The farm is on land that was an apple orchard planted in 1927. Today a few of the old trees still survive-Grimes Golden, Paragon, old style Red Delicious and Stayman Winesap. We share the land with
Delicious Orchards-one of the country's best farm markets.
Our berries are grown without pesticides as they are not needed. Careful selection of cultivars,an airy,weed free growing system and timely harvest are what works best. Our plants are grown on raised beds, a simple practical system that reduces root disease. A long lasting plastic mulch allows for the complete elimination of all herbicides. Narrow rows-one cane wide makes harvesting quick and easy while ensuring quality in our humid climate. As a long term crop, raspberries reduce soil erosion and help protect ground water though their minimal tillage requirement. Fertility and soil health are maintained with compost and crop rotation. Drip irrigation, an energy and water saving method provides just the right amount of water. Once a planting is established, all work is done by hand, only a few gallons of gasoline are needed for mowing the grass in the middles. Our farm contibutes to open space and provides a local souce for fresh raspberries which are good for your health.
Red raspberries are our main crop, but we also grow black raspberries, blackberries,specialty vegetables and watermelons.
Picking berries is fun, and your kids are always welcome here. The biggest berries are the ones to ripen first, the best tasting berries are ripened in abundant sunshine. The best time of day to pick is early, before everyone else get here. Red raspberries for jam are best picked during the last two weeks of August/first two weeks of September, that's the peak production period. Heritage Red Raspberry makes a delicious jam and that is our main variety.
It rains in New Jersey, try to time farm visits before those rainy periods, thunderstorms don't hurt quality, but 3 to 4 days of drizzle does. We like to send our fields into rainy periods picked out! Green fruit ripens normally after such weather. We'll post "hurricane specials" on this website to help you help us meet our quality goals. Thanks in advance.
