Pick of the Crop : Bring a box to fill with cherries, peaches, pears at a serve-yourself orchard.

The “U-Pick ‘Em” signs crop up along area roadsides in early June and stay well into the fall, pointing to a vast and sweet selection of tree fruit, from fresh cherries or peaches to the more exotic persimmons or Asian pears.

Friendly orchard owners spin stories while providing free advice on what to do with your harvest, and the small-town atmosphere extends to fellow pickers, too. It’s amazing what you can find out about people while waiting for them to finish using the ladder.

Picking your own requires forethought. When you decide what fruit you want, call the farm to verify that the fruit is still on the trees, pack a picnic and get going early in the morning, before the sun gets too hot. And bring containers--low, flat boxes are best--because most places do not provide them. If fruit is layered thinly in a box, chances are it won’t get crushed. If bags are used or boxes are overfilled, the weight of the top fruit will crush the juice out of the fruit below.

According to pick-your-own principles, you select and pay for only what you take home. You get to sample a lot in the orchard. Of course, it’s just for research. How else could you make certain you were selecting the sweetest fruit?

Cherries

Cherries are ripe starting early this month and can be picked in four areas--near Gorman, Pine Canyon, Leona Valley and Valyermo.

PJK Cherry Farm near Gorman is one of the easiest orchards to reach. Paul Kish says his cherries are crunchy and stay fresh for a long time. You’ll find many varieties besides Bings, and his prices are at least half those in the supermarket, probably around $1 per pound. His 1,400-tree orchard (not all devoted to cherries) in a small valley is bordered by the Golden State Freeway on one side and rolling hills on the other. Once you’ve picked your fill, you can hike or fish at nearby Quail Lake.

Getting there: Go north on the Golden State Freeway, take the Quail Lake Road exit. Turn right, go under the bridge, then turn right again at Copco Drive, which runs parallel to the freeway. At the end of the public road continue a little farther to the entrance, and head toward the big barn. Call (818) 337-6498.

Pine Canyon Cherry Farm, about halfway between Gorman and Leona Valley, is another easy-to-reach destination, with delicious cherries and a 200-foot-tall pine tree at the orchard’s entrance. Ruth Lewis, son Larry and daughter-in-law Linda run the operation. The Lewises provide ladders and buckets and advise pickers to wear sensible clothes.

Customers are asked not to wear high heels or to climb the trees to try to get the cherries at the top. “Cherry trees don’t have bark, like other trees do. They have skin. If you break the skin, the tree becomes susceptible to infection,” Ruth Lewis says. Besides, her organic farming plan includes leaving some cherries behind for the birds. The cherries from her 1,100 trees are priced to be competitive with nearby Leona Valley, at about 80 cents per pound. Once you’re done picking, have fun at one of the three nearby lakes.

Getting there: Take the Golden State Freeway north, exit just before Castaic Lake at Lake Hughes Road, and turn right. For the next 22 miles, you will see wonderful scenery, lakes, trees and even a few waterfalls, if the weather is on your side. Lake Hughes Road dead-ends at Lake Elizabeth Road. Turn left: Pine Canyon Cherry Ranch is just around the corner on the right. Call (805) 724-1135.

Leona Valley is a rich destination if you’re looking for cherries. It boasts 15 active pick-your-own orchards. The intersection of Elizabeth Lake Road and 90th Street is the heart of Leona Valley. Pick up a map at the general store here or just follow the signs to find orchards. Cherry season is a big event here--a parade Saturday inaugurates the season. Prices average $1 per pound. The growers supply ladders and picking buckets.

Some growers, like Big John’s Cherries, go out of their way to make their orchards distinctive. John Mayfield travels to El Centro just before cherry season to buy several truckloads of watermelons to sell at his orchard. When someone asks how to tell which watermelon is sweet, he hacks one open with his machete and serves free slices to everyone present. Mayfield’s nearly 300 trees bear 10 different kinds of cherries, so you can pick several varieties. Another treat at Mayfield’s is the cherry/wildflower honey he extracts from his 200 hives. Call (805) 270-1735.

