A meal is supposed to taste better when you prepare it yourself. So the odds are it will be even more delectable if you harvest the food for it as well.
Summer is the prime time for “pick-your-own” opportunities at Connecticut farms. This activity lets you enjoy beautiful scenery, find fresh and delicious fruits, and peruse farm stands and stores for other mouthwatering CT Grown items.
As July 2022 winds down, many farms are reporting that peaches are ahead of schedule and ripe for the picking. There are also plentiful opportunities for blueberries and flowers, with pear season just around the corner.
Before starting your pick-your-own adventure, here are a few tips to make sure you have an enjoyable experience:
Check ahead
While our crop calendar offers a useful guide for what’s in season and when, it’s not set in stone. Factors such as the recent hot, dry weather and different cultivation methods may impact what’s available. Farms may also cancel pick-your-own activities due to inclement weather, or if more fruit needs to ripen.
Call ahead or check a farm’s social media channels for any announcements.
Understand container policies
Pick-your-own container policies differ from farm to farm. Some will allow you to bring your own containers, as long as they are pre-weighed before you start picking. Others only permit you to use containers provided.
Be respectful
Farm staff will tell you where to find fruits available for picking. You shouldn’t take fruit from any areas outside these places.
While it might seem like pick-your-own is a great activity to do with your dog, please leave Fido at home. Pets are not permitted since they can potentially cause harm to food, farm workers, customers, and themselves.
Only pick what you want to take home, and only take ripe fruit. Any fruit that visitors leave on the ground is lost profit for a Connecticut farmer.
We know it’s tempting to snack on fruits while you’re picking, but please avoid doing so. Eating in the fields is dissuaded due to health concerns and as a way of preventing potential theft.
Be safe
Finding the right fruit to take home can take some time, so you’ll want adequate protection from the sun. Wear sunscreen, a hat, and breathable clothes, and bring water so you stay hydrated.
You should also wear the proper footwear for working in the fields. Leave the sandals at home, and bring a reliable pair of closed toe shoes.
The first step to ensuring a healthier 2022 is finding a farm near you. Bookmark CTGrown.org in your browser for easy access to the freshest, healthiest meat, dairy, and produce. Farm shopping offers several services that make a convenient and delicious way to fill your fridge and freezer, including:
Curbside pickup
Community-supported agriculture (CSA)
Subscriptions
Home delivery
Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a program through which customers buy shares to a farm’s product in advance, and receive a weekly, biweekly, monthly, or even quarterly supply of Connecticut Grown farm products While CSAs are traditionally run spring through fall with a focus on fruits and vegetables available, you can also find flower shares, winter CSAs or year-round options for meat and dairy products. Many CSAs are available in different sizes for different households, so whether you live on your own or have a large family, there’s an option for you. In addition to grocery staples like lettuce, tomatoes, etc., some CSAs sweeten the deal to include fresh-cut flowers and other items like farm-made honey or salad dressing.
Subscriptions are similar, but they tend to hone in on specific items (think wine clubs, cheese of the month etc) – while CSAs often feature seasonal produce or flowers. Your share can include an element of surprise featuring some of the more bountiful crops that season!
Other farms offer home delivery – some at no additional charge. And despite the cold, farming is always in season in Connecticut! CSA pickup is available at winter farmers’ markets and some farms even bring microgreens right to your door.
With CSA/subscriptions, a little effort goes a long way. Find a local farm, pick the subscription size for your household and get ready to enjoy the bounty of the season – month after month.
Find some near you!
CSA
Please note that some CSA’s open for enrollment in January – don’t miss out!
Syme Family Farm for fresh cut flowers
New Boston Beef (beef bundles)
Consider supporting a local farm and buy your seasonal share from flowers, dairy, proteins, and delicious vegetables.
Home Delivery
Farm to Table – coming soon!
Curbside pick up
Do we hear wedding bells in the distance? If you became engaged over the holidays, congratulations! Right now you’re probably just starting your to-do list. Wedding planning season ramps up in February so if you’re thinking about venues now, you’re way ahead of the game.
There are so many options to explore, but a farm venue is definitely worth checking out.
Consider these advantages:
- Scenery: Like, incredible scenery. Rolling hills, gardens of flowers, ancient trees, vineyards, ponds and streams, and wide blue skies.
