PickYourOwn.org
Where you can find a pick-your-own farm near you!
Southern Connecticut
Click here to add this page to your favorites list! - Updated daily!
This month's notes: July 2008: Blueberries are here all parts of the U.S. Strawberries are declining or gone, except the far north. Peaches are coming! Don't miss them! Blackberries are fading in the South and going strong in the north. Find a blueberry festival or peach festival near you! Organic farms are still not common, but any that are, have the word ORGANIC by their name! Check out my easy canning instructions / recipes, canning equipment guide or How to make ice cream and ice cream making equipment and manuals
Please tell the farms you found them here - and ask them to update their information!!!

• To see the pick-your-own farms and orchards for this area, click here or scroll down the page
• Click here for Crop Availability Dates in Connecticut
• To find pumpkin patches, corn mazes and other Halloween activities, click here.
• To find choose and cut-your-own Christmas tree farms, click here.

This page provides a detailed list of the Connecticut's pick-your-own (PYO, U-pick, pick-it-yourself) farms.  I'm always looking for suggestions of more farms and events to add and feedback about any you have visited, so if you encounter any, just click on the preceding link, as appropriate!  And if you have a farm and want to add it or correct the information, please click on the link to "add my farm".

Click on the map or links below in your area to locate a pick-your-own farm near you:

• Western Connecticut (Litchfield and Fairfield counties)
• Hartford and Tolland counties, Connecticut
• Southern Connecticut (New Haven and Middlesex counties)
• Eastern Connecticut (Windham and New London counties)

We also have a page with links to our own simple instructions on canning, freezing and drying  many fruits and vegetables, such as  how to make jam, apple butter, applesauce, spaghetti sauce, salsa, pickles, ketchup or freezing corn. 

U-Pick Farms and Orchards, sorted by county

Middlesex County

• Gotta's Farm - strawberries, apples, peaches
  661 Glastonbury Turnpike, Portland, CT 06480. Phone: (860) 342-1844. Email: rgottafarm@aol.com. Gotta's Farm opens May 1st for the season with spring plants. PYO strawberries in June, peaches in Aug, apples in September and October. Open May 1st for the season with annual & perennial flowering plants. Fresh fruits & vegetables available at farm stand from July - Dec.
• Lyman Orchards - PYO strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, flowers, peaches, nectarines, pears, apples & pumpkins, Corn maze
  Jct. Routes 147 and 157, Middlefield, CT 06455. Phone: (860) 349-1793. Fax: (860) 349-1424. Email: jlyman3@lymanorchards.com. Enjoy 1100 acres of championship golf, championship pies, and Family Fun! CT's largest indoor Farm Market. Corn maze from September 6 - Nov. 2.  Corn maze: Sept.-October. Great food at the Apple Barrel - home of CT's Best Apple Pie! 24 hour PYO hotline: 860-349-6015. 

