Pick of the crop: Do-it-yourself works well in these fields of berries, fruit, more

Summertime in Kansas City means heat and humidity — but also an abundance of local produce. Numerous farms around the metro sell at farmers markets, but if you want to get into the fields yourself, consider the u-pick option.

The spots are generally open to the whole family, making it possible to combine healthy food with a way to expend some of that late-summer vacation energy. The crops offered vary depending on when in the summer you go, and many farms offer more than one thing to pick. Keep in mind that autumn brings a unique “patch” of pumpkins for the family to pick.

Cy & Dee’s Blackberry & Tomatoes in Louisburg offers exactly what you’d think. Cy Aiken used to run a 200-acre dairy farm with his brother, but for the last 25 years has offered blackberry vines bursting with fruit for public picking.

He got the idea from his wife, Dee, who died in 2020. She had seen someone else selling blackberries along Kansas Highway 68 and figured they could do it, too. They planted 100 blackberry plants the first year. Now Aiken has about 1,000, including the three new rows he and his daughter, Lisa Brant, added this year.

Aiken and Brant sell the blackberries at $5 a quart and the tomatoes at $1.50 a pound for the u-pick visitors. And he’s just fine with people sampling the merchandise as they work.

“I don’t spray anything. They can eat them right out of the patch. I got a great-grandkid that comes out, and he’s only 14 months old, but he can walk down and pick them,” said Aiken, whose farm also offers some pre-picked produce.

If you want to get some of these local flavors, here are a few farms you can visit. (This is not a complete list: Go online to find other places in the Kansas City area for apples, pumpkins and more produce).

A few warnings: Call ahead to make sure your spot is not picked out the day you want to visit. Be aware that some farms may only take cash. And check before bringing any pets, as many farms do not allow outside animals.

Many farms have additional products or produce for sale that is not u-pick, and different produce may be available earlier or later in the season.

▪ Cy & Dee’s Blackberry & Tomatoes, 28615 Rockville Road in Louisburg, 913-837-2254. August crops: Blackberries, tomatoes. Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

▪ Cider Hill Family Orchard, 3341 N. 139th St. in Kansas City, Kansas, 913-721-2507. August crop: Apples. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

▪ Gieringer’s Family Orchard & Berry Farm, 39675 W. 183rd St. in Edgerton, 913-893-9626. August crops: Apples, sunflowers, zinnias. Hours: Varied. Check Facebook for latest times.

▪ Johnson Farms Plants and Pumpkins, 17701 S. State Route D in Belton, visit www.johnsonfarms.net for information. August crops: Apples. Hours: Varied. Check Facebook for latest times.

▪ The Berry Patch, 22509 State Line Road in Cleveland, Missouri, 816-679-2755. August crop: Blueberries. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

▪ John & Linda’s U-Pick Farm, 2428 Texas Prairie Road in Bates City, 816-694-1688. August crops: Blackberries, blueberries, peaches. Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.