Find a local pick your own farm here!

click here to go to the the NC state agriculture dept page in North Carolina at https://www.ncfarmfresh.com/FarmMarketDisplay.asp?FarmID=2216

or click here for the PickYourOwn.org home page

 

the NC state agriculture dept in North Carolina Information

the NC state agriculture dept is usually open each year, in season for their crops. It's ALWAYS advisable to see the the NC state agriculture dept website, and/or to call or email them before you head out to the farm to determine the crop availability, as many factors, such as weather, soil conditions and even market and economic conditions affect what they have and when. And that can change not only from year to year, but day to day!

When are common crops available?

Below is a general month by month overview for the northern hemisphere (North America). Be sure to see the North Carolina-specific harvest calendar for local dates.

Below is the general info, keep in mind this is very general, this is NOT a list of what the NC state agriculture dept has this year or ANY year or will have on any day. See the North Carolina-specific harvest calendar for typical crop harvest dates in North Carolina and see the NC state agriculture dept website for their current availability. This list below is a general list for many commonly grown crops.

The South will be the earlier end, and the North, the latter:

  • November to March - Citrus (oranges, grapefruit, mandarins, etc, in so Cal, AZ, NM, TX, FL
  • March - April: Asparagus
  • Late April-June: strawberries
  • June- July: cherries
  • June-August: blueberries, blackberries
  • July-September: peaches, figs, tomatoes, green beans
  • July-October: raspberries
  • August - Figs, Fall raspberries start, early apples
  • September-October: apples and grapes
  • October: late apples, Pumpkins
  • December: Christmas trees

Specific Fruit and Vegetable Picking and Preserving Guides and Recipes

After you go to the NC state agriculture dept, you may want to freeze, can, make jams, jellies, sauces, pickles or preserve the fruit or vegetables you get there. See these pages below for detailed, illustrated, step-by-step instructions that make it easy!

McSunley Stainless Steel 21QT Canner, Any Stovetop

Pressure Canners for all stovetops

Looking for canning equipment and supplies?

Water bath canner with a jar rack

Electric pressure canner

Pressure canners for gas, electric and induction stoves: Presto 23Qt or T-fal 22Qt

Canning scoop (this one is PERFECT)

Ball Blue book (most recent version)

8oz canning jars for jams

Regular canning lids

Wide mouth canning lids