and December. . This is a pure and simple pick your own Blueberry and Raspberry farm without a bakery or animals. JUST SUPER PICKING WITH CONVENIENT HOURS! (UPDATED: June 29, 2025, JBS)
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Blackberry

Blackberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Blackberries typically peak during June in the South of the U.S., and in July in the north and in Canada. Crops are ready at various times of the month depending on which part of the state you are located. In order to produce good local Blackberries, producers depend on ideal spring and early summer weather conditions. See this page for a list of blackberry festivals around the U.S.

Before you leave to go to the farm:

1. Always call before you go to the farm - And when they are in season, a large turnout can pick a field clean before noon, so CALL first!
2. Leave early.  On weekends, then fields may be picked clean by NOON!
    
3. Most growers furnish picking containers designed for Blackberries, but they may charge you for them; be sure to call before you go to see if you need to bring containers.
   If you use your own containers, remember that heaping Blackberries more than 5 inches deep will bruise the lower berries. Plastic dishpans, metal oven pans with 3 inch tall sides and large pots make good containers. I like the Glad storage containers like the one at right.
4. Bring something to drink and a few snacks; you'd be surprised how you can work up a thirst and appetite! And don't forget hats and sunscreen for the sun. Bugs usually aren't a problem, but some deet might be good to bring along if it has been rainy.

Tips on How to Pick Blackberries

1. There are two types of blackberries to know about: thorny and thornless! Obviously, the thornless are easier to pick, but some people claim the thorny varieties are sweeter. With the thorny plants, you want to reach into the plant in the gaps, so you don't need to touch anything but the berry you're after, avoiding the thorns.
2. A ripe blackberry is deep black with a plump, full feel. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug.  If the berry is red or purple, it's not ripe yet.
3. Repeat these operations using both hands until each holds 3 or 4 berries. Unlike strawberries, blackberries are usually pretty tough, I dump mine into the bucket. Repeat the picking process with both hands.
4. Don't overfill your containers or try to pack the berries down.

General Picking Tips

Whether you pick Blackberries from your garden or at a Pick-Your-Own farm, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Pick only the berries that are fully black. Reach in between the stems to grab for hidden berries ready for harvest. Bend down and look up into the plant and you will find loads of berries that other people missed!
2. Avoid placing the picked berries in the sunlight any longer than necessary. It is better to put them in the shade of a tree or shed than in the car trunk or on the car seat. Cool them as soon as possible after picking. Blackberries may be kept fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week, depending upon the initial quality of the berry. After a few days in storage, however, the fruit loses its bright color and fresh flavor and tends to shrivel.

When you get home

1. DON'T wash the berries until you are ready to use them or freeze them.  Washing makes them more prone to spoiling.
2. Pour them out into shallow pans and remove any mushed, soft or rotting berries
3. Put a couple of days supply into the fridge, wash  off the others, drain them and freeze them up! (Unless you're going to make jam right away) Blackberries are less perishable than blueberries or strawberries, but refrigerate them as soon as possible after picking. Temperatures between 34 F and 38 F are best, but, be careful not to freeze the blackberries (while they are in the fridge)!
4. Even under ideal conditions blackberries will only keep for a week in a refrigerator, so for best flavor and texture, use them as soon as possible after purchase

Blackberry Recipes, Freezing and Jam directions

1. How to make Blackberry jam - It is VERY easy - especially with our free Blackberry jam directions - very easy!
2. How to make Blackberry jelly
3. How to freeze berries
4. Blackberry syrup, make and can it! 
5. Seedless blackberry pie!
6. Blackberry Festivals: Where, When and More to Find an Blackberry Festival Near You this year:

Blackberry Facts and Tips

• Black Raspberries, also known as "black caps" are a very healthy food; packed with anthocyanins!
• The USDA says 1 cup of blackberries has about 62 calories.
• 1 cup of blackberries, not packed down weighs about 140 grams.
• Select plump, firm, fully blackberries. Unripe berries will not ripen once picked.
• Ohio State University's Article Regarding Their Prevention of Cancer
• Oregon Berry Black Raspberry Brochure
• Blackberry tea was said to be a cure for dysentery during the Civil War. During outbreaks of dysentery, temporary truces were declared to allow both Union and Confederate soldiers to "go blackberrying" to forage for blackberries to ward off the disease.
• Blackberries were enjoyed by the ancient Greeks, who believed them to be a cure for diseases of the mouth and throat, as well as a preventative against many ailments, including gout.
• The blackberry leaf was also used as an early hair dye, having been recommended by Culpeper, the English herbalist, to be boiled in a lye solution in order to "maketh the hair black".
• Guide to blackberry varieties
• Researchers have known for quite some time that berries contain antioxidants which help to fight cancer causing free radicals.  A study at the University of Ohio has found that blackberries are the most potent cancer fighting berries of them all, by nearly 40 percent!
• U-pick Blackberry farms typically sell berries by the pound. A quart equals 1 and 1/2 pounds of fresh berries.
• Do the math and be careful not to over-purchase as Blackberries quickly mold when left at room temperature, and only last a couple of days in the refrigerator.
• You can easily freeze berries that you cannot use right away - just wash, cut the hulls off and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible.  Those vacuum food sealers REALLY do a good job of this! The berries will keep for many months frozen without air.
• Want to go to a blackberry festival? See this page for a list!

 

 

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