You-pick at Red Fern Farm is by reservation. We want to make sure we have enough fruit and/or nuts for your visit. You can contact us a day ahead to see if there is an opening or schedule your harvest-day weeks or even a month in advance by calling 319-729-5905 or email Kathy@redfernfarm.com. We have lots of openings on weekdays, but weekends fill up quickly. Picking hours are 1:00 PM until sunset. Most of our customers are driving 2 to 3 hours to come to our farm.
$25 Dollar Minimum:
This $25 covers the time it takes us to show your group around the groves, train you on what and how to harvest and taste samples of fruit and nuts. If you are harvesting something like Aronia, plums or hazels we will take the $25 ahead of time and you get to pick all you want. No weigh out or further transaction needed. If you are getting multiple items we may say $25 covers it all or take the time to weigh you out (if we suspect it would come to more than $25). Each checkout transaction has a $25 minimum. Group size cost is flexible but generally averages to $12.50/adult.
You can schedule a harvest date reservation before August 15, secured with a $50 deposit. To schedule a harvest date before August 15 for pawpaw or chestnuts, you pay a $50 reservation deposit. We hand you the $50 in cash when you arrive at our farm on the day you are scheduled. We are also willing to refund the deposit for dangerous weather (thunderstorm warnings, lightning or worse) but not just rain. We also refund if there is a crop failure for the crop you wanted to harvest. If you cancel the reservation with short notice, and we can’t schedule anyone to fill your harvest date you lose this deposit. If you no show, you loose the deposit. No deposit is required, for most customers, after August 15.
What to Expect: You can usually drive up and park close to the spot you will be harvesting. We have clean latrines, hand washing stations and picnic tables at the main parking areas. This is a safe area for children, but no dogs or cats are allowed on the ground (food security issues). The grass will be mowed, but not as fine as a lawn. Be sure to wear sturdy, closed toe shoes. Prickly chestnut burs are scattered on the ground and they will poke sharp spines into poorly protected feet. Our orchards are in a rural setting, close to “wild” timber. Bring bug repellent. Your children are welcome to observe and catch the frogs, insects, spiders and snakes they encounter. Please ask your children to be gentle and release all creatures before you leave the groves.
We have maps and directions available to email if you need help finding us. Google Maps knows us as “Red Fern Farm You-Pick”. Call 319-729-5905 or email Kathy@redfernfarm.com to make a reservation. We are outside a lot September – October so be ready to leave a message.
Cornelian Cherries: There is a good crop of mid-August ripening Cornelian cherries this year and a decent crop of late-August and early-September ripening Cornelian cherries. Almost all our Cornelian cherry bushes are now grafted and provide large, tasty fruit. We sell them at $3.00/pound for you-pick. We recommend bringing a gathering cloth to spread under the bushes. The ripe berries are soft and sweet. Under-ripe ones are firmer and very tart. They will continue to ripen after picking. We have none available already picked (the family eats them up too fast).
Hazels: In 2026 the season looks like mid- August to early September is Hazel season. Hazels are $2.00/pound for un-husked clusters or $3.00/pound husked nuts for you-pick. Bring bags, buckets or boxes to collect into. It can take 30 minutes for one adult to pick clean one 10 foot tall bush and gather about 1-3 gallons of hazel clusters. One gallon of un-husked nuts (an ice cream bucket full) will yield about one pound of husked nuts. If you are interested in saving hazels for seed nuts, check out our Hazel Seed Nut Planting Instructions sheet.
Pawpaws: We have a good crop. Usually the season runs mid-September to the first hard freeze in October. In 2026 we believe the season will run 2 weeks early, peaking in mid-September. Unmarked pawpaws are $4.00/pound when you pick them, $6.00/pound when we pick them. Marked pawpaws are $10.00/pound (these fruits are collected for their valuable seeds). We will guide you out to the pawpaw patch, show you how to judge the ripeness of pawpaw and give you a pawpaw to taste. Ripe pawpaws are very soft and should be stacked only 2 deep or less.
