The Largest Pick Your Own Cherry Orchard in New England!
Cherry picking season runs from the end of June through early July but can move by as much as 2 weeks either direction. To be sure you never miss our pick your own cherries, or any fruit season, be sure to sign up for our What’s Picking Email Alerts.
Our PYO Cherry Season
Cherry picking season in central MA is for a short time, sometimes only lasting a week, late June to early July. It’s a fleeting season of unbelievable cherry-goodness! Pick your own cherry season is the season most people miss cause it is so short, so be sure you sign up for our email Picking Alerts!
Cherry Varieties at Tougas
We grow over 20 varieties of Sweet Dark Cherries, Blush Cherries, and Tart Pie Cherries on 6 acres, the largest cherry picking orchard in New England.
Come out and enjoy a truly unique treat in our cherry orchards!
What it Takes to Grow Cherries
Cherries are the most challenging crop we grow! Winter cold, spring frosts, poor pollination weather, rain cracking, bird damage, and other challenges must be addressed in order for us to produce a cherry crop. We have learned many lessons the hard way! All our cherry orchards are protected with bird netting and rain covers which allow us to properly ripen our fruit.
Cherry Delights from our Farm Store & Kitchen Menu
🍒 PYO Cherry Experience
Where to go: Find parking in our large, easy and free lot. Our cherry fields are entered from our East Entrance – look for our signs directing you to the correct entrance.
How to Pay: At our Field Entrance you will purchase your PYO Field Admission. We accept cash, MC, Visa, Amex and SNAP cards.
Getting into the Field: Enjoy a walk in our beautiful grounds or take a wagon ride to the picking area. Occasionally picking fields are only accessible by foot but if you require a ride, please ask and we will do our very best to accommodate
Timing: Cherry picking takes, on average 45 minutes, depending on the age of pickers and how much fruit you are looking to pick. A perfect amount of time to pick some fresh-from-the-field fruit and then grab an ice cream and visit the animals.
- Wear closed-toed shoes
- Wear sunscreen
- Sunglasses and/or a hat
- Bring or Purchase water
Q. Why do you direct me to a specific section of the field?
A. Our goal is always to provide the best berries possible! One way to accomplish this goal is to have people pick out rows, one by one. That way the next person always has an abundance of berries to pick.
Q. Why do I have to ask an Harvest Guide if I want to move rows?
A. Our Harvest Guides are responsible for getting the entire field picked and keep track of what still needs to be picked. By asking where to go you enable our Guides to keep track of where needs to be picked and what is now finished for the day.
Sweet cherries are best for fresh eating, while tart cherries are great for processing – pies, juice, jams
9. Cherries are extremely healthy for you, but too much of a good thing has its side effects! Don’t OVER EAT in the cherries, it can cause upset stomach.
How to Pick Cherries
1. Start at the top of the trees. Cherries ripen from the top of the tree down, the ripest cherries are at the top.
2. The first cherries to ripen are the largest cherries.
3. Look for the darkest burgundy color for ripest fruit (see color chart) for dark sweets, blush cherries should be 50% or more red with yellow/orange background. Take off the sunglasses to see the cherries real color.
5. Pick cherries by lifting the stem UP -like turning ON a light switch – until it gently releases from the branch. Do not pull the stem or clusters of fruit off the tree, it will damage the buds for next year’s crop.
Whether you want to pick your own or visit our store for Farm-Picked berries, we are sure you will love our fresh, ripe, juicy cherries that drip down your chin and stain your hands red with their delicious goodness.
The Sweet & Tart Cherry Varieties Grown at Tougas Family Farm!
Rainier Cherries
A very popular cherry variety for both its taste and beauty! These large cherries boast an amazing yellow and red blush skin with very firm, sweet flesh. Outstanding flavor! A cross of the Bing and Van varieties. Excellent for baking, canning, freezing and eating out of hand. Stores well.
Summit Cherry
Extra-large sweet cherries - exceptionally large cherries are a whopping 1 1/4" in diameter! With small pits you can enjoy more sweet cherry goodness. The fruit of the Summit sweet cherry is one to remember.
