Filtering by Tag: Farm Fresh,Pick Your Own

Guide to Connecticut's "Pick Your Own" Fruit Farms

Features Pick Your Own Farms Farm Fresh kids activity Local Farm Homepage

Carly Terzigni

It’s summer, which means it’s time to head to your local farm for some fruit picking! It doesn’t get fresher than picking your own fruit straight from the source, especially when they’re in season! Organized by county, the following farms have at least one type of seasonal fruit available during the year as a pick-your-own experience.

Note that the following fruit harvest seasons are approximate as it varies from year to year depending on a number of factors, including weather. With the warm temperatures we’re seeing this June, some picking seasons may move along faster than usual. This means strawberry season could wrap up early, but blueberries and raspberries could start early, too. Check with the farm you wish to visit to confirm current fruit availability.

Here is an approximation for some of the more popular fruits you may want to pick this year.


2022 Guide to Pick-Your-Own Connecticut Apples

Ingredients Recipe CT Farms Local Farm Pick Your Own Homepage

Anna Bendiksen

At this time of year, when Connecticut’s leaves start to change colors, eventually rivaling those of a Turkish carpet, there are few pleasures keener than to drive along the back roads of our state to an apple orchard. To choose local fruit, often varieties that are otherwise hard to find, for oneself is a seasonal occasion worth seeking out, worth savoring, worth creating a special picnic for (think rustic breads, local cheeses, and local hard cider if the orchard allows it). If you’re lucky, all of this is set off by sweetly chilly temperatures and a sky of platinum blue---in which case, congratulations. You have officially reached peak autumn.

Our guide to some of Connecticut’s best pick-your-own-apple experiences is here. Readers are encouraged to add their own. Note that this past spring, in the short period during which apple trees are pollinated, weather conditions were very unfavorable; a lighter-than-usual crop has resulted, so bring your flexibility along. As with all such outings, a little thinking ahead goes a long way. Be sure to call ahead for availability, wear sturdy shoes, and choose a good time for your visit. Weekdays are better for a quiet group or one that can’t deal with crowds; weekends will thrill the extroverts.


Arden’s Opens in Rowayton with Beautiful Seasonal Breakfast & Lunch Menu

Restaurant Homepage Rowayton Openings Breakfast Lunch Farm Fresh Local Farm Coffee Sandwich Eggs

Jessica Ryan

It’s Nantucket meets the Mediterranean. Arden’s, Rowayton’s newest eatery, is a community cafe offering up simple seasonal fare that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.

Inside the beachy décor is minimalist with hints of flea-market vintage finds. You’ll find antiquated oyster tins, vases filled with vibrant fresh flowers, beechwood furniture, a curated marketplace with specialty gourmet food items, locally fabricated linens alongside local honey, assorted spices, hot chili oil in beautiful glass jars, ceramics and other wonderful finds. Wonderful, whimsical floppy rattan shades resembling oversized straw hats hang from light fixtures overhead. Arden’s welcomes you in immediately with a warm embrace that doesn’t want to let you go.

Stay a while and linger over a simple menu of salads, sandwiches and toasts. While the concept is simple the recipes are elevated using ingredients from several local purveyors including Wilton’s Millstone Farm and Darien-based Flour Water Salt Bread, Nit Noi Provisions and Ilse coffee. Ingredients matter at this health-forward café. At the helm of the kitchen is Moises Aguilar formerly with Southend Backend. Here he is tasked with delivering the ultimate flavor profile from the simplest of ingredients which he has clearly mastered.


Baldanza Moves to Wilton & Takes Over The Schoolhouse

Features Interview Restaurant Wilton Farm Fresh Italian brunch lunch Homepage

Andrew Dominick

School is officially back in session in the Cannondale neighborhood of Wilton. We’re not talking education but rather The Schoolhouse’s new “teachers,” Angela and Sandy Baldanza and their son, Alex.

Before the family’s move to the historic Cannondale School, they were restaurantless. No, you aren’t crazy to imagine that they had a few restaurants at one point. They owned and operated Baldanza Cafe for 8 ½ years in New Canaan with six of those spent where SE The Back End is now. They even ran Baldanza Bistro in Darien behind Ten Twenty Post.

