Southern Belle Farm — Attraction in McDonough

The fruits Southern Belle Farm advertises are beautiful and look inviting. I was hooked from the first picture and wanted to visit right away! I eat organic produce, but there was no information anywhere indicating whether this farm employs conventional or organic farming methodology.

I called this morning and spoke with Marissa: THEY SPRAY THEIR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES WITH PESTICIDES. Their products are NOT organic.

ORGANIC VS CONVENTIONAL FARMING

The essential difference between organic and conventional farming is that conventional farming relies on chemical intervention to fight pests and weeds and provide plant nutrition.

That means synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Organic farming relies on natural principles like biodiversity and composting instead to produce healthy, abundant food.

Importantly, “Organic production is not simply the avoidance of conventional chemical inputs, nor is it the substitution of natural inputs for synthetic ones.

(USDA, 2007)

I do not like pesticides in my body. That’s why I prefer organic produce. They are not organic but I decided to visit anyway.

Now, let me share about my trip to Southern Belle Farm!

Parking is free. Parking lot is huge!

As you know from my reviews, bathrooms are very important to me.

Bathrooms here are MANY, which I loved because there were many visitors there and first two bathrooms were occupied. They also have bathrooms in the area where you pick fruit. So that was great! Bathrooms are clean.

The place is well kept.

PESTICIDES

As soon as I arrived, I went to the store and was greeted by a friendly team. Mr. Randy helped me find my way around. He’s a gentleman in the red tee. He introduced me to Daniel, the boss of all pesticides. We had a long and eye-opening conversation. He recommended I visit safefruitsandvegetables org website and I got to ask him questions regarding the health safety of their product and the impact of pesticides he uses on human health. He was kind enough to wash and slice a peach for me. I tried it and decided to go on a PICKING ADVENTURES to hunt for peaches on my own! It was fun! Daniel started working at this farm when he was 15 and then returned after his college graduation. He’s the gentleman on the right. See pictures attached.

TEAM

These people are Christians and all I felt there was love, peace, and joy. I consider their customers their team, too. There was an older lady who sold me on the cake by telling me in great detail with passion about how much I need to try it and how I absolutely can’t live without it. She was one of the customers. I was sold! There’s also an amazing gentleman who is the boss of all buckets and bags and is the director of local community theater as well as an actor. He was so so nice and shared the story of the farm from the heart. Something unexpected happened to me there: the large bag given to me for peaches picking ... collapsed. All my peaches were in the mud now and I was sad. I called the store since I was deep in the crops and couldn’t leave it as us and go get a new bag. They sent their kind and helpful team member by track who arrived fast and brought me new bags and buckets. We ended up talking about blackberries and the farm. Great people!

BENEFITS

The benefits of picking for me were many. First, it’s just so much fun running in the rain in the mud and chasing peaches! If you do highly-intellectual work, this is your vacation time! You owe it to yourself! It’s soothing if you have anxiety or suffer from OCD like me. Reach for a berry, place it in bucket, reach for a berry, place it in bucket, etc. It’s the best soothing activity outside for OCD! Healthy, fun, and rewarding. Rewards are fruit! It’s also inviting and luring - the peaches and berries are hiding under the leaves. You need to find them. It’s so playful and interesting.

Hope this review helps you...

Southern Belle Farm is a charming and family-friendly destination located in McDonough, Georgia. Known for its picturesque setting and wide range of activities, the farm offers a delightful experience for visitors of all ages.

One of the highlights of Southern Belle Farm is its ample selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables available for picking. Whether you're craving juicy strawberries in the spring or plump pumpkins in the fall, the farm provides a wonderful opportunity to get closer to nature and experience the joy of harvesting your own produce. The quality of the fruits and vegetables is generally excellent, and the staff is always ready to assist and provide guidance.

In addition to the picking experience, Southern Belle Farm offers a variety of engaging activities. The farm features a well-designed corn maze, providing an entertaining challenge for both kids and adults. The maze is intricately crafted and offers a great way to test your navigation skills while enjoying the fresh air. Other attractions include hayrides, animal encounters, and a playground, ensuring there is something for everyone to enjoy.

The farm also hosts special events throughout the year, such as seasonal festivals and holiday celebrations. These events add an extra layer of excitement and provide an opportunity to immerse yourself in the festivities while creating lasting memories with your loved ones.

One aspect that stands out at Southern Belle Farm is the friendly and accommodating staff. The employees are known for their welcoming nature and willingness to assist visitors. Whether you have questions about the activities, need directions, or require any other form of support, the staff members are readily available and go out of their way to ensure a positive experience for everyone.

As with any outdoor venue, it is worth considering the weather when planning a visit to Southern Belle Farm. Extreme heat or inclement conditions can affect certain activities and availability, so it's advisable to check their website or call ahead to confirm the current conditions and any potential changes to the schedule.

Overall, Southern Belle Farm is a delightful destination for families and individuals looking to escape the city and immerse themselves in a rural setting. With its bountiful produce, engaging activities, and warm hospitality, the farm offers an enjoyable and memorable experience for visitors...

We called in advance to make sure we could take our children strawberry picking on our baby’s 1st birthday. We were told “last entry into the strawberry field is 5pm and you can pick until 6pm”. We double checked this by calling again at around 3pm, just before leaving. When we walked up to the strawberry field gate at 430pm, we were denied entry, despite arriving half an hour earlier than we were told necessary.

I explained we called in advance, double checked before leaving, had driven over an hour there, and were there for the special occasion of my daughter’s 1st birthday. I honestly begged them to even let me just walk my daughter into the field, even if it had been picked out for a quick photo to make up for our drive (there was even still a horde of people still walking around and picking).

While I would like to mention that Steve was sincerely empathetic about our denial, he was the only exception; everyone else was rude and insensitive. This place was so incredibly crowded and overrun the workers seemed stressed and careless. We didn’t even get strawberry ice cream before we left despite having told my son he could look forward to it on the long drive, as the line for that was the same as for everything else, standing for over half an hour to even order food, let alone to pick it up. By the time we would’ve gotten ice cream we would’ve lost our opportunity to find another place to pick strawberries.

I used my gps to find an alternative, not wanting to disappoint my kids. MITCHUM FARM came up as ~19miles away from there. I called and a kind-hearted gentleman answered the phone and in disbelief of how we had been misled & treated, encouraged us to come on over (despite our arrival being close to closing time) and said we could still grab a bucket to fill up with strawberries. We drove 40 minutes from Southern Belle Farm to get to MITCHUM FARM & thanks to him, our kids got to go strawberry picking for the first time ever! We were not rushed or dismissed whatsoever upon arrival.

I love turning memorable experiences into traditions & returning year after year. Sadly, I do not feel my children’s experience made a difference to Southern Belle Farm, but I will happily drive the extra distance to...