- Space: Space for kids to run around; for the most lavish or most simple ceremonies; for chairs pitched around a bonfire and stories long into the evening. Space for parking, for lawn games, for both the ceremony and reception AND photos you’ll want to keep forever.
- Creativity: With nature as your stunning backdrop, everything else is just a gorgeous detail. Hang long strings of lights from the barn rafters or lanterns from the trees. Set your tables with overflowing flower arrangements or place a simple daisy in a glass near each plate. The magic of a farm setting lends beauty to the simplest or most elaborate decor.
- Privacy: With trees and fields as neighbors, you won’t have to stress about the kids laughing too loudly, or your cousins singing along with the band – off-key.
Get started! If you’re already giving serious thought to your setting – a rustic barn with green fields, a stone patio bordered by wildflower gardens, or a farm winery overlooking the ocean – visit CTGrown.org and search for “events.” And happy planning!
Tap on the image below to visit the featured Farm!
What’s the best way to keep cozy during a long, beautiful Connecticut winter? Soup, of course!
Soup is very easy to prepare and packed with nutrients. The best part is that once you get the hang of a recipe or two, you can improvise and make a hot, nourishing, filling meal out of almost anything in your pantry or freezer! The base of your broth can be beef, poultry, vegetables, coconut milk, cream – the options are seriously inspiring.
Knowing how to make a stock is – we daresay – a secret superpower. Not only is it the perfect starter for soups, sauces, rice, braises, homemade stuffing, paellas, casseroles; by itself it’s a hot cup of goodness on a cold night. The best part? This powerhouse recipe component is crafted from a few humble ingredients. Perhaps once, the sight of half a roasted chicken, some wilting celery, one carrot and an onion that’s longing to be put back into the ground might have – understandably – filled you with a mild despair. Now? You can make chicken stock! – gold, delicious, and sustaining. Stock freezes well too, so break out the big pot!
When you’ve polished your stock recipe and you’re ready to test drive it on a serious soup, check out this “absolutely ultimate” potato soup recipe. The base includes heavy cream and chicken stock AND bacon. Soups this rich should come with a warning, and this one sort of does! Kudos to the author for honestly noting that the dish is more of “a special treat” than a regularly scheduled meal. That said, there’s nothing like a hearty potato soup to warm you to your toes after a winter hike or a sledding spree. Pair this with a vigorous winter activity and you can forget the guilt.
Switching gears, it’s good to remember that food is food. You don’t need to be vegan to enjoy a scrumptious curried butternut squash soup, and recipes that are made for those with dietary restrictions are likewise creative and absolutely tasty. Here’s a great holiday recovery recipe for the health-conscious, loaded with turmeric – a famous anti-inflammatory – and cauliflower – packed with Vitamin C and great levels of vitamin B6 and magnesium.
As with any other meal, soup tastes best with the freshest ingredients. That’s where Connecticut farms are ready to help! Find potatoes, squash, chicken, carrots, celery, bacon, milk, cream, and many other ingredients at a farm or farmer’s market near you. Once you stock up on milk and cream, here’s a bevy of creamy soup recipes to brighten even the coldest afternoons. And the best part is knowing that buying direct from farmers supports local communities and helps to preserve Connecticut’s historic and scenic farmscapes.
The first image is from Henny Penny Farm. The middle image is from Full Heart Farm. The right-hand image is from Stone Acre Farm.
Everyone loves the idea of buying “local” and supporting area farmers, makers, bakers and artisans—in fact, one recent study says 70% of us already do. Curated CT is making it easy to give fine quality, freshly made treats to family, friends, clients (and even yourself!) while feeling good about supporting local artisans and your community.
“Curated CT brings you the fun and excitement of discovering new foods and family made products made in CT that you might not encounter unless you travel to multiple farmers markets,” says Donald Pendagast, founder of Curated CT. “And we bring it same-day fresh, right to your door.” And that’s exactly how Pendagast makes his curated selections, by continuously visiting farmers markets and family farms and businesses across the state and continuously expanding the company’s base of vendors.
Each month Curated CT chooses and delivers local goods—including freshly baked bread, artisan cheese, chocolate, coffee and more on a convenient subscription basis. Each month’s selection is chosen to match the flavors of the season and highlight new and emerging offerings, create an element of surprise and appeal to a variety of senses. Whether from a one-time delivery or a monthly or quarterly plan as a special holiday gift, each order brings mouth-watering treats and artisan products like soaps or candles that underscore the message, “I support CT farmers and family-owned businesses.”
