U-pick farm Boeren in het Bos

Boeren in het Bos is a regenerative nature farm located on the 160-hectare Landgoed Boschhoeve in Nijeberkoop, Friesland. The farm operates a mixed system where nature and agriculture work together, with a focus on building healthy soil, increasing biodiversity, and producing pure, nutrient-dense food. The farm is home to grass-fed cattle, free-range pigs, and pastured chickens, all of which play a functional role in the ecosystem. The farm also runs an education center offering a course in self-sufficient farming and living with nature.

The farm has a self-harvest garden (zelfoogsttuin) where you can pick your own vegetables and herbs. The picking season runs from May through November. Each week, you can expect to find between 5 and 10 different types of vegetables, depending on the season. The variety includes early spring greens like spinach, radishes, and salad, summer crops like tomatoes, courgettes, and beans, and winter vegetables such as kale and Brussels sprouts. In 2026, fruit may also become available from recently planted bushes.

Other products available from the farm include grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken and eggs, wild game, and raw-milk cheese. These items are sold through the on-site farm shop and online.

The farm shop is open every day of the week from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, including holidays. The self-harvest garden can be visited by members on Wednesdays through Sundays, also between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. The farm is operational year-round. It is classified as a farm, butcher shop, and educational facility, and is noted for being run by a female entrepreneur. The farm is wheelchair accessible with a designated parking space and an accessible toilet.

What visitors say

This farm and its associated shop are predominantly highly rated for their commitment to offering high-quality, organic, and natural products. Customers frequently praise the delicious organic beef (notably 100% grass-fed), pork, and chicken available. The farm shop is consistently described as beautiful, clean, and efficiently run, operating on a self-service basis and open daily, including Sundays.

Visitors appreciate the comprehensive farm experience, which includes engaging guided tours led by the farmers, Mariska and Richard, as well as opportunities for scenic walks amidst freely roaming animals like pigs in the forest. The enterprise is lauded as a commendable initiative, championing sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices that foster a strong connection between consumers and their food sources. The farm also provides good accessibility for disabled visitors and ample parking.

While the exceptional quality of the meat is widely acknowledged, some customers consider the prices to be high. The owners address this by explaining that their pricing reflects the true cost of producing organic, Demeter-standard, or natural meat in the Netherlands, emphasizing animal welfare, lower animal density per hectare, and the regenerative impact on soil and biodiversity.

However, a notable area of strong criticism concerns workshops that allegedly involve the slaughter of chickens. Several reviewers express profound moral outrage, deeming these activities barbaric, unempathetic, and a trivialization of animal life. Additionally, one customer reported dissatisfaction with the meager amount of meat on a wild duck purchased, feeling it did not justify the price.

Facilities in this u-pick farm

Farm shop Farm shop

Hanna's Pluktuin

2.3 km — friesland

Hanna’s Pluktuin is a sustainable flower garden located just outside Makkinga in Friesland, offering visitors the chance to pick their own seasonal blooms directly from the field. This family-run garden focuses on sustainably grown flowers, providing a colorful and relaxing outdoor experience. Visitors can pick a wide variety of flowers, including dahlias, zinnias, sunflowers, strawflowers, amaranthus, ornamental tobacco, matthiola, limonium, salvia, paper daisies, scabiosa, fountain grass, calendula, statice, echinacea, achillea, lamb’s ear, snapdragons, ammi majus, nigella, bronze fennel, phlox, gomphrena, lion’s ear, and marguerites, among many others.

Fruithof De struikrover

11.3 km — friesland

Fruithof de Struikrover is a self-picking farm and orchard located in Oldeholtpade, Friesland, situated a short distance from Wolvega. Established in 2013, the farm offers a wide variety of fruit and flowers that visitors can pick themselves. The entire farm is cultivated using organic methods, with no pesticides used. Visitors can pick a diverse selection of fruit, including more than 20 different types. The main crop is the blueberry, but the farm also produces strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and red, black, and white currants (including green gooseberries and jostaberries). Other less common fruits available for picking include honeyberry, tayberry, elderberry, rosehip, quince, medlar, sea buckthorn, chokeberry (aronia), Japanese wineberry, figs, and cherries. The picking season runs through the summer months, from approximately mid-June to mid-September.

Ecologische Tuinderij De Tilgrupshof

11.9 km — 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.

Stichting Fruithof Frederiksoord

12.2 km — drenthe

Fruithof Frederiksoord is a living outdoor museum and heritage orchard spread across 8 hectares in Frederiksoord, Netherlands. It serves as an important gene bank, preserving over 550 different historic fruit varieties, about half of which hold an “urgent” heritage status. The orchard is a park-like environment with smaller plots surrounded by flowering trees, shrubs, and berries, and is maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers. It features a historical grapevine greenhouse and a nature path called the “Struunpad,” which includes an insect tower for wild bees.