Hartland Cherries
Rated among the most flavorful cherry varieties, the Hartland Cherry is a large, attractive dark red cherry with a sweet and memorable taste! This cherry boasts some highest levels of antioxidants of any sweet cherry tree.
Benton Cherry
A sweet cherry with firm, dense, garnet flesh and mahogany skin color. the Benton Cherry boasts some of the purest sweet cherry flavor.
Blackpearl® Cherries
The Blackpearl® cherry has a very dark red, almost black skin surrounding a juicy, deep red and sweet flesh. A superior eating cherry is the earliest to ripening from the Pearl series created at Andre Tougas's alma mater, Cornell University.
Montmorency Cherries
A old French tart cherry variety the Montmorency Cherry is the go-to cherry for making preserves and pies. With just the right amount of tart and a little sweetness, Montmorency Cherries are perfect for snacking, pies, jams and making dried cherries.
Lapins Cherry
Lapins cherry was developed to surpass all other dark sweet cherries! Now it is the most popular sweet cherry variety in the world! With its deliciously sweet flavor and berries up to an inch in diameter, the Lapins Cherry is an excellent choice for its incredible flavor and versatility!
Whitegold Cherries
The Whitegold cherry variety has beautiful orange skin and flesh. It's striking on the tree and yummy to eat! They are delicious to eat fresh and also good for baking, dried, or preserved in jams.
Sandra Rose™ Cherry
Highly regarded for flavor, Sandra Rose™ is a very large, dark red, slightly squat berry with an enjoyable sweet flavor. A moderately firm texture and great mouth feel, the Sandra Rose™ Cherry has been touted as having excellent sweet flavor.
Hudson Cherries
Coming in at the end of the cherry picking season is the Hudson Cherry. With its very firm and red, sweet dark flesh, Hudson cherries is the finishing touch to sweet cherry season.
Balaton Cherry
Balaton cherries are an excellent alternative to Morello cherries. Very popular in traditional Eastern European cooking, the Balaton is large in size and has a dark burgundy skin and flesh, with a tart-sweet flavor, making them popular with gourmet chefs.
Attika Cherries
Attika cherries are oblong, heart-shaped dark cherries with a strong, sweet flavor. Coming to the U.S. from the Czech Republic, it is a favorite for sweet cherries that are hardy for storage.
Emperor Francis Cherry
The Emperor Francis Cherry is one of the most popular sweet cherries across the country. The Emperor Francis cherry is perfect for jams or making homemade maraschinos. That said, picking and eating is as yummy and addictive as candy.
Royalton™ Cherry
The biggest sweet cherry and some argue the best tasting! Huge 1¼" dark purple-red mouthwatering sweet cherries. Another great variety from Andre's alma mater, Cornell University.
Jubelium™ Cherries
Starting the tart cherry season, the Jubelium™ Cherry comes in with a tart / sweet flavor that makes it very popular. Although still a tart cherry, the Jubelium™ has a bit more sweet, making it easy to snack on or make juice and jams.
Burgundy Pearl™ Cherries
Burgundy Pearl® ripens mid cherry season and boasts a firm texture with a crunch. One of the sweet cherry varieties, Burgundy Pearl has a mild sweet flavor. Another cherry variety introduced by Cornell University.
Stardust™ Cherry
A white-fleshed cherry or "blush" cherry, the Stardust™ is rarely available in supermarkets due to their delicate nature. They have firm creamy-white flesh and sweet, excellent flavor.
Regina™ Cherry
The Regina™ Cherry is considered sweet-tart when picked red and deliciously sweet if picked at a deep purple, when they are considered fully ripe. The Regina™ cherry has a bold cherry-flavor with a nice balance of sweet and tart.
Blackgold® Cherry
Beautiful, glossy and sweet, the Blackgold® Cherry is a deep red, sweet heart-shaped fruit that is sweet and juicy. A favorite to snack on.
Sam Cherry
With a dark red, almost black fruit the Sam is a sweet cherry with excellent flavor. A tasty and juicy snack straight off the tree.
Ebony Pearl® Cherry
The Ebony Pearl Cherry® is an exceptionally large, beautiful sweet cherry. With its dark-skinned and deep-red flesh the Ebony Pearl® is medium-firm with slight crunch and a pronounced cherry flavor. Yum!