“Our motto is ‘live local, feel good,’” says Pendagast. “Think of Curated CT as a concierge for anyone—including yourself—who is really busy, loves good food, and cherishes the idea of supporting local,” he says. “We give people something tangible that represents their pride and commitment to our state.” He cites the allure of coming home from a long workday to find freshly baked bread, fresh-roasted gourmet coffee, outstanding local cheese and chocolate waiting on the doorstep, and adds,” Who wouldn’t love that as a gift?”
Curated CT also takes conscious steps to create a greener world by delivering their orders anywhere in CT in a 100%-electric vehicle (via Electra, another CT business) in packaging made in the Northeast from mushrooms.
Final deadline for holiday delivery of the December Curated CT box is December 16, 2021.
Enjoy a glass of wine by the fire or send someone special their favorite wine from a Connecticut Farm Winery!
Through the long afternoon light of autumn, or the pink-blue skies of summer; through winter’s white fields or spring’s green and flowering trees, a drive to a Connecticut farm winery is always in season.
Wineries welcome fall and winter visitors with fire blazing in a cozy hearth and tasting rooms warmed by live music and the laughter of friends. Spring and summer invite picnics, festivals, and spectacular sunsets.
No matter where you travel in our beautiful state, there is a winery within an hour. The wines of Connecticut are cultivated in our rich coastal soil – land that has sustained life here for generations. Plan an excursion, and be prepared to be indulged by the caliber of Connecticut wines.
Farm Wineries Near you:
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It’s not too early to begin planning your holiday decorations and how to turn your home into a festive Yuletide wonderland to remember. When you visit a local farm to get this year’s tree, why not also pick up all of your holiday décor as well?
Connecticut tree farms offer the finest, hand-made holiday decorations available. Whether it’s traditional kissing balls, native wreaths in all sizes and styles, evergreen springs and garland or fresh poinsettias and colorful door swags, you’ll find the perfect complements to your fresh cut tree. While at the farm, don’t forget to pick up some delicious, home-made seasonal pies and baked goods and your late-fall vegetables. Potatoes, squash, carrots, cauliflower are just some of the vegetables still in season.
Why do we decorate with evergreens for the holidays? The tradition is believed to go back to 16th century northern and eastern Europe. The Germans are commonly credited with starting to use evergreen trees for holiday decorations. Once the tree was trimmed, the excess limbs were woven into wreaths and other Yuletide decorations which were displayed throughout the home.
We’ve made finding a Connecticut tree farm near you easy. Simply go to www.ctgrown.org to find a farm nearby for all of your holiday décor needs.
Images from Glendale farms and Olsen’s Christmas Tree Farm.
The weather is turning crisper, and the holiday gatherings are taking their merry place on the calendar. Bring a smile to everyone’s face by being sure to include delicious, all-natural, farm-fresh eggnog from a local Connecticut farm at your next gathering.
The History of Eggnog
Did you know that eggnog first appeared in America in the late 1700s? It is believed to have been derived from a medieval European drink called Posset, which was made with hot, sweetened, spiced milk that was curdled with ale or wine. Today eggnog is typically made with milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites and egg yolks as well as spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. Distilled spirits such as brandy, rum, whiskey or bourbon can be added to make an adult beverage.
Eggnog near You!
You can find local, farm-fresh holiday eggnog throughout Connecticut including at Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, Elm Farm’s Farm to Table Market in Woodstock, Woodstock Creamery at Valleyside Farm’s Farm Store also in Woodstock, and the Fish Family Farm’s Farm Store in Bolton. Smyth’s Trinity Farm in Enfield will provide home delivery in Enfield, Ellington, Somers, Suffield, Windsor Locks as well as to Longmeadow, MA or you can shop at their farm store in Enfield. Sweet Grass Creamery in Preston, The Modern Milkman in Ellington, Mountain Dairy in Storrs, and Terra Firma Farm in North Stonington produce their own Eggnog as well!
Chances are your local market also carries locally made eggnog. Look for the Farmer’s Cow and Mountain Dairy brands in the dairy aisle.
Serving all-natural, farm-fresh eggnog is perfect for your upcoming holiday gathering, and you will be helping to support a local farm.
The first image was provided by Terra Firma Farm. The middle image is from Arethusa Farm. The third image is from The Modern Milkman.