Getting there: Take the Golden State Freeway north to the Antelope Valley Freeway. Go east on the Antelope Valley Freeway to the Palmdale Boulevard turnoff. Turn left on Palmdale Boulevard, which turns into Elizabeth Lake Road, and drive west to 90th Street, which takes you to the general store. To go to Big John’s, turn left at 90th Street and go to Leona Avenue and turn right. His ranch is just before the community Baptist church.

When you first come upon Valyermo Ranch you’ll see a beautiful green farm with a few animals and a small lake. As you keep driving, you’ll see the cherry orchard in the distance that’s fed by an underground stream, a veritable oasis in the middle of the desert. Owner Bob Mellard has 1,200 trees, all Bings, and at the beginning of the season they are loaded with fruit. His place is popular, and some years he actually runs out. He supplies ladders and buckets and has children who walk through the orchard to remind you not to climb the trees. He weighs out your pick on a big old-fashioned spring scale. Sometimes he has cherry pitters available for sale at $1 each. If you pick a lot of cherries, you’ll need a few. He charges $1 per pound, just like his Leona Valley neighbors.

Cherry picking doesn’t take much time, so you might want to relax with a picnic at Pearblossom Park or at the Ranger Station near Valyermo or drive to Devils Punch Bowl. Take the short trail to the bottom of the bowl, where you can put your feet into the water of a cold underground stream. The trail is short enough for toddlers and grandparents, and it’s almost as easy to climb back up as it is to go down.

Getting there: Take the Golden State Freeway north to the Antelope Valley Freeway and go east to Pearblossom Highway (California 138) to Fort Tejon Road and turn right. Turn left almost immediately at Avenue W, which turns into Valyermo Road. You’ll drive through a Joshua tree forest. Gradually, you’ll notice thicker plant life growing along what looks like a dried-up riverbed. When you see the Valyermo post office, turn right. Call (805) 944-2294.

Peaches

Peaches follow cherries in the picking order, and Littlerock is the center of pick-your-own peaches. On any given weekend throughout the summer, you will find a different variety of juicy, ripe peaches ready to harvest. Located on the Pearblossom Highway, Littlerock is about halfway between Palmdale and Valyermo. A good place to start your quest is on 80th Street. Turn left (north) from Pearblossom Highway and look for the signs.

The Yingst Ranch is one of the first places you’ll see. Peaches there start at the end of this month with Red Tops and continue with Babcocks around the Fourth of July. In late July and early August, the Forty Niners come in, then the Rio Osos. In September, you can pick Indian Bloods and Fairtimes. Charlie and Nancy Yingst pride themselves on growing varieties of peaches not usually found in stores.

“Commercial peaches are grown for hardness and shelf life,” Charlie Yingst says, adding that he grows his for taste. The Yingsts try to avoid liability problems by not providing ladders and picking the tops of the trees themselves. They dry that fruit for their own winter and spring use. Glasses of ice water are always available, along with plenty of shade from a huge old fruitless mulberry tree. Charlie charges $6 for a round half-bushel of peaches, which he says works out to about 25 cents a pound. Call (805) 944-2425.

The biggest problem in peach picking is trying to decide where to pick. Sample the fruit before you start filling your bucket. If it doesn’t taste sweet enough on one tree, try the next one, or the next. If it still doesn’t meet your expectations, try the next orchard. There are plenty on 80th Street, including Kenny and Toyoko Zink’s, (805) 944-1239.

Almost every cherry grower (except those in Leona Valley) also cultivates peaches. The Valyermo Ranch specializes in five freestone (the pit comes out easily) varieties, mostly Rio Oso. They are ready about mid-August. Ruth Lewis at Pine Canyon grows Faye Elbertas and other freestone varieties, all ripe in August. Paul Kish’s peaches aren’t ripe until the end of September, and he says they will last at least a month in the refrigerator.

