Pick. at Garden Patch Farms

Cute little farm. Great to take your family for a fall apple picking experience if you live nearby and don’t want to drive too far. Go soon if you want to pick your own apples because this weekend they just opened the last 2 apple fields in the back.
It’s $ 5/​person to enter the orchard and $ 2/​pound.
There’s a hay ride that will take you around the orchard or you can walk it since the property isn’t that big.
The best part: Fresh mini apple cider donuts only available on the weekends.
They do sell pumpkins but there isn’t anywhere to pick your own, so it’s definitely not a pumpkin patch. Kids can feed the chickens and go in the bounce house.
The farm store has a ton of stuff. Fresh produce, pickles, jams, salsa, soaps, candles, etc. Corn stalks and HUGE mums are also available.
Glad we checked this place out.

Waste of money, worm hole apples and all picked out this time of year. Cashiers had a bad attitude and they kept selling tickets to the orchard even though they knew they were picked out. Spoke to other visitors and they said they had a very hard time finding something to pick too. I’m sure when the orchard is full it would be fun. Total waste of $ 60. + dollars.

Basically your typical picking farm. A bit pricey. And not a whole lot to choose from Depending on the time of the season. And to what it is that you are in search of.
The reason in which I am only giving a 3 star is due to the choice selection, During my time of visit. I would have loved to seen more of a variety.
I did call ahead to see what choices I would have during my visit. And what they stated was not entirely true.
One of the big minuses I would say, is having to pay five dollars just to walk the grounds. And lets also not forget. If you choose to pick some items and decided later on that you no longer desire that item, you still have to pay for them. Regardless of your honesty. And for not choosing to just discard on to the grounds like everyone else.
So with that being said!, Only pick what you are 100% on taking with you. Even though they do have pre picked choices in their store front.

wish i could give 0 stars. visiting from california — thought this would be a good gift for friends we are staying with — called before making the 1.5 hour drive and was assured there were lots of blackberries, pears, and peaches. well… blackberries were all picked over, peaches were speckled and rotton, pears were the size of golf balls, hard, and sour. drove 1.5 hours, paid $ 5 per person to get in, and bought 2 pears and a few blackberries since my 2 year old couldnt understand that we werent getting anything. dont waste your time!

This place is one of my favorites. Not only because of the healthy fruits and veggies but also because the owner are positive friendly people who work hard. Bring your kids! Teach them how to respect and enjoy nature. You can feed the chickens, pick your veggies (even spices), honey, fruits or just lay down under the tree and relax

This place is great. The people are awesome. Produce is good and the honey is great! I am a little confused by some of the negative reviews. I know they sometimes run out of a particular vegetable but it is a demand thing. I bought 25lbs of cucumbers to make pickles. So I know they have cucumbers and have enjoyed many Strawberries from them. The lack of produce on a certain day may be just because it’s a real working farm not a store that can just order more of what ever it is everybody really liked that week. All in all though this is one of my favorite places to buy plants and produce.

We were looking forward to spending some family time together with some good old strawberry picking. We showed up and got our strawberry containers (after paying $ 5 a person for just going into the field) we walked out and we couldn’t even tell there was a strawberry field. We went a little ways back and saw what they claimed was a strawberry field but really it was a couple rotten strawberries underneath some weeds. We basically went strawberry hunting. Then we decided to shop around in their little store. We bought some honey, apple cider (which we were disappointed when we realized it was from concentrate) and some cherries. We won’t be coming back. Time to find a new place to pick.

I understand it is early in the season but really hoped they would have fresh perfect strawberries in their shop since it was storming on and off today and we didn’t want to get muddy picking our own. Unfortunately the 3 containers of strawberries in their fridge looked a week old, kind of gross. Their rhubarb was drying out in the bin. The other veggies looked good but since it is early in the season weren’t local. They had a huge selection of jarred goods — honey, jams, BBQ sauces, salsas — be careful a lot of these were from out of state. The jams and other items that were jarred for the shop weren’t all as pure as I would have hoped (contained high fructose corn syrup) — read the label «select» is the way to go.
Long story short, timing is everything — I am glad we made the trip out but I am not sure we will be back.

