Fruits of Summer : Berries, peaches, plums and apricots will soon be ripe for the picking.

Anticipating summertime in Ventura County can evoke thoughts of simple pleasures--a frolic on the beach, a concert in the park or a back-yard barbecue, just to name a few. For some, that list would include biting down on a juicy, tree-ripened peach or cutting into a fresh boysenberry pie.

Well, get ready, summer fruit lovers, a tasty bounty of assorted local fruit will be available soon. And with this year’s record rainfall, the harvest should be spectacular. Even so, the season lasts but a few short months, and so do the fruits of summer. Then they are gone again for another year.

Some of the best spots to purchase summer fruit are the small granges--even back yards--where produce is sold only when it is at the peak of ripeness.

Independent growers will be offering an assortment of summer sweets this year, including peaches, plums, apricots, berries and more.

The first available goodies are bramble berries, a family of berries that includes blackberries, boysenberries and raspberries. These sugary morsels are grown aplenty in Ventura County, and enthusiasts have their choice of a number of spots to do the picking themselves.

Tierra Rejada Ranch in Moorpark, which has been closed since December, reopened for business this week. Each new harvest season, proprietor Rick Brecunier offers the fruit of his olalliberry bushes.

“It looks like there’s a big crop this year,” Brecunier said. The olalliberry is a cross between a youngberry and a loganberry, he said. The long, snaking stems--called canes--have tiny spikes, so a bit of precaution is in order. “They have thorns, but we lift the stems onto trellises so you don’t get stuck too bad. The berries are easier to pick that way,” he said.

Brecunier’s berries will be the ranch’s main focus until the end of June when peaches come to fruition. Also, watch for sweet corn about that time and a large assortment of you-pick-’em veggies throughout the remainder of the year.

Tierra Rejada Ranch, 3370 Moorpark Road, Moorpark. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily (through December). Call 529-3690.

According to Asa Allen, the Texas blackberries that grow at his Organic Berry Farm outside of Ventura “are the largest blackberries you’ve probably ever seen. At least that’s what our customers always tell us.”

You will have to wait a couple more weeks to find out for yourself. “They’ll be ready by about June 10 or 15,” Allen said.

Most of the berries are pre-picked for customers, he said, but for those who have their hearts set on a hands-on experience, they will honor your request.

“They’ll eat a basket’s worth at the same time they’re filling a basket,” Allen said, chuckling. “We call them ‘Happy Pickers’. You’ve heard of the ‘Happy Motorcycle Rider’? When he smiles you can count the bugs on his teeth. With the ‘Happy Picker’ you can count the seeds.”

Once the picking season starts, Allen said, they will have berries for about six to eight weeks. After that, watch for four varieties of plums, including the Santa Rosa and Italian prune types.

The Organic Berry Farm, 5208 Casitas Pass Road (California 150), between Ventura and Ojai). Open noon to early evening on Sundays. (Also available at Ventura’s Saturday Farmers’ Market.)

Ojai’s Ken Shelton invites you to mosey through his large back yard and choose from an impressive selection of bramble berries. Every summer the you-pickers fill their baskets with boysenberries, loganberries, blackberries and more. With 30% more berries than in years past, this season’s berry picking is shaping up to be his best ever, Shelton said. “All the berries come on around the first of June and will ripen over a one-month period.”

Shelton’s berries are at 1077 El Centro St., Ojai. Call 646-8346.

Near Los Padres National Forest, Dorothy Holmes offers tree-ripened peaches to a devout following. “They come from all around the county,” she says. This year will be no different, she expects. “This should be an excellent season for fruit. We had about 32 inches of rain. The trees haven’t had that kind of a watering in years.”

Holmes anticipates that her Tejon variety will be ripe for picking in early to mid-June. Following soon after and carrying through July are the Elberta, Bonita and Rio Oso Gem types. “I’ll also have some apricots in June and figs in July,” she said.

Holmes’ stand is at 16350 Maricopa Highway. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Call 646-1231.

A hailstorm knocked a substantial number of apricots off the trees at K.B. Hall Ranch earlier this year.

“We’ll have a smaller crop this season, but the fruit that remained will be high quality,” proprietor K.B. (Pete) Hall said.

Hall’s ranch outside Santa Paula will open for business about the middle of June and will offer apricots through July. “The Royal is good for everything,” he said. “It’s best eaten fresh, but they’re excellent for drying and canning as well.” Most apricots will be pre-picked.

K.B. Hall Ranch stand, 11999 Santa Paula-Ojai Road, halfway between Santa Paula and Ojai. Hours: early mornings to early evenings, daily.

More options:

O’Leary Apricot Ranch stand in Santa Paula is scheduled to open at the end of June. Sales at 6780 Wheeler Canyon Road, Santa Paula. Call 525-6358.

Old Creek Ranch & Winery will begin offering you-pick-’em plums (Satsuma and Santa Rosa types) near the end of June. You can also find several varieties of apples (starting the end of July) and pears ripening mid-August.

Sales at 10024 Old Creek Road, Oak View. Call 649-4132.

Spring Valley Farm in Somis will begin offering Santa Rosa plums in early June and follow with the Satsuma variety in July.

Sales at 4303 Sand Canyon Road, Somis. Call 987-3814.