New Haven County 

• The Berry Farm - vegetables, flowers - UPDATE June 20, 2006: They are no longer a pick-your-own
  470 Crook Horn Road, Southbury, CT 06488. Phone: (203) 267-7300. Floral bouquets and fresh herbs. Pre-picked vegetables and fruits seasonally. Open daily 10am - 7pm June through October. 
• Bishop Farms of Cheshire Ct. - apples, blueberries, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, petting zoo, birthday parties, school tours
  500 So Meriden Road, Cheshire, CT 06410. Phone: 203-272-8243. Fax: 203-272-8674. Email: ks@bishopfarm.necoxmail.com. Directions: Rt 84 to 691 exit 3 south on route 10 left onto route 70 1.5 miles on right. And for a map to our farm, click here. Crops are usually available in August, September, October, November, December. Open: Monday to Friday,9am to 5pm , Saturday and Sunday,9am to 6pm. Christmas hours Monday thru Sunday 9am to 7 pm. Starts day after thanksgiving. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa/MasterCard, Discover.
• Bishop's Orchards location 1- PYO Strawberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, apples, raspberries and pumpkins
  1355 Boston Post Road (US Rte 1, I-95 Exit 57), Guilford, CT 06437. Phone: (203) 458-7425. Email: pyoinfo@bishopsorchards.com. Open: from June-October daily until 7pm. Pick-your-own season starts in June with strawberries and goes through October with apples and pumpkins. In December we have cut-your-own Christmas trees. Since 1871, 5 generations of Bishop's have been serving CT with farm products.  Open 360 days 'til 6pm, the market features a bakery specializing in pies, produce from our 300 acre farm, produce from around the world, dairy products, flowers, breads, fruit baskets (delivery available) & gift packs shipped. There is a blog article about them here.
• Bishop's Orchards  Location 2- PYO apples & peaches, pumpkins
  1920 Middletown Ave (Rte 17, 3 miles N of Rte 22), Northford, CT 06472. Phone: (203) 458-PICK. Email: pyoinfo@bishopsorchards.com. Since 1871, 5 generations of Bishop's have been serving CT with farm products.  Our Guilford Farm is open all year, and our Northford PYO & Market is open in September and October with peaches, apples, mums, pumpkins, pies, & cider.  Weekends, hop on our wagon ride when you PYO apples.  Bishop’s has been serving CT since 1871. Open: weekends 10am to 5pm in September and October. Our Northford Orchard has farm market products-pies, cider, apples & pumpkins. Our Guilford farm is open year round (see previous listing).
• Country Corners Farm - ORGANIC, beans, blackberries, blueberries, cucumbers, grapes, pumpkins, raspberries, summer squash, winter squash, tomatoes, other vegetables, Other fruit or veg, pumpkin patch-pick in the field, pumpkin patch- already gathered from the field, and prepicked produce, picnic area
  288 Brewster Road, Griswold, CT 06351. Phone: (860)376-2259. Email us at: blaizer53@netzero.net. Directions: From the South I-395 to exit 85, turn right on to Rt 164; go until you see River Edge Golf Course on the right, then take the next left, which is Brewster Road; follow it until it ends; you are here! From the North, take I-395 south to exit 85; go straight through the first light and turn left at the next light onto Rt 164, then follow the directions above to River Ridge Golf Course. And for a map to our farm, click here. Crops are usually available in June, July, August, September, October, November. Open: Monday to Friday 9-6, Saturday 9-7, Sunday 12-6. Wild Garlic May 11-May 24, Blackberries Aug., Blueberries, July-Aug., Raspberries are not certified yet as we just found the old patch this Spring, Apples starting in July Thru October. note: no PYO on the apples or pears due to the large size of the Trees, Retail only, Pumpkins late September thru October., Other summer Veggies as they come in. We are certified organic for some crops. Payment: Cash, only. We are USDA Certified Organic and Certified Naturally Grown. The only thing that is not certified is our Raspberries because we just found them this Spring. This farm has been in my Family since 1854. although we are considered a start-up farm due to a 27 year dormant period.
• Drazen Orchards - apples; also peaches, pears, plums, pumpkins, flowers
  215 Wallingford Road, Cheshire, CT 06410. Phone: (203) 272-7985. Email: drazenorchards@sbcglobal.net. Fruit orchard - 15 varieties of apples.  Also peaches, pears, plums and pumpkins.  Open: PYO opens August 18 and finishes about October 27th.  Fruit, corn, tomatoes and cider available at the stand. 
• Glendale Farms - Strawberries
  203 Herbert Street, Milford, CT 06460. Phone: (203) 874-7203  Fax: (203) 874-7499. PYO Strawberries available approximately June 5th - June 30th.  
• High Hill Orchard - follows organic methods, Apples, pears, blueberries (check on the blueberries!), pumpkins, vegetables.
  170 Fleming Road, Meriden, CT, 06450. Phone: (203) 294-0276. July 2nd to September Sat/Sun 10-5 September to Thanksgiving Tues-Thursday 12-6, Sat/Sun 10-5 Thanksgiving to Dec 24th - Sat/Sun 10-5. Excellent apple and pear cider in fall. Some organic produce, some are low input. Hayrides in September and October. Visit our farm stand for our own fresh apple cider & vegetables.
• Hickory Hill Orchards - peaches, apples, pears, pumpkins, nectarines
  351 South Meriden Road, Cheshire, CT 06410. Phone: (203) 272-0181 or (203) 272-3824  Fax: (203) 272-3824. Directions: click here. Open Daily 10:00am - 5:30pm; August 20, 2005 through December 2005. Country store, gift baskets, dried & silk flowers, cider, pies, donuts. Weekend hayrides, school groups welcome.  
• Ives Farm - pumpkins, strawberries, pumpkin patch-pick in the field, corn maze, and prepicked produce, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, tractor-pulled hay rides, pony rides
  1585 Cheshire St, Cheshire, CT 06410. Phone: 203-272-5847 And for a map to our farm, click here. Crops are usually available in May, July, August, September, October. Open: Summer Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm. Fall Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm. "Flowers" May 1st, Annuals, Hanging Baskets, Geraniums & Perennials, Retail & Wholesale. "Strawberries" June 5th to July 1st (weather permitting) "Fresh Sweet Corn & Produce" July 10th "Fall Activities" October 1st to 31st Payment: Cash, Check, Visa/MasterCard.
• Norton Brothers Fruit Farm - Pumpkins, PYO apples, pears & peaches, Christmas trees, Hay rides.
  450-466 Academy Road, Cheshire, CT 06410. Phone: (203) 272-8418. PYO apples, pears, plums, peaches. Retail fresh produce, gifts, pumpkins.

