See how summer berry lovers are picking their own at this KC-area farm
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gieringer's Family Farm offers seasonal u-pick fruits and flowers in Kansas.
- Visitors pay a $3.50 access fee, with produce priced per pound after picking.
- Blackberries, ripe in July, are grown thornless on trellises for easy harvesting.
The first day of summer is here, and it’s bringing the irresistible, sun-kissed taste of fresh blueberries and blackberries. For countless families, summer simply isn’t complete without a trip to a local u-pick farm where people can fill their buckets with these tasty treats.
In 2014, Frank and Melanie Gieringer purchased a “tired, rundown cattle farm” in Edgerton, Kansas, and transformed it into Gieringer’s Family Farm, a U-pick Orchard & Berry Farm, and now a premier agritourism destination. This popular Johnson County spot offers a continuous u-pick season, beginning with strawberries [already finished] and extending through Halloween with pumpkins.
Visitors can enjoy picking a variety of crops, including blueberries, blackberries, snap peas and apples. Beyond the fields, the Farm Market provides ice cream, doughnuts, pies, and fresh produce like watermelons, tomatoes, and sweet corn.
Visitors pay a field access fee of $3.50, which includes a tractor ride to the picking fields. All picked produce is charged by the pound, and the farm provides picking containers. For a comfortable experience, Gieringer recommends footwear appropriate for a farm that can handle damp conditions, though heavy mud is rare due to grassy rows.
Right now, Gieringer’s is brimming with ripening blackberries, a true highlight of the farm. These beauties are grown on thornless primocane plants, trellised to make picking a breeze at waist to head height. Plus, they’re known for their impressive, large size—perfect for a sweet, juicy bite, or for that delicious blackberry cobbler.
On a trip to the blackberry patch on Wednesday, Frank Gieringer provided some tips for picking the sweetest blackberries. “Pick them when they are solid black with no red spots,” he said. “They should come off the plant easily when ripe,” he added. The blackberry season is expected to last at least four weeks, extending almost to the first of August this year.
Under a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds, J Ryan Trembley, a horticulturist at Lawrence Parks and Recreation, picked the plump, ripe blackberries. “I think they say this box holds about 10 pounds, so that’s my goal,” said Trembley. “Most of them are going to be eaten straight up, we might freeze some, or make some blueberry and blackberry pancakes.” Trembley visited the farm with his wife and their infant daughter.
Families with kids in tow, can be found picking the farm’s blueberries, which are coming on in abundance.
In addition to berries, the farm offers u-pick flowers like zinnias and tall, colorful snapdragons, where visitors can fill a small vase-sized plastic bag with as many flowers as they like for $6. After picking two-pounds of blueberries and nine pounds of blackberries, some for her grandson’s second birthday, Amy Kirchner of Shawnee, treated herself to a bouquet of flowers that she selected and cut herself. “I’ve never done this before,” Kirchner said of cutting her own flowers. “It was super fun.”
The farm, which spans about 120 acres, provides a family-friendly environment with activities like tractor rides and a play area for kids. Gieringer suggests visitors check their website before heading to the farm.
