Blackberry Picking

On family vacations my clever husband has always found a way to include berry picking on the itinerary. Sometimes we would eat our hard-earned berries at the farm and the rest later on a picnic. One year, this same husband was positively brilliant and figured out a way to bring them back from Canada to Israel.

After we loaded our buckets with a few kilos worth of assorted black and red berries, he then bought pectin, sugar and some jars. You guessed it - back in our kitchenette, we made fruit jam and returned to Israel with half a dozen jars of multi-hued berry jam.

These day Israelis do not need to travel half way around the world for this particular treat. The berry season in Israel begins in mid-May at the Zak Family Farm on Moshav Sde Yaakov, continues at the Landau Farm at Moshav Ben-Ami near Nahariyya, and ends in the Golan Heights at Kibbutz El-Rom and Bustan HaGolan in mid-September.

Western Galilee

Zak Family Farm

The brainchild of 3rd generation moshavnik, Nadav Zak, the Zak self-picking berry farm has 7 varieties of blackberries -- including 2 thornless varieties -- and raspberries. Berry names are posted in the rows and you can compare tastes as you fill your bucket.

Location: Moshav Sde Yaakov, 20 minutes southeast of Haifa on Route 722.

Open in the afternoons from Sunday thru Friday. Closed on Shabbat (Saturday) and Jewish holidays.

Tel: 04-983-2539; 050-297747.

Moshav Ben-Ami

At the Landau Farm on Moshav Ben-Ami the berry picking season is from the end of May until the end of July. Pick organically-grown pitango blackberries, raspberries, and mulberries. Landau, an expert and grower of exotic fruits, also offers exotic fruit picking for the pick-it-youself crowd.

Open all day Friday and Saturday.

Mid-week, by advance reservation only.

Landau Farm on Moshav Ben-Ami west of Nahariyya on Route 89. Further north, berry season takes place from mid-June through mid-September.

blueberry picking in israel

Golan Heights

Kibbutz El-Rom

Kibbutz El-Rom offers blackberries, raspberries and blueberries for picking, and a winemaking workshop.

Wine-making workshop: From mid-August, make your own wine in a one-day session that is held daily until mid-September.

Families begin by picking grapes and then stomping on them in the old-fashioned way. At the end of the workshop, you take home a 3-liter jug of wine, according to Avi Gavish, program coordinator. Part of the winemaking package is a country-style meal of labane (thick yogurt), pita and olives.

When you need to cool down, see a short film about another El-Rom industry, the business of subtitling films. The air conditioned theater and coffee shop are the perfect end to a day in the fields.

Location: Kibbutz El-Rom, Route 98 in the Golan Heights.

Tel: 06-698-1294.

Kibbutz Ein Zivan

Bustan HaGolan

In addition to blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, Bustan HaGolan also offers cherries. From KJune through September, pears, apricots, nectarines, peaches and apples are part of the self-picking menu. Also on the site are picnic grounds and a petting zoo with alpacas and llamas. Entrance fee. All you can eat on premises. Produce is weighed for take-away.

Open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM. Until 4 PM on Friday and Saturday.

Bustan HaGolan in Kibbutz Ein Zivan, Route 98 in the Golan Heights.

Be sure to visit Ein Zivan's chocolate factory - with handmade Belgian chocolates to taste and buy.