Berry Picking at Auerfarm

UPDATE 2015: The animal barn is being converted to classrooms so the farm animals are no longer located there. They are still on the farm so do a little extra exploring to find them 🙂

Cut to the chase. Take me to the Momsense.

Fruit picking season is in full swing here in Connecticut and my family and I have been enjoying lots of freshly picked, absolutely delicious fruit in our house.

I have been facing one challenge with our pick-your-own (PYO) outings, though. Sometimes I just don’t have time to go “across the river” to Glastonbury for the latest offerings.

So, when I heard through a friend that a farm near West Hartford (in Bloomfield) was offering PYO blueberries, I was rather excited (doesn’t everyone feel that way?)!

The Bloomfield berry picking destination is Auerfarm, a 4-H Education Center located off Route 185.  I had been to the farm before with the twins for an apple cider making class, but I had no idea they offered PYO fruit options as well.

So, last week a friend suggested we meet at the farm and check it out.  My friend also is a mom of twins, so it is always fun to get the kids together.

It was funny that the evening before our outing my friend and I were texting back in forth to try and figure out the details for our morning adventure.  We were wondering what time picking started, if we needed cash, if they provided containers, etc.  I had so many questions, that I knew this outing was going to have to turn into a future post!

After a little research, we figured out that picking hours were from 7am – 7pm (or dusk) but I couldn’t find answers on their website for the other questions.  So, in order to be prepared, we brought a few extra buckets and made sure we had cash in hand.

It was an easy commute to the farm from my home in West Hartford.  After turning off Route 185 onto Auer Farm Road, I followed the winding, somewhat bumpy pathway up to the main farm area.

For our trip, we made sure to enjoy the scenic views along the way and I also made sure to veer right when the road forked (I learned my lesson on a previous visit).

After following the winding road to the main farm area, we saw the animal barn, the main office, and a sign for blueberries.  I parked in the same parking area I had in the past which is located on the left, right before the animal barn.

I later learned that parking is also available right next to the blueberry picking area – – a helpful hint if you are traveling with a lot of little ones or hoping to make it a quick fruit picking outing.

My kids got out of the car and did a few laps around the grassy area while we waited for our friends.

Once our friends arrived, we made our way up to the main farm area and decided that our first stop should be the animal barn.

Inside, the kids discovered goats, chicken, bunnies and more.  There were a few simple rules to follow inside the barn area:

• Do not run or shout in the barn
• Do not feed the animals
• Petting is permitted but keep the following in mind . . . if you do pet, please stroke neck, back and chest.  Do not pet head.
• Do not climb fences or enter cages
• Leave the barn as you found it

After the animal barn, we had one more pit stop before we made our way to the blueberries.  With four, 3 year olds in our group that day, a restroom stop was definitely in order.

The restrooms were located in the Learning Center which was part of the cluster of buildings right across from the animal barn.

With our pit stop completed, it was time to pick some berries!

There was a blueberry sign right at the entrance to the farm and it was pointing us up the pathway to the fields.

It was a little bit of a walk from the main area to the picking fields.  Our kids did fine, but if you have a little one who isn’t walking yet or an early walker, definitely bring a stroller or a baby carrier with you on this trip.

As we reached the fields, we saw the sign for the blueberry picking parking area (say that 10 times fast!)

And we found the cart with all the supplies.  Here we grabbed pint containers for the kids and this was also the spot where we would make our payment (cash or check only) after we finished picking.

The blueberry fields were enclosed by netting which was something I had not seen before.  Apparently the netting allows the farm to grow the berries without having to use any pesticides or sprays on them (CORRECTION:  The netting keeps the birds out 🙂  But they do not use any pesticides or sprays on the blueberries).  The netting also makes for a fun adventure for preschoolers and is a perfect way to corral roaming toddlers!

The kids had a great time picking blueberries (and eating a few as well!)  We left some extra room in our pints to account for the blueberries that left in their bellies!  It took a while to fill up even part of our pint containers, but we finally got it done.  Now I just needed to pay for our pickings and try to keep the berries from the kids until we got home (they told me they wanted to make blueberry muffins!)

