Discover U-Pick farms

Field of corn ready to be picked

Discover U-Pick farms

Yacón farms

Alright, grab a basket and your most adventurous snack-hat—because we’re going yacón picking in the Netherlands! This crisp, sweet, and slightly apple-meets-watermelon root vegetable is a bit of a rare treasure, but a handful of Dutch farms now grow it and invite you to pick your own. Sun-warmed and straight from the earth, a freshly pulled yacón tastes like nature’s candy with zero guilt.

The Picking Party
Yacón grows like a tall, sunflower-like plant, but the real magic hides underground: clusters of knobby, brown-skinned tubers. Grab a friend or the whole family—it’s a bit of a treasure hunt. Gently loosen the soil around the base with your hands or a small fork, then pull. Don’t be shy; they grow in bunches. Once you’ve got a haul, brush off the dirt, snap off a piece, and munch it raw right there in the field. It’s juicy, sweet, and tastes like a pear decided to be a potato.

At Home: Prep & Play
Give your yacón a good scrub—you can peel it, but the skin is thin and edible. The texture is like a water chestnut crossed with an apple. Perfect for crunching raw in salads, dipping in hummus, or slicing into sticks for kids.

Two Cooking Recipes

1. Yacón & Apple Slaw with Honey-Lime Dressing

2 medium yacón, peeled and julienned
1 green apple, julienned
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 handful fresh cilantro or mint
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp honey (or agave)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper

Toss yacón, apple, onion, and herbs in a bowl. Whisk lime juice, honey, oil, salt, and pepper. Pour over, mix well. Let sit 10 minutes. Serve as a side to grilled fish or tacos.

2. Roasted Yacón with Rosemary & Garlic

4 medium yacón, peeled and cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
Salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Toss yacón chunks with oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet. Roast 25–30 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden and caramelized. Serve as a sweet, nutty side dish—amazing with roast chicken.

One Cocktail Recipe: Yacón & Ginger Sparkler

2 yacón, peeled and juiced (or finely grated and strained)
50 ml vodka or gin
15 ml fresh lime juice
10 ml ginger syrup (or honey + grated ginger)
Sparkling water
Mint sprig & lime wheel

Shake yacón juice, vodka, lime, and ginger syrup with ice. Strain into a glass filled with ice. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with mint and lime. Refreshing, slightly sweet, and wonderfully unusual.

So go on—find a farm, get your hands dirty, and bring home a root that’s equal parts snack, dinner, and cocktail hour.

De Tovertuin' (zelfoogst groenten)

fruit, vegetables, herbs
gelderland

De Tovertuin is a self-pick vegetable garden located in Epe, offering a membership-based experience where people can come and harvest their own fresh, organically grown produce. The garden focuses on community building around food and cultivates a wide variety of vegetables using natural and ecological methods, without the use of chemical pesticides. The season runs for approximately 33 weeks, typically starting in early May. Members can self-pick a vast assortment of produce, including: potatoes, strawberries, endive, eggplant, basil, beets, kale, wild garlic, spring onions, broccoli, broccolini, Chinese cabbage, zucchini, capucijner peas, celeriac, cucumber, kohlrabi, kohlrabi, pak choi, palm kale, parsnip, snow peas, leek, rapeseed, rhubarb, radicchio, radish, red cabbage, lettuce, spinach, pointed cabbage, chard, green beans, Brussels sprouts, sweet corn, fava beans, lamb’s lettuce, fennel, yacon, sweet potato, and winter purslane.

Ecologische Tuinderij De Tilgrupshof

vegetables, herbs, fruit, berries
friesland

De Tilgrupshof is an ecological self-picking farm located on the Tilgrupsweg in Appelscha, established in January 2024. The farm operates on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) principles, meaning that members support the farm financially at the start of the season and, in return, share in the harvest throughout the growing period. Farming is done entirely without chemical pesticides or fertilizers, focusing instead on nurturing soil health and biodiversity. Members can self-pick a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. The season runs from mid-May to November, spanning approximately 30 weeks. At the start of the season, the selection is smaller, but by midsummer there is an abundance of produce. Available crops vary by season. In the spring, you can expect winter purslane, garlic, turnip tops, radishes, marrowfat peas, kohlrabi, endive, pak choi, snow peas, arugula, pointed cabbage, fennel, spinach, Swiss chard, red cabbage, rhubarb, green asparagus, and various lettuces and herbs. Summer offerings include broad beans, peas, zucchini, summer purslane, pak choi, New Zealand spinach, pointed cabbage, garlic, onions, beets, carrots, beans, potatoes, leeks, corn, and assorted lettuces and herbs. In autumn, the harvest includes beans, zucchini, sweet potatoes, daikon, turnips, artichokes, pumpkins, yacon, celeriac, Swiss chard, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, kale, and various lettuces and herbs.

