The humble yet glorious sunflower holds the everlasting power to bring smiles and photoshoots. While many people associate sunflowers with summertime, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, fall reigns supreme for sunflowers.
The first You Pick Sunflower Field in California began as a way to entice all the early fall decorators to the pumpkin patch while the pumpkins were still curing on the vines. As the pumpkin spiced lates started coming earlier and earlier, it was tricky to keep up with customer demand for fall decor before mid-late September, and a bag of black oil bird seed became a waving field of golden flowers which began a loyal following of #fallvibes onlookers just thrilled to take pictures in the field- bonus to get to cut flowers too!
In the first year, there was no entrance fee, it cost $1/flower to go into the acres of sunflowers and harvest your own; but soon the family was picking up dirty diapers out of the sunflowers in the evenings, working extra hours, and noticing most folks would come in large groups and leave with one flower. A group of ten people walking through a field of sunflowers causes huge damage- as it's quite hard to walk through a forrest of tall flowers with spiky stems growing close together- and in the process of taking photos, hundreds of flowers were being damaged.
In the years following the family gained a rhythm, and now you can book reservations at the farm to spend an hour in the flowers, take photos, and more. The season of sunflowers in the San Francisco Bay Area runs from late August - November, and if you want the most abundant field of flowers, book early!
The Two You Pick Sunflower Fields in California You Can Visit This Fall 2024
800 Cabrillo Highway North
Half Moon Bay California
650-720-0428
You Pick Sunflower Field Opens September 1, 2024
4751 Pacheco Highway
Hollister, CA 95023
831-637-4704
Sunflower Field Opening Fall 2024 TBA
How to Select & Harvest Your Sunflowers
Be sure to wear gloves when working with sunflowers as the stems have little hairs which irritate the skin (think soft cactus). Bring a bucket of water to the field to put your fresh flowers in directly and carry home safely.
Choose sunflowers that are just beginning to unfurl as seen in the image to the left for the longest vase life and the joy of watching them open. If you want some that have already opened, check the petals to be sure there isn't any brown edges, and check the center of the flower- if it's covered in tiny flowers- its on the older side.
Frankly, my favorite version of sunflowers is the spent head of the flower, after the petals have died off, I wipe off the little flowers in the center to reveal the fully seeded head of the sunflower. These make for amazing dried arrangements and fall into winter decor.
If you are at a You Pick Field, be sure you cut the stem as close to the ground as possible after you trim the stem to your desired length. Unless otherwise directed, best practice is to drop the stems below the flowers- chop and drop. Leave your spare stems and leaves in the field where the soil can take it back into the field again.
Note that not all fields are the same, and many sunflower fields are NOT open to the public. Don't be that person who stumbles into a working field, and into any field without a paid ticket or permission. Many folks are depending on the product they intend to produce and are not interested in allowing their working fields to be a photo backdrop for your photos. Remember to be respectful, even if there isn't a clear fence.
Other Northern California You Pick Flower & Food Experiences
27850 County Road 26
Winters, CA 95694
530.669.3692
Pick Your Own Bouquet | Dried Floral Experience | Restaurant | Event Venue
Open August - December 2024
12331 San Mateo Road
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650-726-6414
Flowers | Pumpkins | Christmas Trees | Florist
Open Year Round
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With Love & Dirt,
Dawn
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