Shoemaker Farm (now called Ramona Fresh Fruits) will open for the 2024 persimmon picking season on Wednesday, October 30.
The farm address is 18131 Traylor Road, Ramona.
After opening day, they will be open from 9 AM to 4 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until the fruit runs out.
Bring cash to pay for your persimmons.
Check for updates at the Ramona Fresh Fruits website here.
We picked on November 9, 2024 and there were still lots of Fuyu persimmons on the trees within reach. The Hachiya and a few other varieties were already all picked though.
2024 was my family’s ninth straight year picking persimmons at this farm. The trees, the owners, and the fruit were as good as ever.
The highlight for me this year was discovering the Lotus persimmon tree. Luckily, I was in the company of a friend who identified the tree because I wouldn’t have known what I was looking at. All I could see was that it wasn’t like the others. Lotus persimmon trees have narrower leaves and far smaller fruit than the other common varieties.
Like Hachiya persimmons, the Lotus fruit need to be ripened and squishy before eating or else they are astringent. I found one on the ground that was properly ripe and it tasted like a date with a hint of apple flavor — very pleasing, but nothing like a persimmon, nothing like any other variety of persimmon I’ve eaten.
A challenge for you is to try to find the single Lotus persimmon tree, among the hundreds of other persimmon trees, on this farm if you go for a pick.
Here are signs and information from last year’s (2023) season:
Below are some notes, advice, and stories from previous years when my family and I have picked persimmons at this wonderful family farm in our neighborhood. Maybe we’ll see you there this year.
Our 2022 picking, October 28
The trees are loaded again this year, and I took the family to pick this morning.
I suggest you go soon because the fruit already tastes awesome and so many can be picked from the ground (no ladders needed). Here is my son’s recommendations on how to pick (no tools needed):
You should also eat a few as you pick, as my daughter demonstrates:
Otherwise, here are my two favorite ways to eat fresh (Fuyu) persimmons once you get home:
Don’t be intimidated by coming home with a whole bucket of persimmons. Share some with friends and family, eat the orangest ones first, and trust that the rest will soften slowly enough that none will be wasted. In the end, you can also slice and dry those that you can’t consume fresh.
(Below is my original post from 2016, and below that are updates from 2018, 2019, 2021. Watch the farm signs change, the prices increase, and my kids grow up.)
While working in the yard yesterday, an Asian woman with a heavy accent stopped her car and asked if I knew where Shoemaker Farm was. I’d never heard of it, I said.
“There are persimmons,” she said.
“Aah! It’s just down the street.” I pointed.
There’s a u-pick persimmon orchard two blocks from our house, only I hadn’t known the name.
This morning, I loaded up my two sons and drove the truck down the street. For $20, we got to fill up a five-gallon bucket.
Cass helped picked some low-hanging fruit.
Miles seemed to think that it was his job to take the fruit back out of the bucket and toss it on the ground.
There were two older women picking to the east of us and three Asian families picking to the west of us. These were Fuyu persimmons. They come from Japan. It made sense that the people most interested in picking a bucket of persimmons were immigrants from Asia.
But I didn’t fill my bucket to the rim.
During the picking, we took a break and ate a couple. Also, and more importantly, a couple days earlier while taking a jog near the persimmon orchard, I had picked a couple because I wanted to see if they were ripe. I had known that I would come pay for a bucket soon — that was how I justified the “theft.”
When we were done picking, Cass, Miles and I brought our bucket back to show Mrs. Shoemaker.
“You didn’t quite fill it up,” she said.
“I know. We ate a couple while we were down there picking.”
“Well, I’m going to fill it up for you,” she said, and she fetched a nearby plastic bag of persimmons.
I felt guilty, but I didn’t say anything, and then Mrs. Shoemaker made me feel guiltier.
“Ed caught a woman trying to steal these the other day, so let me put them in your bucket.”
If you want to pick persimmons
The season starts in late October and ends in mid- to late-November. It’s a good idea to bring hand pruners with which to clip the stems, but you can also give the persimmons a few twists and then pull them off.
Early in the season, you can find plenty of fruit to pick by hand while standing on the ground. However, if you’re there later than about November 10, consider bringing a pole picker or step ladder. Much of the fruit left on the trees will be in the upper part of the canopy.
Update 2018:
Barely made it this year. Picked on the last day of the season, November 17. We are so grateful that the Shoemakers continue to allow the public to pick persimmons on their farm. It’s a unique offering in Southern California, the fruit tastes better than any I’ve had anywhere else.
A five-gallon bucket now costs $25.
I still feel guilty, and even this year I didn’t totally fill my bucket.
Update 2019:
We picked earlier this year so it was easy for the kids to help as much fruit was within their reach.
The price remains $25 for a five-gallon bucket, and you’ll need to leave a $10 deposit until you return the bucket.
