Pick your own fruit farms in New South Wales

Through the year in New South Wales

Summer (December to February) is cherry season's peak across Orange & Central West, the Riverina & South Coast and the Hilltops district, with most orchards picking heaviest through December. Blueberries are in full swing on the Coffs Coast and around Bilpin & the Hawkesbury, and greenhouse strawberry growers in the Sydney Basin keep punnets coming through the warmer months. Sunflower fields open at Hunter Valley farms and paddocks near Bilpin, and Christmas tree farms across the Sydney Basin, Illawarra & Southern Highlands and Canberra surrounds start selling from late November into December.

Autumn (March to May) belongs to the apple orchards of Bilpin & the Hawkesbury, most of which pick from January through to May or June depending on variety. Persimmons colour up across the Sydney Basin and the Hilltops from April into early June, and chestnuts and walnuts are picked at Bilpin and in the Illawarra & Southern Highlands through March and April. Dahlia growers in the Illawarra & Southern Highlands bloom across the same window, making autumn as much a flower season as a fruit one.

Winter (June to August) is quieter statewide, but the Coffs Coast keeps blueberries coming when most other regions have finished, with picking there running from June through to November. Citrus takes over further south: Central Coast growers pick oranges from July, and Hunter Valley orchards add mandarins and lemons to the mix over the same cooler months. Fewer farms are open in winter, so calling ahead matters more than at any other time of year.

Spring (September to November) brings strawberries back at Bilpin & the Hawkesbury and Sydney Basin farms, usually from September onward, and the first cherries of the season start appearing on Orange & Central West, Riverina & South Coast and Hilltops trees from October and November. Flower and sunflower growers begin their bloom-dependent open days in spring too, with exact dates announced closer to picking. Because so much of spring depends on the weather, farm opening dates shift more in this season than any other.

What New South Wales is famous for picking

• Cherries — the state's headline crop, grown across Orange & Central West, the Riverina & South Coast and the Hilltops district, with most orchards picking from November into January and peaking in December. See the full list of cherry-picking farms in NSW.
• Apples — Bilpin & the Hawkesbury is the state's apple belt, with orchards typically picking from January through to May or June depending on variety. Browse apple-picking farms in NSW.
• Citrus — oranges, mandarins and lemons are picked at farms across the Central Coast, Sydney Basin and Hunter Valley, several running through the cooler months when other fruit is out of season. See citrus-picking farms in NSW.
• Berries — strawberries and blueberries both feature strongly, from greenhouse strawberry growers in the Sydney Basin that pick for much of the year to blueberry farms on the Coffs Coast and around Bilpin that peak over summer. Compare strawberry-picking farms and blueberry-picking farms in NSW.
• Stone fruit — peaches, plums and nectarines are usually picked alongside apples and cherries at the same Bilpin, Sydney Basin and Hilltops orchards, typically from January into autumn. Start with peach-picking farms in NSW.
• Flowers & sunflowers — cut-flower farms in the Illawarra & Southern Highlands and sunflower growers in the Hunter Valley and around Bilpin open for bloom-dependent picking sessions, mostly across the warmer months. See flower-picking farms and sunflower-picking farms in NSW.
• Christmas trees — growers across the Sydney Basin, Illawarra & Southern Highlands and Canberra surrounds open from late November into December for cut-your-own Christmas trees. Browse NSW Christmas tree farms.

What to bring

Sturdy shoes, sun protection, a hat and your own containers cover most of it, and many NSW farms ask you to bring bags or boxes for what you pick — check the farm's own listing before you go. For a fuller rundown, see the what to bring fruit picking guide.