Bring buckets, boxes or crates to carry your fruit home. Weekends are very popular, so call early to reserve a time slot. Monday – Friday is an excellent time to have a pawpaw patch to yourself. It only takes about 15 minutes to get 5 – 10 pounds of pawpaws (about 10 to 20 pieces of fruit). We do ask you only pick what you plan to take home. (Warning, toddlers get excited and can harvest $20 worth of pawpaw while your back is turned). Late afternoon is the best time to pick, but ripe pawpaws will be available all day (after 1:00 pm). Recipes are available at the checkout shed.
We have many grafted trees. If you want to see what grafted variety you like the flavor of best, bring a black sharpie with you. You can write on the outside of the pawpaw what the variety it is. When you eat it later, you can compare it with other varieties. If we have large amounts of pre-picked pawpaw, we will sell large amounts (20 pounds or more) for a discounted price.
American Persimmon: Season usually runs mid-September to the end of October. Price is $2.00/pound when you pick them, $3.00/pound when we pick them. The Persimmons are very soft when ripe. They should not be piled deeply in your gathering container. Bring bags, buckets or boxes to collect into.
They can be gathered from the ground or picked from the tree. Orange but slightly under ripe persimmons are very astringent, but will ripen off the tree. We will offer advice on judging ripeness of persimmons. Recipes for persimmon chocolate bars, chiffon pie and margaritas are at the checkout shed and on-line.
Asian Pears: In 2026 there will be almost no Asian pears. Customers will be very lucky to find 5 pounds of pears. The season usually runs mid-September to late October. This year only the Korean Giants have any fruit and will ripen around late October. However, our groves are often picked clean of ripe and unripe fruit by the end of September. Feel free to taste sample any fallen fruit to find a tree whose flavor you enjoy. Asian pears are available at $3.00/pound when you pick them, $4.00/pound when we pick.
Heartnuts: There will be almost no heartnuts this year. We lost all but the Mitchell hybrids to frosts for 2026. The Mitchell hybrids will ripen mid-September to mid-October, like chestnuts. The squirrels will get many. These delicious, high-fat nuts would be available at two different rates. If you husk the nut so that you have mostly just the heartnut, they are $5/pound. If you leave the green, moist husk on, they are $3/pound.
Chestnut: The season usually runs about mid-September to mid-October, but the trees are in charge and they decide when they will start dropping their nuts. In 2026 we believe the season will run 2 weeks early, peaking in mid-September. Harvest may continue to mid-October or the first hard freeze (below 25 degrees). Hot, windy days make lots of chestnuts fall to the ground, cool weather slows things down. We make the best guesses we can about how many pounds of chestnuts will be available for harvesting each day. Chestnuts start dropping each day around 1:00 pm and hit their peak around 3:00 pm.
Harvesting chestnuts for eating starts at 1:00 pm each day. We will set you up in a grove of trees depending on how many pounds of chestnuts you hope to harvest and how many people are in your group. Your group does need to stay in its assigned area. We provide buckets and a tool called a nut wizard. Watch a Nut Wizard in action.
Chestnuts harvested Tuesday – Friday cost $3.75/pound. Chestnuts harvested Saturday, Sunday & Monday cost $4.25/pound. We have lots of openings for week days. If your group harvests more than 100 pounds of chestnuts, everyone in the group gets a 25¢ discount on each pound of chestnuts. Be sure to bring water and snacks. It takes about one hour for an average adult to gather 25 pounds of nuts.
Chestnut Seed nut harvest starts at dawn each day and goes up to noon. Chestnuts harvested at this time are $10.00/pound and are used to grow more trees. Harvesters of seed nuts can harvest from any area, any grafted or seedling tree. Maps will be provided showing location of named trees. We have some advice on growing chestnuts from seed.