Vegetable U-Pick Orchards in Tampa area, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, west Florida in 2025, by county
Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for vegetables that we know of in this area.
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!
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
Hillsborough County
- Big Bear Farms, Inc - 2025 assumed permanently closed, ORGANIC, beans, blueberries, broad beans, carrots, corn (sweet), eggplants, okra, onions, peas, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, other vegetables, Other fruit or veg, prepicked produce, restrooms
7606 Kinard Road, Plant City, FL 33565. Phone: 813-986-1152. Email: bigbearfarms@verizon.net. Open: permanently closed. Directions: From Tampa take I-4 East to Exit 14 \\(Mcintosh Road \\) Turn Left \\(North\\) on Mcintosh and go under overpass to first road on Right. Turn Right on Gore Road and take curve to Left where road turns into Gallagher Road Travel North on Gallagher to Kinard Road on Right. NOT Kinard Cove. Turn Right on Kinard Road and farm is 14 mile on Right. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. Turn Right on Gore Road and take curve to Left where road turns into Gallagher Road Travel North on Gallagher to Kinard Road on Right. NOT Kinard Cove. Turn Right on Kinard Road and farm is 1/4 mile on Right. Crops are usually available in March, April, May, June, July, October, November, December. We are certified organic for all crops! Cabbage, Collards, Mustard, Turnips, Lettuce, Spinach, Okra. Big Bear Farms, Inc. is a family owned and operated Certified ORGANIC Fruit and Vegetable farm. We operate under the strict rules of the USDA - National Organic Program (NOP) and are certified by Quality Certification Services (QCS). Unlike many farms that only claim to be organic we are the REAL DEAL and have the documents proudly on display to prove it. Why buy imported fruit and vegetables from unregulated countries that have been sprayed with all types of banned chemicals when you can have better at lower prices.Not only do we supply the commercial m..
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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 water bath canners )
- How to can tomatoes using a water bath canner - W
- Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
- Bruschetta - W
- Tomato sauce - W
- Tomato paste - W
- Barbecue sauce (BBQ sauce) - W
- Chili sauce from your own tomatoes and peppers - W
- Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
- Tomato Preserves- W
- Tomato salsa - W
- Spaghetti sauce - without meat - W, P
- Spiced Green tomatoes- W
- Pickled Green Tomatoes - W - another pickled green tomato recipe, this one sweet
- Ketchup.. or if you prefer... How to make catsup - W, P
- NEW! SUPER-EASY homemade ketchup recipe - W
- Salsa from your unripe, GREEN tomatoes! - W
- Tomatillo salsa - W
- How to make roasted tomatoes, boiling water bath canner version - W
Canning Tomatoes in Pressure canners
- Canned tomatoes using a Pressure Canner - P
- Baked Beans With Tomato or Molasses Sauce - P
- Canning your own chili con carne (with meat) - P
- How to make roasted tomatoes, pressure canner version - P
- Spaghetti sauce - with meat - P
- Stewed tomatoes - P
- Tomato soup or tomato-basil soup - P
- Tomato sauce - P
- Tomato juice - P
- Tomato juice, like V8 - P
Freezing Tomatoes
- How to freeze tomatoes from you garden or the farm; for that fresh taste this winter!
- Space-saving prepping and freezing extra tomatoes from your garden to can later
Drying tomatoes
- NEW! How to make Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Food drying basics and principles
- How to dry your own herbs
- Food Dehydrators - models, specs and pricing information
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.
- General Directions and guides about home canning, preserving, safety, tips, etc.)
- Home canning safety
- FAQs
- Equipment and supplies
Many more recipes and directions:
- Canning anything that can be safely canned at home!
- Juices: Canning fruit and vegetable juices
- Freezing directions
- Pie fillings (making home canned pie fillings)
- Sauces, Salsas, Syrups, Fruit Butters and Chutneys (from applesauce, apple butter, to salsa, syrups, etc, can any sauce)
- Broths and Stocks
- Soups - canning vegetable and meat soups at home (see this page for tomato soup)
- Pickling - more than just cucumbers
- Drying / food dehydrating
- Ice cream, gelato and sorbets
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
Looking for canning equipment and supplies?
Water bath canner with a jar rack
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)
Jars: 8oz canning jars for jams
Find Other types of farms:
Farm markets and roadside stands
Road trips and camping resources
Local Honey, apiaries, beekeepers
Consumer fraud and scams information
Home canning supplies at the best prices on the internet!
Maple Syrup Farms, sugarworks, maple syrup festivals
Environmental information and resources
Farms For Your Event for birthday parties, weddings, receptions, business meetings, retreats, etc.
Festivals - local fruit and vegetable festivals
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most recent version of
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