“When COVID hit, we closed that space (Darien) because it was too small for outdoor seating,” Angela says. “We took a lease at 21 Forest (in New Canaan). A few months in, we received complaints from the condo board there. We cut our losses there and our Darien lease ended. And we only left 17 Elm because of the place in Darien, so we were left with no restaurants at all.”

Cue the 1872 building we’ve all known as The Schoolhouse at Cannondale under Tim LaBant and most recently the home of Hugh Mangum’s popular Rise Doughnut pop-up who subleased from LaBant for a year. LaBant, who had a 14-year run at The Schoolhouse decided not to renew for a few reasons. “I left to focus on Parlor Wilton and the new Parlor Darien,” he says. “My lease was up and in these crazy times, I decided not to renew.”

All of the moving, and the closings, led to a coincidence.

“Ironically, Tim has our old spot in Darien where he opened Parlor and we took over The Schoolhouse on July 1,” Angela says. “Here we are, and we love being here. Sandy and I used to come here for dinner when we had a break from our restaurant. We love Tim.”

At this iteration of Baldanza, diners can anticipate a local, organic, and homemade approach. Brioche and Tuscan bread are sourced from Balthazar Bakery, while the naturally leavened, freshly milled sourdough comes from 123Dough Bakery in Pound Ridge. They also get seasonal produce from Connecticut farms, citing Wilton’s own Ambler Farm as a primary supplier and seafood is by way of New Wave Seafood in Stamford.

The approach to “local and fresh” applies in the kitchen where Baldanza’s longtime chef, Rodrigo Pacheco executes a menu mostly curated by Angela and Sandy. Pasta, as you’ll see in a hearty pappardelle Bolognese, is made in-house, as is the fluffy ricotta gnocchi tossed in roasted tomato vodka sauce, the cheese ravioli, and the tagliatelle caprese with buffala mozzarella and cherry tomato sauce.


The Westport Farmers' Market Is Back for the 2021 Summer Season with 50+ Vendors

Features Ingredients Farmers Market Westport Healthy Eats Farm To Table Farm Fresh Ingredients Farm Stand Local Artisan Bread Bakery Food Truck

CTbites Team

The need to eat strikes in many different forms. Craving something healthy? At The Westport Farmers’ Market, you can grab some freshly grown produce to satisfy that yearning. Want something refreshing? Stop by the handmade popsicle stand to cool down. How about something sweet? Head to the various artisan bakers selling freshly baked pastries and bread.

After a brief intermission from the end of their winter season back in March, the Westport Farmers Market has reopened to serve the community fresh produce, baked goods and everything in between. Open Thursdays from 10-2 on Imperial Avenue in Westport, the market is something you will not want to miss.

With over 50 vendors determined to provide market-goers with healthy and fresh products, Westport residents can look forward to grabbing organic, local ingredients to prepare a healthy meal, or even a pre-made breakfast or lunch… after visiting all the other vendors…of course.

Visit the Westport Farmers Market to enjoy goods from any of their over 50 vendors or check out a few of our favorites below!


Roasted Spring-Dug Carrots with Pistachio Dukkah & Crème Fraîche from Lauren Braun Costello

Features Recipe Recipe Farm Fresh Farm To Table Healthy Eats

CTbites Team

This recipe can be made with regular, conventional orange carrots, but spring-dug rainbow carrots from the farmer’s market are a colorful celebration of time and place like no other. Seasoned with a pistachio dukkah (an Egyptian nut-herb-spice blend traditionally made instead with hazelnuts, plus sesame seeds, coriander, mint, cumin, and salt and pepper), the flavors are both unexpected and familiar. Crème fraîche, with its creamy, sour finish is the icing on this proverbial carrot cake. Fresh microgreens complete the dish, offering more visual and textural contrast.—Lauren Braun Costello


Berkshires Direct: Farm-to-Consumer Delivery To Your Doorstep

Features Ingredients Subscription Box Farm to Table Farm Fresh Farm To Table Delivery Service

Stephanie Webster

Chefs realized a long time ago that “farm to table” was more than a phrase, it was a healthier way to eat, tasted better and improved the diversity of local economies by helping make farming economically viable. In addition, this growing trend has another major benefit, increasing access to a wide range of different food options across our community.

