Harvest Time in Brentwood is a nonprofit group that goals to teach individuals about farming and promote agritourism in Brentwood.
The group dates again to the Seventies when farmers determined to do greater than promote their produce to packers. In 1976, Harvest Time Inc. was fashioned and welcomed any farm or ranch in Contra Costa County to hitch them.
It will definitely grew its membership and developed a path map, which is produced yearly. We spoke to Board President Jessica Enos about Harvest Time in Brentwood. Her responses have been edited for brevity and readability.
Q Inform us about Harvest Time in Brentwood and U-pick.
A Harvest Time was began within the late 70s and initially had 10 farm members. U-pick truly started out right here (in Brentwood) within the Forties throughout World Struggle II, when some rations got out, and a part of the rations had been sugar. The ladies didn’t need to waste the rations, in order that they (began) canning utilizing sugar, however they wanted fruit. So, they got here from Fremont to Brentwood.
That is the story (that) was advised to me. So, they found Brentwood and got here out to the farmers and purchased apricots and peaches, they usually had been in a position to purchase rather a lot, and it confirmed the farmer, “Hey, these women would rather just get the product directly from us, and they wanted to come out and pick.” In order that’s how U-pick bought began. We labored with a historian, and we came upon that we do have the oldest U-pick west of the Appalachian Mountains that’s nonetheless in operation right now. We even have probably the most U-picks inside a small radius within the nation.
Q Harvest Time in Brentwood produces an academic farm path map. What is that this path map, and the way has it helped the native farms?
A Within the late 70s, a number of farmers had U-picks they usually thought, how can we get the phrase out to get extra individuals to return and to go to our farms and to proceed having this U-pick custom? There have been 10 taking part farms, they bought collectively, they usually created the path map, a bodily map that we nonetheless produce right now. They usually (farmers) despatched that out and took it to all locations to advertise their farms.
So that very same concept carries by means of right now. We now have over 60 farm members. Now we have among the individuals who initially began Harvest Time in Brentwood — their grandchildren or nieces or nephews on our board. A part of the map has advanced from the bodily map. Now, we produce a real-time map on our web site so you possibly can see what farms are open in real-time through the U-pick season. We’ve created a means for the members (to replace) from their telephones to point in the event that they’re open or closed, what their occasions are, what produce they’ve, and so on.
Q After the pandemic, have you ever seen a rise in U-pick farms?
A We’ve had an enormous development spurt in taking part farms. The great factor a few U-pick farm is you don’t must be a big operation. You may have 10 acres and have a U-pick on it. Now we have had an enormous enhance in members. We began a fall season (U-pick), which we didn’t beforehand have right here.
Harvest Time partnered with another farmers, together with the town of Brentwood, and we introduced pumpkins (patches through the) fall season, which was implausible. Now we have a number of pumpkin patches now. I believe when you see a confirmed enterprise mannequin, it offers different individuals permission to form of take the leap of hope. We had by no means had mulberries right here earlier than, so we’ve added mulberries.
If you wish to have a look at the pandemic, U-pick was form of the right pandemic exercise. The spacing for a correct cherry tree (for instance) is 6 ft, and it’s open air. I believe inside the meals or dietary motion, there’s been quite a lot of dialog about realizing the place your meals comes from. Individuals are taking a look at wholesome choices.
The opposite factor that we’re seeing is much more individuals coming. We’ve all the time had households that come out (right here), however we’re beginning to see much more individuals of their 20s which might be coming. They’re coming from San Francisco for a day journey with their mates, take all of the Instagram photos, they usually’re choosing and shopping for for his or her mother and father. That’s one thing that we’ve seen during the last 5 years.
Q How does Harvest Time assist join native farms and the neighborhood?
A When Harvest Time initially began, it was one farmer who didn’t have the advertising finances to print a map, however 10 farmers did. It’s the very same precept. Over 60 members have the flexibility to achieve much more individuals than one farming member does. We work as a neighborhood, which is nice.
Plenty of our outreach is by way of social media and our on-line presence, and we’ve individuals who come right here for generations. A lot of the U-picks rent native youth, so it’s form of just a little little bit of a ceremony of passage. The U-pick season is normally from April, and it runs by means of fall.
Total, for agritourism, we guesstimate that we herald roughly 200,000 individuals into the realm between April to November. Being declared the U-pick capital in 2023 was an enormous deal. Now we have nice parks and eating places you possibly can go to afterward. What can also be distinctive about U-pick is there are every kind of produce that won’t ship nicely, for instance, rainier cherries. They’re very candy and, normally, bruise very simply. So, while you get them within the retailer there, they may not look that nice.
Q How does Harvest Time assist educate youngsters about agriculture?
A A part of how we ended up with a fall season was just a few of us on the board had younger children and some of us had been getting notifications (for) discipline journeys to farms outdoors of Brentwood. And we thought, why outdoors? We’re within the enterprise of farming, in order that’s how we began the autumn program. A lot of our farms will host totally different faculties for discipline journeys the place they’ll talk about farming and farming practices and issues like that. All it’s a must to do is electronic mail them.
Jessica Enos Bio
Age: 44
Place: Harvest Time in Brentwood Board President,
Training: Enterprise diploma with an emphasis in advertising from College of the Pacific
Residence: Brentwood
Hometown: Brentwood
Household: Husband and three children
5 issues about Jessica Enos:
1. I volunteer because the board president of Harvest Time in Brentwood. I joined the board in 2018 and was voted in as president in 2021.
2. My profession has all the time been within the constructing and actual property sector, I’m the dealer and CEO of Enos Firm, an actual property brokerage specializing in residential and land transactions.
3. I additionally work at and marketplace for our household cherry U-pick stands — 5 Star Cherries and Enos Household Orchards.
4. Most of our household orchards had been planted in the identical 12 months because the beginning of both of my youngsters or my nephews. That’s how I keep in mind the age of every orchard.
5. The Coral Champagne is my absolute favourite number of cherries.
