Sweet Retreat Orchard

06/15/2026

Our naturally grown blueberries are ready for upick. Pick a date and time:

Sweet Retreat Orchard in Hillsborough, NC grows persimmons, jujubes & berries using sustainable, chemical-free practices within the Eno River watershed.

04/21/2026

We have started a new adventure of creating a repository of hardy fruiting plants already grown in our area! One of our first outings took us to Durham, to a giant Marseilles fig tree that turned out to be from a cutting taken in the 1970s from Monticello, from Thomas Jefferson's estate. Jefferson was fond of figs, especially the Marseilles. Hopefully we will soon have many grandchildren of a Jefferson fig tree! Another great find was a plum tree, also in Durham, bearing hundreds of sweet plums every year without being bothered by any pests. We have collected many other fig cuttings from friends' backyards and once we set up a larger scale propagation process, we will extend our collection to other types of fruiting plants. Stay tuned!

01/10/2026

Do you have experience grafting fruit trees? Or would you like to learn how to do it?

Join us on February 14 (or February 28 in case of bad weather) at 2 pm. Gather with a group based on experience and head out into the persimmon field to put your skills to good use.

Food and drinks will be provided.

You will receive a coupon for 30 pounds of persimmons redeemable any time we have fruit.

If you would like to participate, the following information would be very helpful:
Have you grafted fruit trees before?
Do you have grafting tools and saws to bring?
Can you bring extra tools to share?
Hope to see you in February!

01/01/2026

We will have persimmon pulp at the Eno River Farmers Market this Saturday, along with Persimmon Ginger Soup for the Soup Sampler Fundraiser benefiting our customers using SNAP.

11/23/2025

Last pick-your-own persimmons of the season:

Sunday, November 23
Monday, November 24
Tuesday, November 25
Wednesday, November 26

1 pm to 4 pm

Persimmons keep for weeks in the fridge, and they get sweeter and sweeter as they ripen even more. Eat them when they are still hard like a crunchy apple, or wait until they become soft and spoon out the pulp that tastes like honey-apricot jelly.
This fruit really has it all!

We also have frozen pure persimmon pulp, perfect present for baker friends.

We ask everyone to wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. Like all the other farms around us, we have some fire ants, so please always look down before you look up!

Persimmons need to be cut off the trees, feel free to bring your own pruning shears, but we will also have them.

no-spray persimmons
$4.00 per pound

Persimmon pulp
$10

2925 Frank Perry Road, Hillsborough

We also have persimmons at the Eno River Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

Send a message to learn more

11/17/2025

Pick your own no-spray persimmons on Wednesday, November 19 and Friday, November 21 from 1 pm - 5 pm

11/15/2025

11/15/2025

Pick your own no-spray persimmons on Sunday, November 16 from 1 pm - 5 pm

11/14/2025

Pick your own no-spray persimmons on Saturday, November 15 from 1 pm - 5 pm

11/11/2025

Our persimmons held up well to the cold temperatures. We will be open again for upick:

Wednesday, November 12
Friday, November 14

1 pm - 5 pm

Persimmons keep for weeks in the fridge, and they get sweeter and sweeter as they ripen even more. Eat them when they are still hard like a crunchy apple, or wait until they become soft and spoon out the pulp that tastes like honey-apricot jelly.
This fruit really has it all!

We ask everyone to wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. Like all the other farms around us, we have some fire ants, so please always look down before you look up!

Persimmons need to be cut off the trees, feel free to bring your own pruning shears, but we will also have them.

no-spray persimmons
$4.00 per pound

2925 Frank Perry Road, Hillsborough

We also have persimmons at the Eno River Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

We take cash, check, credit cards and Venmo.