Peach picking in Ontario is one of the sweetest ways to spend a day during the dog days of summer.

While we might be a few weeks out from when the sweet, juicy treasures are reach peak ripeness at farms across the province, it never hurts to plan in advance so you can get first dibs on the earliest peaches of the season.

While peach season usually happens a little later in the summer, typically late July to early August, some farms in the province have already opened for pick-your-0wn peaches or are planning to do so soon.

Lincoln, Ontario's Cherry Avenue Farms wrapped up their cherry-picking season on Friday, July 12, and started picking the first of their peach and plum crops on Saturday.

Over in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Parkway Orchards has also wrapped up their cherry season and moved on to peaches, having opened their fields for early peach picking on July 8.

Other farms, though, have a little ways to go before their peaches are ready to be plucked by the public.

Family-owned Port Stanley fruit farm, Great Lakes Farms, will be reopening their fields to the public on Aug 1 for the peach-picking season, while Pardo's Berrie Farm in Blenheim predicts they'll be opening up around Aug 7.

Peaches are more delicate than other classic PYO crops like apples, so you definitely want to get in early to get all of the best farm-fresh peaches you could possibly fit in your basket.