Also note that the Shoemakers do grow other varieties of persimmon besides Fuyu:
Update 2021:
The crop on the trees this year is magnificent. The Shoemakers estimate it might last beyond Thanksgiving, as it is one of the biggest they’ve ever had. (This is welcome, and not so surprising, since the crop on their persimmon trees last year was very weak.)
We visited to pick on November 4 and there was no need for a ladder; the trees had so much good fruit hanging down low that even my young children could do all the picking by hand from the ground.
Do note that the Shoemakers grow lots of other fruit, which they have for sale too. There are pomegranates, Valencia oranges, figs, and feijoas (pineapple guavas) in addition to the many varieties of persimmon.
A list with all of my Yard Posts is HERE
Hey Greg, Picked a bucket there today, and tomorrow is last day of the season. $20/5 G bucket, but key…. you get to taste fruit on tree first. Something you can’t do at the market. We had the most “blah” fuyu in Atlanta visiting daughter, I just had to have a good one. By the way… I asked if they knew where Gret Alder lived… and the grandson didn’t know. LOL. Robert
Hilarious! So glad you wrote, Robert. I would’ve missed it this year if it weren’t for your reminder. I kept saying, “Maybe we’ll go tomorrow or next week.” (See update for 2018 above.) Thanks!
Guys, I was there today and the price was $25 per bucket plus the $5 refundable bucket charge. Still a fantastic deal, but not $20 either. The persimmons are fantastic.
You’re right, Pamela. Forgot to include that in my update. I’ll do that now. Thanks.
Are you open now for persimmon picking? I tried calling but line is always busy
Hi Linda,
I have no relationship with Shoemaker Farm. I just live nearby and visit to pick persimmons each year. Just to be clear about that.
They are not open for the season yet, no. I don’t know when they’ll open, but the fruit is not ripe yet. I took a jog by the orchard the other day. Looks to be at least a couple weeks more, I’d guess.
do you just have the fuji? do you have the hiciya or do you know where i can get the hiciya please?
Hi Greg,
As I recall, Shoemaker Farm only had Fuyu persimmons as of last year (2018). I don’t remember seeing any Hachiya or other varieties. I could be wrong about this though since I was only interested in picking Fuyu anyway. (I’ll update this comment if I find out anything different.)
Hi Greg!
Since reading your article 3 weeks ago about your experience picking persimmons from the Shoemaker farm, I have called them several times and it always goes into their voice answering machine. I live in Syracuse, NY and unfortunately won’t be able to make it all the way to CA to pick my own, but I would desperately love to have some. Dare I ask if you would be kind enough to pick 5 buckets and ship them to me using the flat rate box. I’m that desperate to eat some persimmons! I will send the money to you in advance, if you would consider doing this for me. Alternatively, is it possible to make contact on my behalf with the Shoemakers since you live near their farm. I will be happy to send the payment in advance to them if they will be willing to ship to me in NY. I have no expectations that you will consider my request, or respond to this message, but keeping fingers crossed and praying that you do!
Thank you so much
Rosemary
Hi Rosemary,
Wow, do you need some persimmons! I’ll keep my eye out for if and when they open up picking and get back to you about it.
Hi Greg,
I just got some msg from one of my friend that farm will start to pick from 30th Oct. 2019. But I am not sure.
Thanks, Harry. I checked today and they are open.
Do you know if they happen to have a facebook page? Maybe they would post their open days and times there.
We went U-Pick Persimmons at Shoemaker Farms. Open Oct. 31, 2019-Dec. 8, 2019. Last day for U-Pick is Dec. 8 $25.00 per bucket. 8:00 am-5:00 pm Closed Monday-Tuesday, Thanksgiving
Thanks again for your post! I live down the road and heard of this persimmon farm from a protea friend Mel, so I hope they are still in business this fall. I always wanted to try the chocolate and spice cake varieties. I think there’s a pomegranate farm nearby too, but not sure where exactly, or if they are even open to the public.
Hi Katherine,
I don’t know of a pomegranate farm nearby. It’s a great idea though since pomegranates grow incredibly well in this area. If you find out that there is one, please let me know.
Some of my fuyu persimmons are looking pretty ready (of course the birds enjoy them), but it seems early still. Based on the dates shown for past years at Shoemaker’s farm I’m guessing I should wait still?
Hi Matt,
They can taste acceptable here in mid-October, but they will get better later. If you have many, I’d go ahead and pick one to try. If you have only a few, I’d try to protect them and wait a month. (So risky though, I know!)
Yes, I did pick it that day, and ate it today. A bird had already peck at it once, and it was very orange. Very good, they may get better, but while time of year is a good metric, the look of the fruit generally doesn’t disappoint. Most of the other fruit definitely needs more time, based on the color.
