Pick Your Own Fruits and Flowers
Imagine sunshine and Blue Ridge Mountains, a summer breeze, and biting into the juiciest, sweetest strawberry picked straight off the vine. Produce never tastes better than when it's in season and at its peak. This simple pleasure can be had at several U-pick farms in the Asheville area, where you can go straight to the source to pick your own fresh fruits and flowers. It's a chance to see where the food is grown, harvest some for yourself, and treat yourself and your crew to a unique experience.
Be advised that it's always a good idea to call the farm before you go to confirm u-pick hours and availability of your desired fruit. It's best to pick in the mornings or early evening, but if you do go mid-day, bring a cooler to keep your pickings fresh.
Where to Pick Your Own Produce in Asheville
Summer
Best for: Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Flowers
Where to Go:
- Cloud 9 Farm: Cloud 9 Farm offers an idyllic farm stay in Fletcher just outside of Asheville. You can hole up in one of four on-site rentals and commune with the resident chickens, cattle, and honeybees. During July and August, the farm is open to the public for U-pick blueberries.
- Flying Cloud Farm: This farm in Fairview has a roadside produce stand that often sells blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, melons, strawberries and other vegetables. From mid-May through mid-October, you can also pick your own flowers at the farm.
- Long Branch Environmental Education Center: Located in Leicester, this five-acre farm serves as an ecological sanctuary and educational center that's open daily to the public. It offers u-pick blueberries, native and heritage raspberry varieties, wineberries, blackberries, as well as heirloom apples. It also features a regular weekend workshops on organic gardening, permaculture, wilderness survival skills, and more, as well as a trout pond and hiking trails.
- The Berry Farm: Located in Marshall, this farm typically has black raspberries and blackberries for u-pick along with bottled water and vanilla ice cream available for purchase.
- The Never Ending Flower Farm: Located in Barnardsville in the Big Ivy community, 20 minutes north of Asheville, this family-owned farm offers rows and rows of u-pick flowers through an honor system from mid-May through October, as well as several flower workshops throughout the year.
- Walker Town Farm: This flower farm in Black Mountain offers u-pick flowers on Friday and Saturday mornings from July through October. No reservation needed!
- Piney Mountain Farm: Located only four miles from downtown, Piney Mountain Farm offers gorgeous, affordable you-pick flowers as well as fresh eggs and regional plants. The farm is also home to friendly animals that enjoy treats and the occasional pat. Say hi to Quigly the Pig for us!
Fall
Best for: Apples, Pumpkins
Where to Go:
- Apple Orchards: From mid-August through early November, it's apple season in the mountains and there are at least a dozen or so apple orchards near Asheville that offer u-pick opportunities.
- Hickory Nut Gap Farm: In nearby Fairview, this scenic, working mountain farm raises grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, and poultry. In the fall, the farm offers pumpkins and apples for purchase, along with events, Wednesday to Sunday, such as pony and hayrides. Shop their local store on-site, visit the barnyard animals and live bee observatory, check out a monthly fall barn dance, or sign up for a guided tour.
- Jeter Mountain Farm: This 411-acre orchard in nearby Hendersonville serves up a smorgasbord of u-pick opportunities, including blueberries, blackberries, and elderberries, peaches, sunflowers, dahlias, and other colorful blooms, grapes, gourds, and almost 20 varieties of apples. There's also an on-site market selling pre-picked apples, apple butter, preserves and more, a 6,000-square-foot covered play area for the kiddos, an on-site barbecue food truck, a taproom serving hard cider, and a bakery churning out scrumptious apple cider donuts. They host live bluegrass music on the weekends.
- Sky Top Apple Orchard: The orchard, located in Flat Rock, offers over 22 varieties apples for picking. The scenic farm also offers views of the mountains and orchard ponds, a barnyard with sheep, goats, chickens, and peacocks, educational farm tours and hayrides, apple cider donuts, and picnic areas.
- Stepp's Hillcrest Orchard: Depending on the time of your visit (mid-August through end of October), you can enjoy u-pick apples, pumpkins, and grapes as well as sunflowers and zinnias.
If you can't make it to pick your own, try some of the Asheville area's innovative farm to table restaurants.