We, in Connecticut, are incredibly lucky with access to a large and growing number of farms and farmers’ markets, but sometimes a visit to that local farm stand during its business hours is difficult. For people who are not members of a CSA (community supported agriculture) program and would still like to incorporate ultra-fresh products into their everyday lives, CT based Berkshires Direct now gives customers greater access to the resources of farm-fresh products delivered to your home. They are based in Connecticut and currently making deliveries in Connecticut and NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens).

CTBites Readers USE CODE CTFriends10 for 10% off your first order!


Guide To Connecticut's Dairy Farmers: Shop Locallly!

Features Ingredients Local Farm Local Artisan Farm Fresh Dairy Farm Farm Stand CT Farms Homepage

CTbites Team

Connecticut dairy farmers selling directly to consumers are not caught up in the milk-dumping situation because they do bottling and distribution themselves. Here is Connecticut Food & Farm’s list of Connecticut dairies who sell milk and dairy like half & half, butter, and yogurt direct to you at their stands or via delivery NOW. This provides you reliable sourcing of the freshest product and the best profitability for the farm.

We have not included ice cream although some make it, we have focused on the basics here. You can click through to their websites to see the other products they have available at their locations.


Westport Farmers’ Market Launches Pilot Farmers' Market Program

Ingredients Features Farm Fresh Farmers Market Specialty Market

Stephanie Webster

The Westport Farmers’ Market understands the value of the local food community, and the importance of access to healthy fresh food…food that has traveled a lesser distance and handled only by the purveyor and buyer. We know this local food community is important to our economy as it keeps the money spent by you and then the vendor here supporting our neighbors.

Market Director Lori Cochran says “We, also, know we will find our way back to our gathering place on Imperial Ave and eventually back to Gilbertie's next winter BUT for now, it is in our blood to get you local food. To do so, we are launching a pilot farmers' market program under the strictest guidelines for shopping and collection of your purchases. The well being of you, ourselves and our vendors is the utmost priority.”


Taproot & Redding Roadhouse Owners Take Over The Holbrook Farm Business

Features CT Farms Farm Fresh Local Farm CSA Bethel Farm Stand

Maddie Phelps

More than 40 years ago, John and Lynn Holbrook purchased 12 acres of land in Bethel, Connecticut to open their very own family farm. With a mere 2 acres available for farming, the Holbrooks were tasked with maximizing space while remaining environmentally friendly. The rest is history.

While the Holbrooks still own the spectacular farmland, as of this past March, four new faces have joined the farming family. Jeff Taibe, Stephanie Sweeney, and Sean and Erin Reilly decided to tackle the business side of things when the previous tenant opted not to renew her lease. With Taibe and Sweeney owning their restaurant, Taproot, and the Reilly’s owning the Redding Roadhouse, the four decided to merge the Bethel and Redding communities with Holbrook Farm as their link.


Fairfield Farmers Market Returns for Second Season June 11

Features Farmers Market Farm Fresh CT Farms Fairfield

Stephanie Webster

It's that time of year, and Sundays in downtown Fairfield are about to become even more fun.  The Fairfield Farmers Market returns for its second season starting Sunday, June 11.  The market will be every Sunday 10-2, rain or shine, until Oct 1st on the historic Sherman Green in downtown Fairfield.  Over 20 farms and food producers will have everything you need for beach picnics, Sunday dinner, even your weekly shopping. [View complete vendor list below]


2017 Spring/Summer Fairfield County Farmers Markets via FGFG

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CTbites Team

Farmers’ markets in Fairfield County, CT will begin opening in May and early June and we will update the listings below (from 2016) with 2017 information as it becomes available. Here are the markets updated so far via our friends at Fairfield Green Food Guide.

  • New Canaan opened April 22
  • Shelton opens May 6
  • Norwalk Rainbow Plaza opens May 17
  • Westport opens May 18
  • Greenwich @ Arch & Horseneck Streets opens on May 20
  • Fairfield’s downtown market that launched last year opens June 11

14 Farms For Pick-Your-Own Pumpkins in CT

Ingredients Local Farm Pick Your Own kids activity Kid Friendly

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Autumn is here and  Connecticut Farms have delicious seasonal produce ready to be harvested!  Last week, CTBites told you where you can pick your own apples.  While apples are delicious, pumpkins truly epitomize the fall.  From jack-o-lanterns to pies to pumpkin flavored everything, the gourd has many uses.  Here are 12 places that offer pick your own pumpkins!  Be sure to call ahead to confirm availability.

