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Highlands

Warren County farms dot the landscape with rustic stone buildings, abundant livestock and modern farming equipment. Meanwhile, the local farm markets are chock full of locally grown fruits, vegetables, plants and herbs. Many of these farms have been run by the same extended families for generations.

You can visit organic food and herb producers, big old dairies, barnyards full of poultry and sheep, equine and buffalo herds, special flower farms, even a llama or ostrich farm. In season, you can pick your own strawberries, raspberries, beans, flowers, pumpkins, Christmas trees and more!

Pick your own is a family fun adventure. As in any adventure, you must be prepared to enjoy the fun. Take a few precautions, remember you will be out in the fields in the sun. Bring some repellent, don't wear perfume (the bugs love the smell). Dress smartly. Loose comfortable clothing is best, jeans, big shirt, wide brim hat to protect you from the sun, gloves to protect your hands and really smart shoes. Bring extra clothes for the kids. It's always best to call ahead to make sure the crop is ready. Sometimes, 'Mother Nature' isn't punctual and crops are late or early. Also, not all farms have pick your own.

Agri-tourism Brochure

Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau

supports Agri-Tourism.

Check out these other articles:

Did You Know - Quick information and facts regarding apples, strawberries, pumpkins and christmas trees.

Take Your Pick- Some of the things Warren County has in Agritourism
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Guide to Picking Your Own

WHAT TO PICK/ WHEN TO PICK

Pick Your Own Fruits and Vegetables:

Apples/ September-October
Beans/ June-September
Broccoli/ September-November
Cabbage/ September-November
Caulibroccoli/ September-October
Cucumbers/ July-October
Eggplant/ July-October
Peaches/ July-August
Peas/ June 10-July 5
Peppers/ July-October
Pickles/ July-October
Pumpkins/ Sept. 15-October 31
Blueberries/ July-September
Raspberries/ July-September
Strawberries/ June
Squash/ July-October

 

 

Take Your Pick
Warren County Farms Put Freshness and Fun at your Fingertips
 
By Eileen Seiler
 
If you have never bitten into a juicy, red strawberry still warm from the sun, reached high to pick the crispest-looking apple, jockeyed a pumpkin on your lap during a bumpy hay wagon ride or experienced the first whiff of sap as the saw cuts into the trunk of the perfect Christmas tree, then you really need to visit Warren County.
 
From May to December, Warren County farms are rich with seasonal offerings from flowers, fruits and vegetables to pumpkins and fir trees. Of course, you can buy all of these things picked, packaged and ready to enjoy at the various farm markets, or you can opt for an even fresher experience by picking your own.
 
Watch and Learn
 
Pick your own (PYO) policies and procedures vary from farm to farm and not all produce and plants are offered in this way. Kimballs Farm & U-Pick in Belvidere is a mom and pop operation offering organic-based produce including beans, peppers, squash, greens, tomatoes, potatoes and corn as well as berries and a large variety of herbs. Owners Kent and Mary Kimball like to be on hand when PYO customers come so they can guide them in what to choose and prevent inadvertent damage to plants from inexperienced harvesters. For example, the Kimballs can show customers the way to tell when corn is ready for picking - without having to damage it - by the color of the silk and firmness of the ear.
            It is easier to show than to describe, noted Mary Kimball. People learn as they go.
            And, since they grow 150 varieties of hot peppers, including the fiery Bhut Joloicia, there is good reason to be on hand to prevent unenlightened tasters from getting a scorching surprise.
            The Kimballs have some customers that pick their own products on a daily or weekly basis. They also host, by appointment, small groups and tours. As a teacher, Mary said she would like to offer agricultural education programs at the farm.
 
Ripe and Ready
            More than 25,000 visitors a year make their way to Longmeadow Farm on Route 521 in Hope, most seeking to find the ripest and juiciest Ginger Golds, Romes, Winesaps, Red Delicious and others.
            Apples are our big crop, said Owner Bradley Burke.
            A call to Longmeadow Farm or a visit to the website is a must before setting out to pick apples, according to Burke since the list of what is available changes weekly. He ropes off the areas that are not ready.
            We specialize in keeping the apples on the trees until they are ready to eat, he said. I dont open an area for picking, until the apples are ripe, And I base that on my own taste test.
            Although his established customers know there way around the apple orchard, Burke has some pointers for those not well versed in apple varieties. He noted that Gala, Macintosh, Rome and Crispin apples are good for cooking and Winesap is best for pie. However one apple stands out as the most popular for just biting into.
            People make a pilgrimage to get Ginger Gold, Burke said.
            Visitors to Longmeadow Farm will find plenty of parking as well as baskets to use while picking apples and bags in which to take them home. Dont be afraid to fill those baskets either, since, according to Burke, most fall apples will keep well up to two months in the refrigerator.
Longview Farm also offers PYO berries in the spring, fresh honey from its own beehives and products such as jams, jellies and no-sugar-added fruit spreads and. In the fall, ghosts and goblins fill the woods where visitors can take a spooky hayride out to the pumpkin patch.
Red to the very tip thats the kind of strawberry you want to pick, according to Greg Donaldson of Donaldson Farms in Mansfield, where from late May to early July, visitors can scour the farms four-acre patch for the reddest and ripest fruit. The farm market provides reusable baskets and containers to take the strawberries home, but visitors are allowed to go the green route and bring their own.
In the fall, Donaldsons offers PYO pumpkins, Indian corn and gourds. On weekends, a hayride brings visitors out to the pumpkin patch where wagons are provided for lugging the hefty finds. Donaldson noted that very few rules apply to choosing the right pumpkin.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, he said, noting that is it a good idea to roll the pumpkin around to make sure it is solid.
Donaldson Farms is open seven days a week, rain or shine. Donaldson cautions that it is always good to call ahead in strawberry picking season since growing conditions can change.
 
A Cut Above
            With 30,000 trees in 40 varieties, you would be hard-pressed not to find one to call your own at the Perfect Christmas Tree Farm on Route 22 in Phillipsburg. Owned by Cynthia and John Curtis, the farm is open to visitors from the day after Thanksgiving until two days before Christmas. Visitors can take a hayride out to the fields to cut down a tree, tour the Curtis 18th century stone farmhouse or attend a wreath-making workshop.
            Perfect offers traditional varieties such as Douglas, Concolor, Fraser and Balsam Fir and Blue Spruce as well as more exotic ones like Vetch, Niko, Korean and Grand Fir. The trees are sheared in different ways to appeal to individual decoration techniques.
            These are just a few of the many popular pick-your-own spots in and around Warren County.
 
Eileen Seiler is a professional writer based in Warren County and also serves as Communications Director for the Warren County Regional Chamber of Commerce.