U-pick Blueberries, Peaches 2013

Maybe this should be in gardening and foraging, I don't know. If so, sorry.

Any suggestions on Berrien Conty MI or Michigan City IN or otherwise similarly close-to-Chicago places to pick some ripe fruits? Prefer a recommendation from here to a generic website, thought trip advisor has some ratings it is trip advisor after all. I think this week into next is sort of prime time for both blueberries and peaches (well overlapping enough prime time).

Hi- I would like to give a plug for my sister's upick peaches. I grew up on a farm right outside Coloma, Michigan, which is at exit 39 on I-94. Our fruit stand, which we call Fruit Acres is right off the Coloma exit. My sister does not raise blueberries, but about half of her farm is peaches. She only has upick on weekends, but her fruit stand is open seven days a week. Her upick peaches are located South of the fruit stand on Friday Road. Yes, I used to have a lot of relatives living on Friday Road. Everything is late this year, and especially with the cold weather we have been having lately. She will definitely have upick peaches this weekend, and she might have red haven, which is the #1 variety in the area. They are very good for canning. They come off the pit when they are ripe. It only got up to 74 today though, and so if you want to pick red haven, I would suggest calling her before you get in the car. By next weekend she should have lots of red haven to pick. She is also a peach breeder, and she has some wonderful peaches for canning and eating such as allstar and blushing star, Blushing star is a white fleshed peach. A lot of the farmers that sell at the various farmers markets around here raise some of the varieties that she has bred. I just bought some brightstar peaches this last Saturday.

Our upick peaches are right down the road from Contessa winery and a homemade fudge shop. Her upick field is also right next door to Chocolate Gardens, which is a chocolate truffle place. Tina's truffles are to die for. The wine is not bad either. I have not tried the fudge.

If you go on my sister's website, she has some recommendations for places to pick blueberries, and she also has a link to a list of upick places in Michigan. Here is the link to her website, and it also takes you to her facebook page.

http://www.fruitacresfarms.com/

Hope this helps, Nancy

I forgot to mention that this weekend the Coloma Glad Peach Festival takes place in downtown Coloma. It is always held the first weekend in August.