After the animal barn and blueberry picking, we just let the kids do a little more exploring on the farm.  They saw tractors, ducks, turkeys, trees, flowers, bumble bees and more.  They had a great time exploring and I had a little bit of time to catch up with my friend.

I really enjoyed this pick-your-own fruit destination.  Not only was it convenient to get to, but we could go at anytime as picking was available everyday from 7:00 am – 7:00 pm.  How easy is that?  Plus the farm doesn’t use any pesticides or sprays on the fruit, so I felt extra good about my purchase.

Now, the latest update I heard was that blueberries were expected to last about another week and raspberry picking was right around the corner.  So if this outing sounds similarly fun and convenient for your family, get it on your calendar soon!

 

Auerfarm

158 Auer Farm Road, Bloomfield, Connecticut

(located off of Route 185)

Phone: (860) 242-7144

Follow them on Facebook!

 

Hours:

Open daily from 7:00 am – 7:00 pm (dusk)

 

Pricing:

• There is no cost to visit the animal barn
• Blueberries are $3.50 per pint (cash or check)
• Parking is FREE

 

Details:

• Stroller Friendly: YES. Somewhat.  You can certainly maneuver a stroller around the farm and into the blueberry picking area.  If possible, I would suggest a baby carrier for any non-walkers
• Coffee Mug Friendly: YES.
• Restroom: YES. The restrooms are located behind the main office in the learning center.
• Baby Changing Station:  YES.
• Parking: YES. There are two parking options for blueberry picking.  Park in the main lot for the farm (on the left before you reach the animal barn/main office area) and take the short walk up to the blue berry picking area or drive up to the blueberry picking area and park right next to the fields, in the designated section.
• Food for Sale: NO.  Well I didn’t see any food for sale besides the delicious berries that area available to pick!
• Outside Food Allowed: I DON’T KNOW.  I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t bring your own food with you (maybe a snack or lunch in the field), but I didn’t specifically ask about this item.
• Cash Required: YES. Cash or checks are needed for purchase of the blueberries.  Bring exact change, if possible.  If you run into issues with change, stop by the main office and they may be able to help.
• Dress Code: NONE.  But you will be outside and in the fields.  My kids always like to wear their rain boots when we go to the farm and you certainly want them to wear clothes they can get dirty in.
• Evening/Weekend Hours: YES.  The farm is open everyday from 7am – 7pm (dusk)

 

Tips & Things to Bring:

• Visit the farm at any time to check out the animal barn (FREE).
• Make sure to follow the animal barn rules when you visit:
  • Do not run or shout in the barn
  • Do not feed the animals
  • Petting is permitted but keep the following in mind . . . if you do pet, please stroke neck, back and chest.  Do not pet head.
  • Do not climb fences or enter cages
  • Leave the barn as you found it
• Berry picking is available at the farm.  Blueberry picking usually runs through July and is followed by raspberry picking.
• No pesticides or sprays are used on the blueberries.
• There is a small stand right near the picking area which has containers for picking and also a box where payment is to be made.
• The farm also offers summer camps, birthday parties, and year round programs for kids.
• Auerfarm will host a fun fall festival in October.  It will be on October 18th and held from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm.

 

 

• 4D Vision Gym – A vision training center located in Cromwell, CT where Dr. Juanita Collier, MS, OD and her staff show members how to utilize Vision Therapy to correct visual issues and make learning and playing easier and more fun.
• NEW Imagine Studio – Under the direction of Karla Kress-Boyle, opening this fall at 97 South Street is West Hartford’s only Creative Arts Studio. Focusing on building imagination and self confidence, our wonderful staff will be sharing their talents in Dance, Art, Music, Yoga and Theater programming. 
• The Independent Day School – Located on a rural campus in Middlefield, CT this private pre-school, elementary and middle school serves families from over 20 communities.

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