When the Berries Will Be Ready…

The harvest usually starts soon about a week after Fourth of July (with raspberries) and ends with the first hard frost of the Fall in late September or October. Therefore, we usually open the farm on or around July Fourth and remain open until Columbus Day.

We will generally be open for sales of jam, honey, syrup, books, & coffee between the above dates, even if it is before or after the harvest/picking season. We are a PYO farm but usually have pre-picked berries available in our farm store.

Picnics and pleasant walks around the farm are welcome. However, dogs are not permitted in the orchard please, even on a leash.

Please call us at 802-767-3989 during the season for up-to-date picking conditions. We will leave a fresh recorded message every day during the season. For all pre-season and post-season inquiries, call 802-767-9385.

Ripening will vary from year to year depending on the weather. However, the dates that berries are usually ripe are:

July 10 or so

Summer Raspberries ripen first. We have 2 acres of summer raspberries, in two varieties at present: Prelude ripens first, followed by Taylor by around the last week of July. The Prelude were abundant last year and look good for 2019. We planted another 500 of them last spring, which will begin to bear fruit this year.

July 21 or so

Blueberries arrive. We have more than 2,500 bushes, in four varieties: Patriots ripen first, quickly followed by Blue Crop & Blue Ray varieties, and finally our Jersey blueberries ripen around early -August and last until around Labor Day. The amount of fruit we get from these acres can be a lot! The bushes can produce 8-10 lbs each!

Late August

Fall Raspberries ripen before Labor Day and can go on into October. We grow four varieties: Autumn Britten, Prelude (it produces a fall crop as well as a summer crop), Anne (the golden ones) and Himbo-Top. Fall red raspberries have deep color and a very rich flavor. The Annes are very sweet.

September 15 or later

Blackberries may arrive around early October. We have planted some fall-bearing varieties and they might give us some late fruit if the weather cooperates and the first fall frost is not too early.