Excellent! You’re making me excited for persimmon picking this year.
As I scrolled through the page I was interested to see my post from a year ago. I also noted that Oct 10 was NOT a good time to pick persimmons in my yard this year, including the ones that had already been sampled by the birds. They are just now getting good.
Does anyone know if the persimmon field is open this year even during the pandemic period?
Thank you.
Hi June,
Yes, they will be opening on October 29. I noted the date and days and hours for 2020 at the top of the post above. Happy persimmon picking!
Hi Greg,
Is it passable driving our 26 ft RV?
We love to experience ” U-Pick”.
Chuck & Era
Hello Greg,
Thank you for your kindness!
Are you still open for persimmon picking? I’m thinking to go on the 19th of November, but I don’t want to turn around with no fruit. I’m driving from Orange county.
Does anyone know if they’ll be opening this year?
Are you going to be open this year? If so what dates. Thank you
As Greg says, they opened October 27 in 2021. They said they should be open until Thanksgiving, assuming the fruit holds out. We arrived around 8:30 AM on the 28th, and there were only 3-4 other cars with pickers at any one time while we were around.
The 2021 price is $30/bucket, which works out to around $1/lb. It’s $5 more than last year, but water and electricity costs have gone up.
You buy your bucket’s contents ahead of time, including a $10 deposit per bucket. Do your picking, show them your work (they don’t want you overloading the bucket too much), and collect your deposit.
They also sell pre-picked persimmons, pomegranates, guava, and a few other fruits.
Oh, and for future reference, Shoemaker Farms is now going by the name “Ramona Fresh”. And they have a new phone number, which has a MUCH better chance of being answered: 619-630-4693. Their email address is sales@ramonafreshfruits.com
It must be a good persimmon year! I have a Fuyu tree and I had a good crop this year, although there were more 2 years ago. Last year I had not a one. There were so many informative links from this week’s email. Thank you!
Are you open this week? Thursday is thanksgiving so I am guessing no.
Hi Greg,
In case you haven’t tried this combo yet spoon some passion fruit over Fuyu slices. And thanks for all your awesome Yard Posts.
Hi Marty,
I have not tried that, but I can imagine that the tang of the passion fruit would complement the sweetness of the persimmon very well. I must try. Thank you.
Wow, Marty. We visited friends yesterday and they had lots of passion fruit so we tried this. It was even better than I expected. Not only did the flavors go together well, but so did the textures. Awesome!
So glad to hear, Greg! It’s my family’s favorite fall treat.
Hello my name is Jackie , yesterday me and my daughter driving to Ramona for the persimmons farm to pick , but we drove back and forth to 14th , still can’t find the farmers, coz to the end only Apartments, so we can’t pick it, please tell me where the location , thank you and we will try to go back this Sunday 😊
Hi Jackie,
Sorry you had trouble finding it. The farm is off Highland Valley Road, west of Ramona town, near the Ramona Grasslands Preserve. The address is 18131 Traylor Road.
If you look up Ramona Fresh Fruits on Google Maps, it should now take you to the right destination. I got Google to update the map by 2023.
Hi, are they going to be open tomorrow, Friday? My mother-in-law would love to go.
I am not sure if they will be open. But if you do go, bring a step stool. The persimmons that were close enough to the ground to be picked from the ground were getting thin.
Hello, could you please tell me when the picking season starts this year?
You guys are supposed to open today! Please post the most recent pictures! We would like to come this weekend and want to make sure the Fuyu Persimmons are ripe. Thank you so much!!!
Greg, sorry, I just carefully read all the above comments on this page and realized that you are a kind neighbor and not in charge of the persimmons U pick farm. Thank you so much for providing updates! I am trying to contact the farm but the phone is busy. I am sure they are indeed very busy this time of the year.
Hi, just wondering if you know how heavy is 5gallon bucket?
Hi Justin,
Full of persimmons, it’s around 35 pounds, I’d guess.
Hi, Greg. Might want to tweak this web page? Did you mean Wednesday, October 30? Or Thursday, October 31? I’m kind of assuming the latter.
Thank you, Russ. It is Wednesday, October 30. Fixed.
Our Hachiya persimmon faces our road and the other day a woman came to the door asking if she could pick them. She was not the first!
Hi Greg,
I have a Hachiya tree about 20 years old. Was covered with persimmons until my dog and the 2 neighbor dogs started getting up on their hind legs to pick and eat them…WHILE THEY ARE HARD AND NOT EVEN FULLY ORANGE IN COLOR!!! Don’t understand it. Dogs are happy with no ill effects.
Yuck! How do they do that? I accidentally ate a slightly underripe Lotus persimmon and it took so long to get the astringency in my mouth to subside.
Do you still have Fuyu persimmons for purchase? Thanks.