I really do love this place. We buy our local honey from them and fruits & veggies from their country store. I buy vegetable plants and flowers from them every year as well. My kids love looking at the chickens. We have strawberry and apple picked from them. My only complaint is the $ 5 per person field charge. I think 2 & under was free when we did it but honestly, I feel as though 4 and under should be free because as for apple picking, my kids were to short to reach so I had to pick them up for every single apple, I paid $ 20 to apple pick and they maybe picked 10 apples total and the same went for strawberry picking. They were so fascinated by the random butterflies that they never focused to pick. My 5 year old daughter enjoyed picking fruit and I have no problem paying the field charge for an older child who will actually enjoy the activity but it is just a lot of money for a larger family to pay just to walk on the field and then to pay for the produce as well. We’ve decided not to do any field activities until all the kids are over 5 so it seems worth it.

Great place to take your kids! Rows and rows of apple trees, hens, local honey, plants, etc. Well worth the trip from the city or suburbs.

You can’t pick much at u.pick.
I scoured Unilocal for tips on a berry/​apple picking farm that wasn’t 2 hours away and this one seemed most convenient. A tiny grocery greets you at the entrance and you walk back to animals, a bouncy and the picking area. $ 5 entrance for everyone. I felt I was gonna be picking a storm. Not so.
The website had advertised apples, zucchini, squash, cucumber and raspberries among others. Apples were already picked and in buckets that was swarming with bees. Employee dude in front told us Chiberia was bad to the apple trees and it wasn’t worth picking or something. Whatever. There was 0 squash, 0 zucchini, no blackberries and I never even found an area for cucumber or raspberries. We grabbed the only corns we saw (4), peppers, itty bitty pears and the most abundant thing, tomatoes.
For $ 20 between my fam and I, I didn’t really think it was worth it. Yeah, there’s a bouncy house that made the kids happy after they barely picked anything and a chicken den that kids can throw seeds at. You can also check out 1 goat and 1 pig when they feel like coming out.
If this was free or only charged admission for adults, I’d be cooler with it but next year I’ll drive further and go somewhere else since you can’t pick at u.pick.

Had a great time picking veggies with my little guy today. Would have been a full five stars, but their website wasn’t updated with what’s available to pick. We drive out for gooseberries, but those were all gone. Bonus: farm fresh eggs and incredibly nice staff!!!

Best peaches I have ever had! And you can pick them right from the trees! They have a lot to offer when it comes to picking your own food, different veggies & fruits! My family and I came here a few weeks before fall, and we loved the atmosphere. The staff is super friendly, and have great recommendations. One of the girls in the store recommended the blueberry dipped pretzels, and they were fantastic!
We will definitely be back several times this year to check out all the different seasonal fruits and of course for the peaches!

I have to give this place five stars. I visited this Garden Patch Farms with my girlfriend and her 3 yr old niece and we absolutely loved the farm. The 3 year old has been talking about the farm, the chickens, pig, goat, and and the orchard nonstop since we left.
My girlfriend and I were also able to pick up some fresh apples, peppers, and some great salsa from the store. We will definitely be back.
If there is any negative (and I am trying very hard to find one) is that it take about 45 min from the City, but from what i googled i was not able to find anything closer.
Great Place.

Pet friendly both in the orchard and inside their little store. For an added bonus they also accept credit/​debit cards. The $ 1 apple doughnuts were a hit!

Great place to pick apples, veggies and pumpkins. Lots of activities for the kids. Only hummer is the $ 5 per person fee just to pick. Not cool.

