Get Locavore at U-Pick Farms in New Jersey

They don't call it The Garden State for nothing. New Jersey is a great place to go to pick your own summer fruit and veggies. Whether it is strawberries, peaches, or peas, you can find plenty of u-pick farms in New Jersey.  Picking your own produce is great thing to do, especially with kids. Not only does it help you eat locally with farm fresh produce, but it's important for kids to learn about where their food comes from and make that connection with the farm. Plus it's lots of fun.

The NJ picking season starts end of May for strawberries with other berries and peaches coming in season end of June through end of July and apples, pumpkins and other vegetables available through the Fall.  Here are some of our favorite farms close to New York City for picking your own fruits and vegetables. Click through to each u-pick farm to find out what they have ripe for u-pick now, plus hours and directions, but also call ahead before you go to make sure they aren't picked out.

Alstede Farm Chester, NJ
Alstede farm has strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, currants, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, peppers, tomatoes eggplants, and the usual fall fare.  Weekends the farm offers extra family fun on top of the pick your own: a bouncy, a hay pyramid, a corn kingdom, pony rides, food stations and hay rides.  There are picnic tables and the farm even does pick your own birthday parties.

Stultz Farm Cranbury, NJ
This farm is the place to go if you want to pick both berries and veggies and avoid large crowds.  On weekends there is a hayride to the strawberry patch.  If the kids don’t have enough after picking strawberries, you can pick your peas, beans, eggplants, summer squash, and bitter melons.  

Melicks Town Farm Oldwick & Califon, NJ
Melicks Town Farm is a group of 3 farms offering a variety of pick your own and farm stand produce. The location in Oldwick has strawberry picking and flower picking while the Califon location is the place to go to pick peaches.

Terhune Orchards Princeton, NJ
This farm has pick your own strawberries, cherries, blueberries, flowers, peaches, pears, and veggies such as green beans.  The farm is known for their "Read and Pick program" for preschoolers to 8 year olds where they read a story about the fruit or vegetable and then pick it. 

Find more great farms and places to visit in our summer guide.