About 50 miles east of the Bay Area grows some of California’s finest fresh produce. Brentwood is home of Super Sweet yellow and white corn and a special local variety that is guaranteed to stay sweet up to seven days after harvest called “Brentwood Diamonds.” Royal and Blenhiem varieties of Apricots have been local favorites for over half a century. Peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, green beans, Italian beans, summer squashes and tomatoes. Ohhh the tomatoes. The next best thing to growing them yourself. The list of items is almost endless.


Fruit display at Smith Farms

There are 38 U-pick orchards and farms left in the Brentwood growing area which includes Byron, Knightsen and Oakley. The growers will give you a bucket and tell you where the best fruit is. It’s up to you to pick it. Although they all have little stands where you can buy their fresh produce already harvested, most of the fun is in doing it yourself. What a great way to teach our children that fruit and vegetables natural habitat is not on supermarket shelves.
After picking nectarines at Camancilla Ranch, my family and I ended up at one of my long time favorites, Smith Family Farms run By Janis, Bill, Shirly and Ken Smith all brothers and sisters. Located on Sellers Road in Knightsen Smith’s farm has a selection of produce that many Bay Area establishments anticipate all year long. Restaurants like Left bank, Lark Creek and Momo’s to name a few buy as many heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes as they can get from the Smith’s. Other items you’ll find at the farm are fifteen varieties of hot & sweet peppers, cucumbers, squash, Blue Lake, Romano and Wax Beans. Herbs including basil, eggplant, peaches, nectarines, apricots, white corn, cherries, onions, apples, melons including watermelons, crenshaw, cantaloupe, honeydews and the incredibly succulent Ananis melon. Through the whole month of October they have a real pumpkin patch with pumpkins that they grow themselves along with many other activities like an antique tractor show, live music, and several other activities and events.

Some of the other growers’ in the area like Dwelly Farms sells direct to the market and can be found right here in town all summer long at our local produce market.
Supporting the local growers is a worthy win-win cause. It keeps fresh local produce coming to us and it keeps the growers growing. Many folks living in the metro areas have this TV image of farmers as old gaffers with dirty overalls and piece of straw sticking out of their mouths. Ignore the fact that many of these folks have degrees in agriculture from UC Davis. Others just learned it all while growing up in it.
Life on the farm is a year round job. After October equipment is repaired, trees are pruned, and by March they are out in the fields planting again.

Today growers are starting to feel the squeeze of urban sprawl. For over 10 years Slap together stucco housing tracts have been taking up what was once prime growing land and the new residents are showing little tolerance to the farmers who were there for many generations before they were. Janice Smith described some of the difficulties “ It’s hard moving equipment and produce. A lot of people don’t have the patience when we move our tractors and equipment they get mad at us for being on the road.” She went on to say “I hate to see the farmland go, it’s some of the best farmland in the whole area right here in Brentwood. At one time there were almost 30 dairies in the area and the last one, Emerson, just closed.”

Besides a few small Bartlett Pear orchards still left in Moraga, The Brentwood growing area is the last fruit and vegetable growing area in Contra Costa County.
So enjoy it while it’s still here. We could blink and it could all be….sheetrock & stucco.

Brentwood corn field with Mt. Diablo in background

Sitting in the shade at a picnic table on Smith’s farm, with the most breathtaking view of Mt. Diablo overlooking crops, Bill Smith said to me “You can tell someone about a fresh picked tomato, but if they’ve never had one they’re never going to know.”

To find out more about Harvest Time in Brentwood log on to www.harvest4you.com
Information on the growers, their crops and hours of operation along with a map and a “Tips and Information” page that comes in real handy before going to a U-pick farm.

More info on Urban Sprawl:

T & D Willey Farms
American Farmland Trust
Greenbelt Alliance
Western Farm Press