Harvest Time in Brentwood has been mapping local farms since 1976, and 2026 is its 50th year. By early October, nearly all of that map is closed for the season. The farms still welcoming visitors this month are on two roads: Sellers Avenue on the east side of town and Walnut Boulevard to the south. The fruit has changed too. Cherries, peaches and strawberries are finished, and October is about pumpkins, pomegranates and a few fall crops at the farm stands.
Fifty Years In, the Status Board Mostly Says "Closed"
Harvest Time keeps a farm-status board on its website, and right now the Closed column is far longer than the Open one. More than 40 member farms are marked closed. Many say "2026" in the closing message: Bloomfield Cherries says "See you May 2027," Maggiore Cherry Ranch is "CLOSED FOR THE 2026 SEASON," and McKinney Farms thanks visitors "for an amazing 2026 season." Farmer's Daughter Produce on Marsh Creek Road says the same on its own site: "Closed for the season · See you in May!"
Two notes on the board are more than seasonal. Pease Ranch says it is "permanently closed for u-pick" and thanks its customers "for all the wonderful memories." Pomeroy Farm writes that it looks forward "to seeing you in 2027 when we will be celebrating 100 years Farming here in Brentwood."
Read the board with care. Some entries listed as open still show spring messages. Three Nunns Farm's comment, for example, still advertises cherry and strawberry U-pick starting April 25. For October plans, each farm's own website is the more current source. That matters most at G&S Farms on Sellers Avenue. In past years its October season meant off-the-vine pumpkins, a corn maze and pumpkin catapults, but its homepage currently lists Pumpkin U-Pick as "Closed."
Harvest Time is celebrating its anniversary by promoting the farms that remain. The Press reported plans for 50 short social videos about local produce and farming families, coloring pages with a list of farms on the back for local restaurants, and a new anniversary magazine with farm stories and an updated trail map, to be handed out at farm stands. Harvest Time's Enos looked back to where it started:
"We owe a lot to those 10 original farm stands. They showed that this is a viable business and the community responded."
Sellers Avenue: Smith Family Farm Sets the Pace
Smith Family Farm, at 4350 Sellers Ave., has the busiest October on the east side. Its Pumpkin Harvest runs daily from September 26 through November 1, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the farm calls it "Brentwood's favorite pumpkin patch for 40 years." Admission includes live entertainment, animal encounters, a children's corn maze, the gardens, and one pumpkin per person from the patch. The season opened September 26 with the farm's 2026 Tomato Day. October is the only month the barnyard and pumpkin patch are open for activities. The fruit stand opens daily from June through the end of November.
You can visit the fruit stand without going into the patch. It's open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 30 minutes before and after Pumpkin Harvest hours. The current list includes pomegranates, apples, fall squash, Brentwood corn, tomatoes, Bartlett pears, honey, sweet potatoes and Espelette pepper ristras. Decorative pumpkins are marked "coming soon."
Farther north on the same road, Harvest Time's board lists Nunn Better Farms at 2777 Sellers Ave. as open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Its 5500 Balfour Road location is listed as closed. The board doesn't say what the Sellers stand has this month, so call ahead before making it a destination.
Walnut Boulevard: Three Nunns and Urban Edge
On the south side of town, Three Nunns Farm at 550 Walnut Blvd. runs its 2026 Fall Festival every day from September 24 through November 1. The farm's poster gives hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with last entry at 7. A September 22 write-up in 510 Families listed shorter hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through October 31. If you're planning a late-afternoon or evening visit, check the farm's own posting first.
The same write-up describes a $15 entry that includes a tractor ride through the orchards, two corn mazes, a hay fort, playhouses and a 5-pound pumpkin credit. Rides and the melon cannon are $4 per ticket, pumpkins are 75 cents a pound, and a season pass is $30. You don't need to pay admission to buy produce at the farm shop. The farm's 2026 maze graphics describe a 3-acre beginner maze and a 6-acre Big Maze that doubles as a Night Maze. The visitor notes include practical tips. There's little shade, closed-toe shoes are a good idea on the dirt rows, only bottled water is sold, and dogs aren't allowed.
Urban Edge Farm, listed by Harvest Time at 2017 Walnut Blvd., is a quieter stop. The status board lists the Farm Store as open Monday through Saturday 8:30 to 5 and Sundays and holidays 9 to 4, with U-pick flowers daily. The farm's own U-pick page gives the street as Walnut Ave., so match your map pin to the farm's directions.
