Best Places to Pick Your Own Fruit In Spring Near Melbourne

by Claire Halliday, ellaslist

Spring is that gorgeous time of year when flowers bloom and the hint of summer takes us out of a long, cold winter. So what better time to celebrate the great outdoors with some pick-it-yourself fruit farm visits?

The bulk of u-pick fruit is harvested in summer and autumn but some crops are ready in spring too. Here’s a list of some of the best places to go fruit picking with kids near Melbourne in spring:

1. Seville Farm

The location is the stunning Yarra Valley and if your kids love cherries, this place is handy to Melbourne – with amazing views.

Cherries aren’t just cherries, you know. There are 14 varieties to try here – from dark red flesh to pale, tart flavors, there’s something for everyone.

Farmer Rob is the man to talk to here – and he’s happy to show you and the kids around and tell you about the organic approach to the fruit growing.

What You Need To Know

The cherry season comes and goes in a blink so don’t miss out. Cherry picking for the public starts in November and runs through December, with some seasons lasting until early January.

Phone: 1300 360 056
Address: 56 Monbulk-Seville Road, Seville
More information: visit the website

2. Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm

The first fruits here were planted back in1964 and now this family-run business has more than 200,000 plants across 10 acres.

This place is a Mornington peninsula must-do with kids and when you’ve finished picking the berries from the bushes, you can add to your strawberry harvest with some delicious produce from the shop. Jam, anyone? There is blueberry, blackberry and raspberry varieties too and the freeze-dried strawberries are an added delicacy. Yum!

What You Need To Know

This farm has turned strawberry production into a year-round activity – one of the few pick-your-own farms you can come to throughout the year.

Phone: 5989 4500
Address: 244 Shands Road, Main Ridge
Opening hours: Daily from 9am-5pm. (U-pick closes 4.30pm)

Prices:
Adults $9 – includes 500gm strawberries
Children 4-12 years $4 – includes 250gm strawberries
Everyone entering the strawberry fields must purchase a punnet.

More information: visit the website

3. Rayner’s Orchards

Go looking for u-pick fruit options at farms that are open to the public and what’s you’ll find the most of is berries, berries and more berries.

This place is different.

Yes, the berries are there (and let’s face it, they are a yummy treat your kids will love) – but there is a heap of other fruit to tempt tiny tastebuds too.

Peaches? Nectarines? Plums? Apricots? Tamarillo? They are yours to pick and take home.

Orchard tours run all year and keen gardeners can also get involved in a pruning masterclass to help you negotiate your own fruit trees at home (not for little kids – obviously!).

All together, there are 450 varieties of fruits to enjoy here – including a bunch you have probably never heard of in your life. Pluots, anyone? We’re guessing they’re a hybrid between plums and apricots – a new experience to add to the pick-your-own adventure.

What You Need To Know

With so much fruit on offer, this farm is open all year – but the types of fruit available will change with the seasons. It’s not open on Christmas Day.

Phone: (03) 5964 7654

Address: 60 Schoolhouse Road, Woori Yallock

Prices:
Adults $28
Children $23
Opening hours: Daily 9am-4pm / 9am – 5pm in summer (Closed Christmas Day)

More information: visit the website

Jay Berries

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Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. This farm has them – and more, with some veggies to pick and take home too.

The setting in the Yarra Valley is a pretty one and if you do your job properly – and traipse up and down the rows of plants looking for the juiciest berries – the kids will have a good chance to stretch their legs and expend some energy and the berries they munch on the way home will keep them happily quiet.

And that bottle of sweet raspberry cordial you take home with you from the on-site shop will give you something to look forward to at the end of the drive back home.

On hot days, the frozen fruit slushies are a lovely treat and tractor rides add to the fun.

What You Need To Know

Even during the picking season, this farm has limited u-pick hours.

The handy feature on the website is the ‘availability report’ and it’s worth checking before your visit to show you whether your trip will yield you the produce you’d hoped to pick (and eat).

Phone: (03) 5964 4451
Email: [email protected]
Address: 140 Wandin Creek Road, Wandin East

Prices:
Children 4 years and under FREE
5 years and above $5
Opening hours:
October – March – 8:30am-5pm Wednesdays & Sundays + public holidays only (closed Saturdays).

More information: visit the website