• Pell Farm - PYO strawberries & ready-picked
  Middletown Ave. (next to All Saint's Cemetery), North Haven, CT  06473. Phone: (203) 234-0204. Open: June and early July from 8am to 8pm daily.

• Van der Grinten Farms - blackberries
  455 Great Hill Road, Guilford, CT 06437. Phone: 203-457-1682. Email: vdGFarms@juno.com. Directions: From Rt 80 in North Guilford, turn north on Long Hill Road. Long Hill Road becomes Great Hill Road. We are located approximately 2.2 miles north of Rt 80 at 455 Great Hill Road, Guilford, CT And for a map to our farm, click here. Crops are usually available in August, September. Open: Please contact us to be put on our Pick Your Own email list for days and hours, as the season is short and the picking conditions are weather dependant, or you may Email or call (cell)203-627-6590 for picking days/hours. Blackberries ripen for approximately a 6 week period from early August to mid September, with the easiest picking during August. Payment: Cash, Check.

• Zentek Farms - tomatoes, peppers, beans, & eggplant
  325 Higgins Road, Cheshire, CT  06410. Phone: (203) 272-0444. Fax: (203) 250-9190. Email: paulzfarms@aol.com  . Open: PYO starts in August. We also have a farm market-we raise corn and other vegetables.

Home Canning Kits Features: * All the tools you need for hot waterbath canning - in one comprehensive set! * Complete with 21 1/2 qt. enameled waterbath canner and "Ball Blue Book" of canning. * Also includes canning rack, funnel, jar lifter, jar wrencher, bubble freer, tongs and lid lifter. * A Kitchen Krafts exclusive collection. This is the same type of  standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce!. This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars and lids (and the jars are reusable). To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!   Click here for a larger photo, more information, pricing, ordering, etc. Average Customer Review: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Remember to ALWAYS call the farm or orchard BEFORE you go - weather, heavy picking and business conditions can always affect their hours and crops!

PYO Farms in Other Countries: [ Australia ] [ Canada ] [ South Africa ] [ New Zealand ] [ United Kingdom ]

Our other free, informative sites you may like:

• EHSO.com- Environmental health and safety information and guidance for the home
• ConsumerFraudReporting.org - Information about identity theft, frauds and scams; how to report them and how to protect your identity.
• FitnessAndHealthScience.org - Practical fitness, health and diet information that works.
• And our other related websites!

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