Pick your own etiquette: what farms actually ask

Almost every rule on a self-pick farm exists because of a real thing that happened. Most are about protecting next season’s crop rather than this one.

The rules that protect the plant

Do not pull fruit off, twist or roll it off. Tearing an apple or a cherry away takes the spur with it, and that short woody stub is what fruits next year. On cane berries, snapping a cane costs the plant the rest of its season.

Do not climb. Ladders are provided where they are allowed. Standing on a branch or a trellis wire damages the tree and is the most common cause of injury on these properties.

Pick the row you are sent to. Farms rotate blocks so that fruit ripens in sequence and every visitor finds something. A block that looks untouched is usually being saved for tomorrow, not overlooked.

Do not strip one bush. Take from along a row rather than clearing a plant. It looks better for the next person and the plant does better for it.

Eating as you pick

Almost every farm expects you to taste. Almost none expects you to have lunch. The unwritten measure is a few as you go; a bucket eaten in the rows is stealing, and farms that stop offering self-pick usually say this is why.

If you are unsure, ask at the gate. Some farms charge a small entry fee that explicitly covers what you eat.

Children, dogs and prams

Children are welcome nearly everywhere and are the main reason many of these farms open at all. They do need supervising in rows: netting, irrigation lines and ladders are all trip hazards.

Dogs are usually not allowed, even on a lead. It is a food-safety rule rather than a preference, and it applies to most commercial growers. Where a farm does allow dogs, its listing says so. Never assume.

Prams work in some orchards and not at all in berry rows or on hills. If it matters, phone first.

Paying

Weigh everything, including what is in the children’s bucket. If you have dropped fruit, tell them; most farms will not charge for it but they would rather know than find it.

Many farms are cash-preferred and some are cash-only, particularly the smaller ones. Card is increasingly common but not universal, and mobile reception in orchard country is often poor enough that a card terminal will not connect.

And the one that matters most

Check before you drive. Farms close for weather, for a picked-out block, for a family event. A phone call saves everybody a wasted trip, and growers would far rather answer it than turn you away at the gate.

Updated 10 September 2026