year-round experiences

Agritourism in Santee Cooper Country

Do you enjoy fresh food? Us too! Here in Santee Cooper Country, there are so many ways to enjoy fresh food, and you even have the opportunity to gather the food yourself! We have a thriving u-pick community for fruits and veggies of all kinds, and we invite you to join us to partake in your own farm-to-table cuisine.

01.

Fruit.

If you love fresh fruit, you’ll love coming to Santee Cooper Country for fruit of all kinds from watermelon and cantaloupe to strawberries and blackberries. Whether you prefer to pick it yourself or you prefer it pre-picked, you’ll find it here.

Peaches

Peach season in Santee Cooper Country runs from early May to mid-September, with the height of the season in the summer. Many farms in Santee Cooper Country offer u-pick or we-pick peaches in the summer, including St. Julien Plantation and Hinnant Farm, both located in Eutawville, South Carolina. If you’ve never picked peaches before, here are some peach-picking tips:

  1. Make sure the peach doesn’t have any green skin on it. If you see green, it’s not ready!
  2. Gently squeeze the peach. If it’s too firm, it’s not ready! But also, don’t squeeze too hard because it could bruise the peach.
  3. Smell the peach. If it doesn’t have a distinctive peach smell, it’s not ready!
  4. Pull the peach gently. If it doesn’t want to come off, it’s not ready!
  5. Check the size of the peach. Larger peaches tend to ripen first. If it’s too small, it’s not ready!

Berries and More

If you want to channel your inner hobbit, come pick berries here in Santee Cooper Country, South Carolina and enjoy some strawberries and cream for breakfast (or second breakfast) at home.

Strawberry season tends to run from May to June, blackberry season tends to run from mid-June to mid-July, and blueberry season tends to run from June to August. For other fruits like watermelon and cantaloupe, the seasons tend to run from early summer to early fall.

Some of the places you can find berries in Santee Cooper Country are Hinnant Farm, located in Eutawville, South Carolina, and Hickory Bluff Berry Farm in Holly Hill, South Carolina, both of which feature strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

Berry-Picking Tips For First-Time Visitors

If you’ve never picked berries before, here are some tips to make sure you have the best berry-picking experience:

  1. Go early in the day. The berries are less likely to be picked over, and there are fewer people there if you go earlier in the morning when the farm opens up.
  2. Remember that strawberries and raspberries should be red and blueberries should be blue. If there’s green on the berry, it’s not ready.
  3. Make sure blueberries and blackberries are firm to the touch. They should easily come off the bush.
  4. Be sure to look all around the plant or bush for berries. Sometimes the best berries may be hidden!
  5. Clean berries once you get home with a 3:1 ratio of water to distilled white vinegar and dry the berries well. If you aren’t going to use (or eat!) all the berries within a few days, freeze them in a single layer.