Amsterdam sits in the middle of a lush polder landscape that has been farmed for centuries. The city’s surroundings — from the Beemster Polder (UNESCO World Heritage Site) to the reclaimed lands of Noord-Holland — are perfectly suited for horticulture. Less than half an hour’s drive from the canal ring you’ll find vast strawberry fields, flower gardens full of dahlias and summer blooms, and fruit orchards along the Amstel and the Zaan. Whether you go by bike or car, picking your own near Amsterdam makes for a wonderful family outing.
U-Pick Farms in and around Amsterdam
Around Amsterdam, Weesp, Haarlem, Zaandam and Amstelveen you’ll find a variety of pick-your-own farms and fruit gardens where you are very welcome. You can pick, explore the farm and often buy something delicious to take home. You can also browse all u-pick farms in North Holland .
The best u-pick farms near Amsterdam: our picks
The Flevoland polder starts at Weesp and the Beemster begins near Purmerend, but the heart of Amsterdam’s u-pick offer beats closest to the city’s own edge. A little more than ten kilometres from the centre lie gardens that take more time than you expect: you fill your basket, fall into conversation with the farmer, and glance at your watch only when the sun has dropped.
Pluk me! in Weesp is a certified organic flower farm known for its wild, romantic field bouquets. From spring to autumn you assemble your own cut flowers from plants grown without pesticides — no sprays, but plenty of fragrance. The farm also runs workshops and sells its own plants.
On the edge of Amsterdam Nieuw-West, Pluk! Boterbloem CSA cultivates an extensive organic plot where members harvest vegetables from May to November. Kohlrabi, chard, purslane — they taste different here, because you pick them yourself, ripe from the plant.
In Abcoude, half an hour south-east of the city, the Tuinen van Hartstocht spread across a biological self-harvest farm with a broad range of vegetables and flowers. From lettuce to leek, from pak choi to dahlias — on a fine summer morning it feels like the richest garden in North Holland.
Just south of Amsterdam, in Nes aan de Amstel, Pluktuin Amstelveen adds colour to the whole season: narcissi in March, peonies in May, dahlias and zinnias in August. It is an organically certified garden with its own tea garden, and you leave calmer than you arrived.
To the north-west, Anne-Marie Fontijn offers a smaller, personal picking garden showing that the quieter side of North Holland has its own picking culture too.
Tip: June and July are the peak months for variety. Make a cycle trip of it along the Amstel or the Ringvaart — the journey to the farm is barely less enjoyable than the farm itself.