In this picturesque Central European nation, nature begins at your doorstep. Widely popular for the Swiss alps, snow caped peaks, beautiful train journeys with panoramic views, fine chocolates, exquisite watches and wooden chalets perched on alpine meadows. Now add to that list self-picking apples, cherries, strawberry, peas, cauliflower and a whole lot more.
As a new expat in the country and a nature lover, the abundance of opportunity for city dwellers to enjoy weekend or days off at local farms got us planning and experiencing farm life in small and medium sized farms (mostly family run), through spring, summer and Autumn months (May to October).
Self-picking fruits and vegetables are very popular with the locals in Switzerland, for both young and old alike. Watching elderly gentlemen clad in shorts with suspenders climbing up ladders to pick Cherries is as common a sight compared to kids running around strawberry fields with baskets of Erdbeeren (literally translating to berries grown on the ground over straw in the German speaking parts of Switzerland).
Towards end of spring, our first farm visit was to Sunnehof farm (reachable by public transport or a short drive away from Zürich city) for Strawberry and Cherry picking in the month of June. A beautiful family run farm situated between the cantons of Zürich and Zug seemed quite busy for a Monday afternoon. The farm has over 30,000+ strawberry plants and couple of dozen cherry trees. Overcast days are the best to actively participate in farm activities for a newbie like me, it could get quite tiring even if it is only for a couple of hours.
This farm is situated uphill in Mettemenstetten (address shared below) with beautiful sweeping views of Zurich.
After a good couple of hours picking Strawberries, we strapped the cherry-picking basket around our waist and climbed well fixed ladder up the cherry tree to experience yet another first -time activity in this beautiful country.
On picking all the berries to meet our need and greed, we weighed the fruits and paid around CHF 5.50 (INR 400) per Kg of Strawberry, which is almost half the price you pay for it in a grocery store with an added experience and satisfaction of picking your own fruit. The friendly cashier also showed us the ongoing peas picking in the farm, those were the sweetest peas we have ever tasted. On our way out we were greeted by the farm’s friendly calves who loved interacting with children and visitors.
Zug is the cherry canton of Switzerland. Every cherry season (end of June/ early July) starts with Chriesiglogga (Cherry bell) of St. Michael’s church, marking the start of cherry season for the year. People of all age groups sprint through the city’s cobbled streets carrying long wooden ladders to get their share of the finest cherries available.
Some general rules to follow while fruit / berry picking:
- Bring your own basket or vessel that you can use to collect the berries.
- Often a farm worker will assign you an area in the farm where you are allowed to pick, pick from your allotted area indicated by a pole. When you are done picking move this pole to the space where you finish picking. So, other visitors to the farm can continue from there.
- Help maintain the stretch allotted for your picking by removing the trash/ undesirable fruits.
- Most farms permit you to eat as much as you like while in the farm.
Our first experience, left us wanting for more. This time we chose Jucker farm. Jucker farm is more of an establishent with multiple farms growing wide range of fruits and vegetables. We walked through apple orchards – labyrinth made up of 5000+ apple trees, grape vines and did some blueberry picking. In Jucker farm, the experience of self-picking involves a price of CHF 5 (approx. INR 350) per person in addition to paying for the fruits picked. This time we spent more time tasting the blue berries in the field before we decided on the ones we liked. Well-formed and bigger berries were more delicious, alternatively you can look out for spider webs as they are mostly formed near best tasting berries. Kids and adults can also pet farm goats, play on heaped stacks of hay, enjoy alfresco dining under cherry trees or just walk around the farm and enjoy the views of Lake Pfäffikersee and the mountains. These beautiful farms also turn venue for various events/ wedding.
One of the Swiss National day tradition is to go for a family breakfast / brunch at a farm. Farm stores also sell products processed from their produce. Most neighborhood in Switzerland have Lädeli – a small shop run by farmers where they can sell their seasonal produce to the people in the locality, thereby bringing down the carbon foot print of everyday consumables. As consumers, you also see the cows that provide milk and farms where your vegetables and fruits are harvested during your daily morning walk.
Every Autumn in Switzerland begins with Désalp (Alpine descent), where herdsmen and their family bring their cows and sheep down to the valley after a beautiful summer up the mountain. It is a celebration for the cattle and their herdsmen returning back to their village after spending a few tough summer months of cheese making in the alpine mountains. The sights, sound and tradition of this festival is truly Swiss.
Farms across Switzerland also offer multitude of experiences including milking cows, alpine cheese making, sleeping on hay, flower picking, drafting beer. For those that are in serious pursuit to experience and learn about organic farm life in Switzerland, in exchange for their time and effort, can look into WWOOF (Worldwide opportunities on Organic Farms) which link visitors with organic farmers and growers promoting cultural and educational exchange.
If you are a leisure traveler or resident of Switzerland looking to spend a day in a local farm, this website has details of all farms that permit self-picking of fruits, vegetables and flowers https://www.selberpfluecken.ch (translatable to English using google translate), it also has a harvest timetable across all months of the year. For family run farms I always suggest to call and check before you plan your visit, as there are usually no standard days or time for visitors and are usually decided based on the availability of produce in the farm.
Farms mentioned in this story
Sunnehof farm – Im Loo, 8932 Mettmenstetten, +414 776 86 03
Getting there – 25 min. car ride from Zurich city center (or) approx. 1hr 10 min travel by public transport (train s5 or s14 from Zurich main station to Affoltern am Albis, and 8 min. bus ride to Mettmenstetten, Oberdorf)
Jucker farm – Dorfstrasse 23, 8607 Seegräben
Getting there – 25 min. car ride from Zurich city center (or) 50 min. travel by public transport (Any train from Zurich main station to Uster, and 3 min. train ride from Uster to Aathal followed by a short walk)
Jucker farm Jona – Blaubrunnenstrasse 70, Jona SG
Getting there – 40 min. car ride from Zurich city center (or) 1 hour travel by public transport (s5 or s15 train from Zurich main station to Jona, followed by 4 min. bus ride to Jona Grünfeld)