Apricots

In the market, apricots are either hard with no aroma or too bruised and soft to last. Picking your own is another story. Apricots have a brief season at the end of June, sometimes a little earlier, and they can be found in Littlerock. The Zinks grow them. The aroma of the ripe apricot orchard is maddening. The taste of the fresh apricots, still warm from the sun, is unbelievable.

Pears

If you’re looking for pears, don’t go to Pearblossom, even though the name sounds like it should be a pear-growing capital. Littlerock is your best bet, especially if you like Bartletts. They’re ripe starting the first week in August. Picking goes on for about a month. If you’ve explored 80th Street for peaches, you’ll know who has the pears, and once again you’ll find them at the Yingsts and Zinks.

Asian pears

Asian pears, which are fairly new to the area and are ready to pick in late August, are much harder to find. So far, two pick-your-own places have Asian pear trees, Zinks’ in Littlerock and Carletons’ in Leona Valley. Phil and Lavinia Carleton grow three varieties of Asian pears, which look like big yellow-green apples, and they say they are astonished every year at how quickly people pick clean their 1,800 trees. Since Asian pears are mostly eaten fresh, not canned, frozen or dried, customers usually pick a mere 10-15 pounds. The Carletons charge 80 cents a pound, about half the supermarket price. Call the Carletons at (805) 270-0432.

Apples

Just as the pear harvest closes, it’s time to start in on the apples. Like peaches, apples are plentiful with many varieties available on the pick-your-own circuit. Valyermo Ranch offers King David, a variety of Jonathan, starting Aug. 22. Granny Smith and red and yellow Delicious are ready to pick at Pine Canyon in early September. Charlie Yingst has plenty of red and yellow Delicious for this year’s crop. He is busy developing Gala and Gravenstein for harvesting next year or the year after. He charges $5 for a round half-bushel of pears or apples.

Fuyu Persimmons, Walnuts and Almonds

In late September, take a ride back to Pine Canyon and pick almonds and walnuts for only $1 a pound. Fuyu persimmons can be picked at the Yingsts in late October.

Oranges and Grapefruit

You also can pick your own citrus. The Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation runs Orcutt Ranch at Roscoe and Valley Circle boulevards. The ranch has a tremendous orange and grapefruit orchard. You can pick your own fruit from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 10 and 11. Bring your own containers. Orcutt rents long-handled fruit pickers so you can reach fruit higher up in the tree. The fruit is $2 a bag or $4 a box, and you determine the size of your own bag or box. In addition to its citrus grove, Orcutt provides garden plots to the public. It’s worth going just to see the old oak trees. Call (818) 883-6641.

What’s Ripe When

Here’s a sampling of pick-your-own fruit ranches: Cherries

Valyermo Ranch, (805) 944-2294, early June until at least June 20.

Big John’s, (805) 270-1735, early JUne till they’re gone.

PJK Cherry Ranch, (818) 337-6498, mid-June till they’re gone.

Pine Canyon Cherry Farm, (805) 724-1135, mid-June to mid-July. Apricots

Zink Ranch, (805) 944-1239, last week in June till they’re gone. Peaches

Yingst Ranch, (805) 944-2425, June 20 with different varieties available all summer.

Valyermo Ranch, Aug. 15 for three weeks.

Pine Canyon Cherry Farm, Aug. 15 for three weeks.

PJK Cherry Ranch, Sept. 20 for three weeks. Oranges and Grapefruit

Orcutt Ranch, (818) 883-6641, only July 10 and 11. Apples

Yingst Ranch, Aug. 10 till Sept. 1.

Valyermo Ranch, Aug. 22 till they’re gone.

Pine Canyon Cherry Farm, Sept. 5 for one month. Barlett Pears

Yingst Ranch, early August to late September. Asian Pears

Carleton’s Asian Pear Orchard, (805) 270-0432, last week in August till they’re gone.

Zink Ranch, (805) 944-1239, last week in August till they’re gone. Almonds and Walnuts

Pine Canyon Cherry Farm, last week in September till they’re gone. Persimmons

Yingst Ranch, last week in October till they’re gone.