Here are the four October stops side by side:
| Farm | Address | What's on in October | Hours listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Family Farm | 4350 Sellers Ave. | Pumpkin Harvest, fruit stand, weekend pomegranate U-pick | Patch 9–5 daily; stand 8:30–5:30 daily |
| Nunn Better Farms | 2777 Sellers Ave. | Listed open; call for current offerings | 9–7 |
| Three Nunns Farm | 550 Walnut Blvd. | Fall Festival, two corn mazes, farm stand | 9–8, last entry 7, per farm poster |
| Urban Edge Farm | 2017 Walnut Blvd. | Pomegranate U-pick, persimmons, U-pick flowers | Farm Store Mon–Sat 8:30–5, Sun 9–4 |
Pomegranates Are October's U-Pick Fruit
With the summer stone fruit finished, pomegranates are the one fruit you can pick yourself at more than one Brentwood farm this month. Smith Family Farm opens its U-pick pomegranate orchard on October weekends only, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Urban Edge's pomegranate U-pick runs September through October, and the farm also lists persimmons as a fall crop. Three Nunns carries pomegranates at its farm stand next to the pumpkins and tomatoes.
This window is short. At Smith Family Farm, the weekend U-pick hours match the Saturday and Sunday banner on its homepage, "Fall U-Pick OPEN SAT & SUN 10:00am-4:00pm." That leaves five October weekends, counting this one, and the last falls on October 31 and November 1.
Saturday, October 10, Has a Full Day Planned
Next Saturday has events at both ends of town.
- Morning at the Brentwood Farmers Market. It runs every Saturday, rain or shine, at 655 First St., from 7:30 a.m. to noon.
- Antique Tractor Weekend at Smith Family Farm, October 10 and 11. The local Antique Tractor Club parks its tractors, trucks and engines in front of the Pumpkin Harvest entrance all day Saturday and until at least 2 p.m. Sunday, with parades around noon both days. The display costs nothing extra and needs no RSVP. The $17 weekend admission covers all Pumpkin Harvest activities and one pumpkin of any size, color or shape.
- Oktoberfest downtown, 1 to 7 p.m. This is the Downtown Brentwood Coalition's 16th annual festival, and the organizers expect 8,000 to 14,000 attendees and more than 200 volunteers. The Kids Zone is on Oak Street near 2nd, and the food court is on Oak Street near 3rd.
The Oktoberfest stage schedule is posted. Duo Soie Aerialists perform on silks left of the Main Stage at 1:15 and 4:15. Alpine Sound, a German music band from Silicon Valley, plays polkas and waltzes from 1:30 to 3:30. Funk Shui closes the day from 4:30 to 7. The festival also has a Biergarten and Wine Garden, beer stein games, the Makers Blvd artisan market, and a dachshund costume contest. New this year is a real-time event guide in the Ventri app listing vendors, food, entertainment and updates during the day.
If you'd rather stay closer to the farms, St. Anne's Women's Fellowship holds its second annual Whiskey, Wine & Family BBQ that same afternoon, 1 to 5 p.m., at De Luna Ranch, 7540 Balfour Road.
After November 1, the Year-Round Stops
Both pumpkin seasons end November 1. After that, a smaller group of Harvest Time members stays open on regular weekly hours.
- Gursky Ranch Country Store, 1921 Apricot Way, open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with local honey, nuts and dried fruit.
- Spinola Farm & Co., which says it is "Celebrating 52 years," with store hours of 10 to 5 Monday through Saturday and 11 to 5 Sunday.
- McCauley Olive Groves, open weekdays 10 to 6, Saturday 9:30 to 5:30 and Sunday 10 to 4.
- Brentwood's Co. Co. County Wine Company, with local wines and live music Wednesday through Saturday.
The farmers market on First Street switches to fall and winter hours in November, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Smith Family Farm's barnyard and country store reopen for the holidays with fresh-cut Christmas trees and handmade wreaths, and the farm lists opening day as TBA.
Brentwood's farms are part of what makes everyday life here different from the rest of Contra Costa County. If you're hosting family this fall, or you're thinking about how a home near Brentwood's farm country fits your next chapter, Heidi Kugl would be glad to share what she knows about this part of the county. Schedule a Consultation whenever the timing feels right.
