Phil Chapman's Cherries and Berries

Phil Chapman's Cherries and Berries is a small family-run farm at 39 Parker Road, Wandin East, one of three separate Chapman-family farms strung along the same road in Silvan's berry country. It keeps things simple and cheap: pick your own cherries, raspberries and strawberries, or buy from the shed if you would rather not wander the rows.

What You Can Pick

• Cherries - November to December, around $10/kg
• Raspberries and strawberries - November to January, subject to availability

Activities

• Shed sales of pre-picked fruit through the season
• Berry country hopping - Blue Hills and Chappies are a minute up the road

Good to Know

Reported pricing is about $2 entry then $10/kg for what you pick, which is among the cheapest picking around Melbourne, though figures come from directory listings and are worth confirming by phone. Availability shifts with the crop, and updates are posted on the farm's Facebook page. Shed sales run whenever fruit is coming off the trees, picked fresh each morning rather than stored. Parker Road carries three generations of Chapman family farms, and visiting a couple in one loop is a popular way to compare the district's cherries.

Pro tip: this is the low-key local alternative when the bigger Parker Road farms are queued out on summer weekends.