Spring brings more than warmer days and blooming gardens. Across South Africa, farms begin producing some of the country’s most anticipated seasonal fruit and vegetables, from strawberries and asparagus to artichokes and waterblommetjies.
Photo by Magda Ehlers / Pexels
For travellers, it is a good reason to get out of the city and follow the harvest. These are some of the places where you can taste spring at its freshest, while exploring the farms, markets and landscapes that produce it.
Babylonstoren, Paarl
If you want to experience spring produce at its source, Babylonstoren is a good place to start.
The historic Winelands farm’s working garden produces a succession of seasonal crops, with September bringing the first asparagus, artichokes, spring peas and early nectarines. Strawberries also feature in the garden, while the farm’s ponds yield the last of the season’s waterblommetjies.
The best way to experience it is to take your time. Walk through the garden, eat at one of the farm’s restaurants or book one of its seasonal workshops. In September 2026, the farm is hosting a dedicated asparagus and artichoke workshop, taking visitors from harvesting the produce in the garden to preparing it for lunch.
Spring is also a particularly beautiful time to visit, when the farm’s indigenous clivias begin flowering from around mid-September.
Go for: asparagus, artichokes, strawberries and a proper farm-to-table experience.
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Polkadraai Farm, Stellenbosch
There is something particularly satisfying about picking your own food, especially when it is a strawberry. At Polkadraai Farm, the strawberry season runs from September to January, with visitors able to pick their own fruit directly from the fields. The farm grows a range of varieties, including Albion, Splendor, Honor and Candonga.
Picking takes around 20 to 30 minutes, but there is no need to make it a rushed stop. The farm also has tractor rides, mini golf, pony rides, a playground and a food court, making it an easy spring outing for families.
For 2026, the farm’s strawberry operation and related activities reopen in mid-September, just as the new season gets going. The farm is around 30 minutes from Cape Town, making it particularly easy to turn into a half-day escape from the city.
Go for: strawberries straight from the field and an easy Winelands day trip.
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Elgin and Grabouw
The Elgin Valley is made for a spring road trip. The region’s farming landscape is dotted with orchards, farm stalls and food producers, and places such as Peregrine have been part of the journey for generations. Established in the 1960s, the farm stall has long been a stop for travellers heading through the valley and continues to sell locally sourced and seasonal produce alongside homemade breads, pastries and other country fare.
For something with a little more history, head to the Elgin Railway Market. The market occupies a former apple warehouse built in the 1940s by Italian prisoners of war. Today, the building houses local food and craft vendors, with the surrounding valley providing a distinctly agricultural backdrop.
You can even make the journey part of the experience. Heritage trains run weekend trips between Cape Town and Elgin, arriving at the market before returning to the city.
Go for: farm-stall shopping, local food and a slower road trip through the Overberg
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Redberry Farm, George
The Garden Route has its own spring strawberry destination at Redberry Farm, just outside George at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains. The farm was established in 2000 by Dave Cruse and Mark Miller after they bought the property from a dairy farmer. What began as a small strawberry field and farm stall has grown into a commercial strawberry operation and popular agri-tourism destination.
Strawberries have remained at the heart of the farm, with visitors able to pick their own fruit before exploring the farm’s other attractions, including its hedge maze, miniature train, farm stall and eateries.
There is also a little history to discover. A cottage on the property is more than 120 years old and was built by the family of South African writer C.J. Langenhoven. While strawberries are available throughout the year, the farm’s long growing season makes it an easy stop to add to a Garden Route itinerary.
Go for: strawberries, mountain views and a farm experience that works for both adults and children.
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Follow the harvest
There is something different about eating food where it grows.
Spring is the perfect time to follow that idea across South Africa. Instead of simply asking where to go, ask what is growing. The answer might lead you down a farm road, through an orchard or towards a country market you would otherwise have driven straight past.
And that is perhaps the best reason to travel with the seasons. The produce changes, the landscape changes and, if you time it right, so does the way you experience the place.
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