Cherry season opens in Brentwood. Top 20 U-picks — Part 2

May 17, 11:18 AMSF Culinary Travel ExaminerWanda Hennig

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 Please see Part 1 of Cherry Season for a listing of more farms.

Continued: Each year, starting right now, there is a small window of time to enjoy one of the best-kept-secret delights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Namely, cherry-picking in the Brentwood. If you head east from San Francisco, drive for a little over an hour (when traffic is obliging) and get beyond the "new Brentwood" developments, there's a feast of pleasure waiting to be plucked from trees bowed with abundance.

Below is Part 2 of a list of 20 Brentwood region U-Pick cherry farms. Please go online to www.harvest4you.com for more on these, a full listing of Brentwood's delicious bounty and U-Pick options, and to download a map. (Some of the places are tricky to find even if you have the address. The map helps.)  And call the farms you're interested in when they suggest that you do this.
 

Papini Family Orchards # 1 (P/U) and Papini Farms #2 (P/U)
2160 Walnut Blvd., and 301 Sellers Ave., Brentwood
925-759-6735.

U-Pick and pre-picked cherries (Coral Champagne, Brooks, Rainier and Bing). Open end of May through June, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.
Buckets supplied for picking and boxes for fruit.

Pease Ranch (P/U)
25175 Marsh Creek Road.
925-634-4646.

Many varieties of cherries. U-Pick and picked (Bing, White Rainier, Chinook, Early Burlat, Jubilee, Van and many more). (Cherry picking at Pease — see picture, right)
Plus olallieberries, blackberries, boysenberries and loganberries.
Open approximately May thru June, 8:00 a.m. daily when fruit is in season.
Check out their Web site.

Pomeroy Farm (P/U)
925-634-7712

Pre-picked & U-Pick. Farmer Steve Pomeroy’s grandfather, Ed, planted a walnut orchard here in 1927. More recently, Steve replaced many of the walnut trees with stone fruits, like Flavorcrest peaches, nectarines, Patterson and Westley apricots and — ready to pick right now — Bing, white Rainier and Brooks cherries.

Go and U-pick or buy ready picked at one of two locations; Marsh Creek Road (west of, appropriately, Walnut Blvd.) or Payne Avenue (east of Walnut Blvd.) Visit the Web site. Cherry season at Pomeroy Farm generally runs May 20 to June 15.
From May 20.

Salvador's Family Farm (U)
815 Hoffman Lane
925-634-1957

U-Pick Bing cherries. Open Friday through Sunday during season (starting approximately middle of May). Please call for current information and hours of operation or check our Web site.

Seko Ranch Cherries (P/U)
100 Eureka Ave., Brentwood
925-634-3771

Burlat and Mono cherries picked, Bing cherries picked & U-Pick.
Open daily during season, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sharp Ranch U-Pick Cherries (U)
795 Hoffman Lane, Brentwood
925-513-1517

Early Bing Cherries.
Open Thursday and Friday in season 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Or by appointment. Call for information and dates.

Smith Family Farms (P/U)
Sellers Ave., Knightsen
925-625-5966 or 925-625-3544

Famous for its pumpkin picking in the fall when families gather to picnic and enjoy music, hayrides, and more, this is also an ad hoc petting zoo. The fruit Stand open daily. Call about the availability of cherries.

Tachella Family Farms (P/U)
2017 Walnut Blvd., Brentwood
925-513-8495

Pre-picked and U-Pick
Abundant selection of fruits and veggies to buy including picked-only cherries.
Open Tuesday through Sunday.
Farming in Brentwood since 1952.

Wolfe Ranch Cherries (U)
2111 Concord Ave., Brentwood
925-634-1308

U-Pick and pre-picked cherries (Bing, White Rainier, Van).
Late May and early June.
Open daily in season 9:00 a.m. – 4 p.m.
For information and directions visit their Web page.

Brentwood in Brief

Enjoy the Brentwood region farms while you can. According to wikipedia, Brentwood residential growth was in the triple digits during the 1990s and grew 69 percent from 2000 to 2005.

However the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust has been working hard to conserve prime farmland and promote local farming. Through conservation easements and compensating local farmers for not developing their land, the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust offers farmers a realistic alternative to selling their farms to real estate developers.

Photos by Wanda Hennig