I’m. In. Love. With a farm. I have seriously missed my calling… I rode horses my whole life, so I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, and this place lets me do just that. It’s a huge farm with so much fresh produce it will blow your mind. I was not aware we could grow so much in Illinois. Every season, my daughter and I are giddy in anticipation to come pick our goodies! We are totally aware we are nerds.
It’s a great way to spend an afternoon! Come, pay $ 5, and voila! Farmer (insert your name here), you’re in for an adventure!
They have kale, collared greens, mustard greens, onions, broccoli, cauliflower (even purple), onions, potatoes, 3 kinds of beets, yellow and green beans, edamame, countless variations of peppers, tomatoes galore, fresh melon, champagne, concord and green grapes, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, eggplant, cucumbers, pickles, corn, 2 things I can’t pronounce or spell off the top of my head, and obviously apples upon apples. I’m sure Im missing about 3 – 5 veggies.
So, brace yourself… I got about 3 lbs potatoes, tons of kale, 6 cucumbers, yellow beans, edamame, 8 tomatoes, peppers galore, 3 broccoli heads, 6 peaches, Concord grapes, and maybe 8 beets… it was THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS!!! I mean the tomatoes alone would have been almost $ 20. This is for as fresh as it gets too. The people saying this place is expensive feed their children off the McDonald’s Dollar Menu, no doubt.
There is a large store if farming ain’t to thang… if you need any help, I’m your girl. Will farm for free. Note: peaches aren’t nearly as good as last year. Concord grapes are the best grapes I’ve ever had.

I am in Homer Glen very often yet I never came across this farm before. What a great little treasure in the middle of no where!
$ 5 dollars per adult to go to the farm and pick your own goodies. Or you can just go grocery shopping in their little shop with homemade honey and the farms produce. They had more veggies than I thought. and an abundance of peach trees. They also have bee hives (be careful!). It was a great way to spend a nice afternoon. Many people took their kids and they have wagons were you can place your fruits & veggies. There is also a hen house to look at the chickens. :-)
Definately will go apple picking here this fall.

I have been searching forever for a you-​pick farm and finally stumbled upon Garden Patch. We wanted to pick strawberries and saw their facebook post about how the strawberry season was quickly ending. We made sure to head out one humid Saturday to pick our share.
There is a $ 5 entry fee per person but you are allowed to pick as much as you’d like. They do charge per lb for your pickings so check out the specific prices listed on the board.
When we got to the strawberry patch we noticed it was pretty picked over. We did find a few strawberries to take home (enough to fill up a pint each). If you do come next year to pick strawberries think about wearing bug spray. I had a few mosquito bites on both hands from when I reached into the plants.
We were told that they had TONS of cherries so we checked that out after the strawberries. I am so glad that we did, this was definitely the highlight and warrants a return visit next season. The trees were FULL of cherries, tart, sweet and Rainier (at least they looked like Rainier cherries). I don’t want to get in trouble but we «sampled» a LOT of cherries. I mean, how do you know if they are good/​worth picking without sampling a few? I do have to say, they were the best darn cherries I’ve ever had… better than anything I’ve ever bought in a grocery store!
We ran into a space issue as we didn’t bring enough containers back with us. We didn’t realize how many things we would pick and only took 2 containers each. And, we didn’t bring a wagon back with us either, mistake #2. Walking out to the fields with empty containers is easy, walking back with filled-​to-​the-​brim containers, not so much.
Check out their website as they have tons of fruits/​veggies and will list when things are in season and ready for the pickin’!
I can’t wait to visit again in the Fall for apple picking and I noticed they even have pumpkin picking!

I’m no farm girl but for a couple hours, sure, I’ll roll up my sleeves and tend to the fields. I’ve gone apple and pumpkin picking a few times before, but never strawberry picking! What a fun experience! I felt like Smeagel — all crouched and looking my precious… berries. haha.
Anyway, the staff at Garden Patch was very nice and just let us loose on their farm after giving us our basket. Their farm includes a hen house, garden nursery, a goat, and last but not least, their fields. The fields are fairly big with a variety of crops (apples, kale, onions, berries, etc). All I can say is that I can’t wait to go back in the other seasons and pick pick pick!
This place also has a cute shop– with too many ceramic chickens, more produce, and some Amish made granola, jams, pre-​made mixes, etc. Prices were not bad at all and I just felt good buying local!
Okay… just a few tips I can pass on:
— Get there early… or be swarmed with toddlers. Seriously, this place is a wonderful place to take your family, but, if you want the best pickings without toppling over youngins, get there when they first open.
— Have a game plan. It’s a flat rate to pick and you pay by the pound per produce. So, if you want to pick multiple crops and they’re in season, do it in one stop!