U-Pick
What's Pickin'?
This season we'll be offering pick your own summer and autumn raspberries, thornless blackberries (Chester, Ouchita, Apache and Navaho), trailing blackberries (Silvanberry & Marianberry), black and red currents, over 40 varieties of apple and pear and limited amounts of blueberries. Head to Facebook for the latest updates each week.
Apart from fresh produce our farm gate is always stocked with a large range of jams, honey, gardening tools, books, teas, sorbet and other goodies. All as seasonal as it comes so what you’ll find on the shelves will be different every single day depending on the time of year, the weather and how busy we’ve been.
U-Pick
Early bird catches the worm!
We don’t have an endless supply of ripe berries. For the best picking arrive early on our open days. Each year we’re adding more rows to keep up with demand.
U-Pick
Where Are We?
Take an off-the-beaten-track meander through the rolling hills of Stanley to discover Black Barn Farm which is located at 60 Lower Nine Mile Road Stanley (see map below). We are about 10 minutes drive from Beechworth. Head to our Facebook page for up to date information on what varieties are ripe for the picking each week and which days we are open.
U-Pick
Apples and Pears
We have over 60 varieties of apples and 8 pears planted in the orchard. Available from Feb-Apr/May. We are usually open for u-pick apples however it depends on quantities, be early on our open days for the best picking.
While you shouldn’t have favourites, the apples are......well, the apple of our eye and they all have particular personalities. Getting to know them is like going speed dating, some are tart, some are sweet, some get better with age and some need to be eaten immediately or they go soft. Some are crackin’ cookers some are so crunchy they split in your mouth, the odd one is a jack of all trades and some are best left for a few weeks so their sugars can come in to make your taste-buds tapdance.
Come and enjoy varieties with flavour that will knock your tastebuds off like Ashmeads Kernal, Cox's Orange Pippin and Esopus Spitzenburg or grab yourself a bag of the sweeest apples ever put on earth like Fuji, Mutsu and McIntosh or bag some of your favourites like Pink Lady, Gala and Granny Smith.
U-Pick
Berries Galore
Berries abound at Black Barn Farm from late December until April. Wonder the rows and pick your own fresh raspberries, blackberries, currents and blueberries. All grown organically so ready to eat straight from the cane. Be early on our open days for the best picking.
Summer Raspberries - Sandford, Summer Delight, Chilcotin, Nootka, Tullameen, Cascade and Meeker
Autumn Raspberries - Autumn Bliss and Bogong
Thornless Blackberries - Apache, Chester, Navaho, Loch Ness and Ouchita
Brambleberries - Silvan and Marian
Blueberries - Denise, Bluecrop and Northland
Currents - Redcurrents, Blackcurrents and Jostaberries
U-Pick
Healthy food, Healthy Humans!
Because we don’t like eating food with artificial insecticides, fungicides and industrial fertilisers we figure you don’t either, and here’s a tip, neither does mother nature. We only use certified organic insect and fungal control methods and go the extra mile to do many things by hand, such as weeding and thinning surplus blossom rather than use chemical thinners. This deep consideration for our orchard ecosystem takes more time and costs us more but this means you and your troops can eat our food straight from the paddock with no worries to be had – what a treat!
U-Pick
What to bring so she’ll be apples
Bring your own bags, baskets, ice cream containers and any other sturdy vessel you can lay your hands on to fill as you pick up a storm. Many apple and pear varieties will last unrefrigerated for a number of weeks – some even get better with age! The berries however need to be cooled quickly so they don’t spoil, be sure to bring a cooler if you have a distance to drive.
U-Pick
The Cost: Fruit by the kilo
We don’t charge an entry fee however we do charge a per person tasting pass. Then you simply pay per kilo for what you pick. Prices are updated on Facebook.
We prefer cash however we do accept card with a 1.6% surchage.
U-Pick
Sharing the Spoils
We love nothing more than seeing ruby cheeked cherubs running up and down the berry and orchard rows. It really is a place where kids are supposed to be, they intuitively feel the magic and their desire to explore is bold. We love this…we really do! But equally, we love it when Mum and Dad explain the boundaries to their little explorers and respect that these trees are for growing fruit, not climbing, fruit is for eating, not throwing and the farmer (that’s us) has worked really really hard to grow the amazing food on the trees so we don’t want to see it (or us) disrespected. Anyone caught throwing fruit, climbing trees or simply disprespecting our propety will be asked to leave Black Barn Farm.
U-Pick
No Dogs!
Because we have free ranging chickens, ducks and geese as well as two farm dogs of our own, it means you cannot bring your dog with you (seeing eye and assistance dogs are of course warmly welcomed). I know your dog is amazingly well behaved and would never eat a chicken however lets not learn the hard way. Just leave your dog at home.