Pluck van het veld

fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs
noord-brabant

Pluck van het veld is a self-picking farm and community garden located in Cromvoirt, in the countryside near Den Bosch. The farm grows over 70 varieties of vegetables, herbs, small fruits, and flowers using no-dig, regenerative methods without chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Members can join a seasonal subscription (Pluckabonnement) that runs from May through mid-December, offering weekly access to pick 5 to 15 types of vegetables and herbs, with additional small fruits and edible flowers throughout the season. The picking field is open every day during daylight hours for subscribers, and a gardener is typically present on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The flower picking garden (Bloemenpluktuin) is available from late May to mid-October, and from 2026 onward it operates solely through seasonal subscriptions; a separate tulip picking event takes place in early spring (late March to early April) with over 7,500 organic tulip bulbs. The farm also hosts workshops (bouquet making, vegetable gardening), courses for aspiring market gardeners, guided tours, and corporate team events. A solidary pricing system allows members to pay according to their means. General contact hours (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:00–17:00; Wednesday, Friday 9:00–16:00; Saturday 10:00–12:00) apply for inquiries, while the picking grounds remain accessible to subscribers throughout the season.

De Moestuin Utrecht

fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs
utrecht

We are a social enterprise and biological farm located on the eastern side of Utrecht, set on a 2.5‑hectare site that once belonged to a monastery and later became a city nursery. Today, the garden serves as a working farm, lunch café, farm shop, event venue, and recreational space. All cultivation is organic, and the farm provides work and training opportunities for people who have difficulty finding employment on the regular labour market. The site includes a large terrace, a children’s playground, an animal meadow, beehives, a herb garden, and a greenhouse called De Oranjerie that can be rented for parties, weddings, and business meetings.

Moestuin Leyduin

berries, flowers, fruit, herbs, vegetables
noord-holland

Moestuin Leyduin is a historical kitchen garden of one hectare located on the Buitenplaats Leyduin estate, on the border of Heemstede and Vogelenzang. It operates as a self-harvest garden using a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, where members purchase a share of the harvest at the beginning of the season. The garden is open to the public, but the primary activity—self-picking of produce—is reserved for shareholding participants. Approximately fifty different vegetables, twenty types of herbs, soft fruit, apples, and pears are grown using methods free from artificial fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. A wide variety of flowers is also available for picking. The garden is suitable for walking and is welcoming to children, with the condition that they are supervised while harvesting. Dogs are allowed only at the entrance and must be kept on a lead.

Blauwe Bessengaard op ´t Leeuweriksveld

fruit, vegetables, herbs, berries
drenthe

’t Leeuweriksveld is a biodynamic vegetable farm and orchard located in Emmen, in the province of Drenthe. For over 20 years, the farm has offered a wide variety of vegetables and fruit. Across the property, a blueberry orchard on a quarter-hectare of land is open for self-picking seasonally. The blueberry picking season typically runs from late spring through the end of August. In addition to blueberries, the farm grows other types of berries for picking, including blackberries and tayberries, as well as grapes, medlars, quinces, and apples.

'T Leeuweriksveld

fruit, vegetables, herbs, berries
drenthe

’t Leeuweriksveld is a biodynamic vegetable farm located in Emmen, Drenthe, that has been cultivating its land for over two decades. The farm focuses on producing a diverse range of vegetables using biodynamic methods and offers several ways to access its harvest, including a self-picking program, weekly vegetable subscriptions, and a farm shop. The farm is situated at Zandzoom 72 and is part of a wider initiative that includes a blueberry orchard.

Stichting Moestuin De Haar

fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs
utrecht

Moestuin de Haar is a 1.5-hectare self-harvest garden situated on the historic former production grounds of Kasteel de Haar. It operates as a community-supported agriculture (CSA) project, combining historic preservation with seasonal food production. The garden is managed by a foundation, along with gardeners and volunteers, and serves as a community space where members can enjoy the landscape, socialize, and eat according to the seasons. Produce available for self-picking includes vegetables, soft fruit (kleinfruit), herbs, and flowers. All cultivation follows organic farming principles, using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Biodiversity and soil health are prioritized through compost, crop rotation, and green manures.