Beautiful Experience Farms in Germany for Self-Harvesting

Anyone who has done it knows: fruit or vegetables that you picked or harvested with your own hands taste twice as delicious! And it's guaranteed to be fresh and healthy too. More and more farms in Germany allow visitors to spend an unforgettable day among their fruit trees, bushes, or fields. We introduce you to twelve experience farms where you can fill your baskets or buckets depending on the season and have even more adventures.

Gut Stubbe is located in the picturesque Schlei region near Eckernförde and is a paradise for fans of fresh fruit and vegetables. The harvest time overview announces which varieties you can harvest yourself on site in which month: It starts in June with berries such as gooseberries and strawberries, followed by more berries and sweet cherries in July, sour cherries and early plums as well as pears in August. Apples are ripe in September and October, in various varieties from Elstar to Braeburn.

For a snack before or after harvesting, the cozy farm café offers all kinds of treats, such as a large breakfast, hearty sandwiches and soups for lunch, or homemade cakes and tarts with fruit from the farm. In the farm shop there are products from the farm's own harvest, be it self-made juices or jams, and regional vegetables or eggs.

About 50 kilometers north of Hamburg, in the district of Segeberg, is Hof Kaack, known especially for one thing: really delicious strawberries. In the pick-your-own field, you'll find delicious strawberry varieties that are hard to come by in stores because they wouldn't survive long transport. The best part: You can sample the different varieties and discover your favorite strawberry!

The Erdbeerhof website informs you exactly when the picking season begins-usually in early June. Contrary to what the name suggests, Hof Kaack doesn't just grow strawberries: They also cultivate raspberries, in special raspberry tunnels. Depending on the month, you can also pick other berries like currants, blackberries, and gooseberries, as well as peas and corn!

In the heart of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, about 60 kilometers east of Rostock, is one of the most beautiful fruit farms in the region. Obsthof Schönemeyer aims for 'freshness and high quality'-offering visitors opportunities to pick their own strawberries, sweet and sour cherries, plums, and apples, depending on the season.

Moreover, there is a special offer: You can have picked fruit, like apples or pears, processed into natural juice on-site at the juicing facility and watch the process! In addition, the farm shop sells fresh seasonal products, from potatoes to fruit spreads.

The Hofladen Lienert in Wustermark, west of Berlin, is much more than just a fruit and vegetable shop: The motto is 'Go out into the fruit plantations for yourself,' when cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, and apples, but also tomatoes and pumpkins, ripen. The principle is simple-you come with empty buckets and find out on site what you can currently harvest. In the end, you pay by the weight of the fruit or vegetables. Especially nice: During the week, children's groups can pick fruit for free!

In the café, you can replenish lost calories with delicious cakes and other homemade delicacies after your work. It is also worth attending one of the farm shop's festivals, for example, one of the harvest festivals.

About ten kilometers southwest of Dresden is Gut Pesterwitz with its extensive plantations that invite you to pick your own produce. Depending on the season, you can harvest strawberries (usually in June), sour cherries (typically in July), or apples (September to early October). Like on most experience farms, you should bring your own bucket or basket.

The estate offers some scheduled 'picking dates', which are announced on the website. It is particularly fun to try out the different varieties of strawberries and other fruits, as the plantations boast around eight strawberry varieties and eleven apple varieties!

You'll also find on the estate an apiary that now houses over 20 bee colonies. The delicious honey is available in the farm shop.

For almost 30 years, just about 20 kilometers north of Erfurt, Obsthof Bosse has been growing not only fruit varieties like sweet cherries, plums, apricots, and apples but also asparagus, tomatoes, and cucumbers. While you can buy many of the fresh products on site, every year at apple harvest time starting in September, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work!

Various apple varieties grow on the farm, be it Galaxy, Cox, Boskoop, or Fuji. During harvest time, the farm is open from Fridays to Sundays until 5 PM. If you'd like to harvest during the week, you can call ahead and schedule an appointment.

Obsthof Matthies in Jork is known as the 'meeting point in the Altes Land' near Hamburg. If you didn't know: The Altes Land is considered the 'largest contiguous fruit-growing region in Northern Europe.' So it's no surprise that you're allowed to pick some of the approximately 18 million fruit trees there yourself! The family-run Matthies orchard that has been around for five generations primarily cultivates apples, but also pears, cherries, plums, and other fruits.

On this experience farm, you can also stay in cozy vacation apartments and spend several days among the trees and fields. Additionally, the farm offers many activities for the whole family: a ride on the orchard express, fruit tastings, or events like performances in Low German. At the Glasshouse Café, you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast or a Sunday brunch.

If you want to harvest organic vegetables yourself, the Oesenhof about 60 kilometers north of Hanover is the right place. Every year starting in mid or late May, the so-called 'self-picking field' opens, where visitors can harvest their own vegetables and herbs right next to the organic farm: Initially salad and radishes, later kohlrabi, Swiss chard, zucchini, and carrots among others. Eventually, more vegetables like white cabbage, rutabagas, and savoy cabbage are added.

If you like to have a colorful bouquet at home, you can also pick summer flowers from the end of June. A board at the self-picking field informs you about the prices, and you can drop the money for your harvest directly into the cash box.

Finding a farm in the densely populated Ruhr area where you can harvest your own fruits and vegetables is a real treat. This opportunity is available at the family-operated Hof Mertin on the outskirts of Dortmund. For farmer Friedrich Mertin, the focus is on field and soil care. The strawberry fields, for example, are covered by 'wandering tunnels' to best protect the fruits from wind and weather.

You can begin harvesting strawberries around June; depending on the season, you might also find raspberries, bush beans, and corn. The best thing is to check with the farm in advance to know what you can pick and when.

At Hofladen Vorsee, about twelve kilometers north of Ravensburg, you're not only greeted by a shop with homemade goodies like jams, spices, and pesto. Especially recommended is the so-called 'experience harvest,' where you're invited to grab a basket and/or knife depending on the season. In the farmhouse garden, you can harvest fresh vegetables like tomatoes, zucchini, and artichokes, along with picking herbs and berries.

Especially nice for children: There are wheelbarrows and carts available for harvesting, which can also be used as strollers. A final visit to the chickens should not be missed. If you're lucky, you might even find a freshly laid egg and can take it home. The well-organized harvest calendar on the website lets you know which natural delights to look forward to.

At Obsthof Knab, 30 kilometers north of Munich, not only strawberries, cherries, and asparagus are cultivated but also pumpkins, quinoa, and chia! In early summer, you can harvest six different strawberry varieties, and from mid-June, five types of sour cherries and four pumpkin varieties in the fall. There's a lot to learn about the gifts of nature-for example, that pumpkins belong to the berry fruit family and are among the largest berries in the world!

Visitors may also be able to spear asparagus themselves: white asparagus typically from the end of March and green asparagus from mid-April to early June. Videos on the website show how it's done. Especially nice: You can also purchase homegrown chia and quinoa from the online shop!

In the picturesque Frankenwald lies the small village of Kronach, where you'll come across Hof Bayer's Franken Strawberries. There, large strawberry pick-your-own fields await you once the fruits are ripe from about June. A little tasting directly from the field is allowed but in moderation! The family business's website provides delightful recipe ideas for what you can create with the strawberries afterward-not just strawberry cake, but also lesser-known dishes like strawberry salad with Camembert or strawberry dumplings!

Though strawberries are the main attraction at the farm, you can also pick raspberries and blueberries there. Even during Advent, a visit to the strawberry farm is worthwhile-they also sell Christmas trees then!

Looking for more inspiration? Find tips for all top travel destinations at bettercities.net.