  1. Harris Hill Farm, New Milford: On weekends during the month of October, Harris Hill Farm in New Milford opens the farm and its pick-your-own pumpkin patch to the community.
  2. Castle Hill Farm, Newtown: Castle Hill Farm in Newtown has a 4 acre pumpkin patch. They also have hay rides and a corn maze.
  3. Lyman Orchards, Middlefield: Lyman Orchards in Middlefield has a 24 hour hotline so that you can get updates on the crops and conditions.
  4. Bishop's Orchards, Guilford: Great picking of all kinds at Bishop's + a corn Maze on the weekends from 10-5. 
  5. Holmberg Orchards, Gales Ferry: Pumpkins are in season from September-October at Holmberg Orchards in Gales Ferry. On weekends, enjoy a corn maze, tractor rides, cider donuts, and a wine

Ultimate Guide To Berry Picking in CT (2016 Edition)

Ingredients CT Farms Local Farm Pick Your Own kids activity

Anna Bendiksen

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, dear,” my maternal grandmother told me over and over again when I was growing up in the Midwest. Grandma, may she rest in peace, always had berry patches in her backyard for pies to please the most hard-hearted male guest, but if she could have seen the scale and abundance of Connecticut berry farms, she would probably, as we used to say, have fainted dead away. Prairies are not made for berries; woodlands are. Since it’s true that the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach, too, I’ve developed a passion for the annual ritual of visiting local pick-your-own farms for strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

The argument for going to pick-your-own farms, when one has the time, is unassailable. It does not get more local than this, unless, like my Grandma, you want to grow your own (another unassailable idea but beyond the scope of this article). Berries in season are at their peak of freshness and nadir of price, and one also has the satisfaction of knowing that one is supporting farmers in one’s community.


Pick Your Own Blueberries Opens Today @ Bishop's Orchards in Guilford CT

Ingredients Features Local Farm Pick Your Own kids activity Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster

Pick-Your-Own Blueberries is NOW OPEN at Bishop's Orchards in Guilford CT. Today is Opening Day with weekday hours 8am-1:30pmSaturday 8am-4pm, and Sunday 9am-4pm. Blueberry season lasts about 6-7 weeks, up until late August. Blueberry admission is FREE into the field. You MUST pay for what you pick, by the pound. The field location for Blueberry picking is at their Main Orchards located off of New England Road. 

Remember to always call their PICK line before heading out at 203-458-PICK. Weather and crop availability are always a factor so hours and locations can change at anytime. If strawberry season was any indication of what is to come with blueberries, we are all in for a real treat! 


11 Places for Apple Picking in CT

Ingredients Local Farm Pick Your Own kids activity

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

As autumn approaches, farmers journey out to their fields to begin the harvest.  Apples lie at the heart of the season: apple cider, apple pie, or even a simple Gala or Braeburn apple are beautiful bounties on a crisp afternoon.  CT's farms and orchards are inviting you to pick-your-own apples as the leaves start to change their color.  Here are 10 places where you can enjoy a fall afternoon.

If you love apples, be sure to check out these recipes for a Hot Cinnamon Apple Toddy and a Prosecco Apple Fizz from Sugar & Olives.

  1. Bishop's Orchards, Guilford
  2. Rogers Orchards, Southington
  3. Lyman Orchards, Middlefield
  4. Rose's Berry Farm, Glastonbury
  5. Silverman's, Easton
  6. Blue Jay Orchards, Bethel
  7. Rose Orchards, Branford
  8. Drazen Orchards, Cheshire
  9. Johnny Appleseed's, Ellington
  10. March Farms, Bethlehem
  11. Scotts Orchard and Nursery, Glastonbury

Fresh Nation Enables Home Delivery for Westport Farmers' Market

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CTbites Team

Fresh Nation, the online marketplace for farmers markets, and Westport Farmers’ Market announced they have formed a strategic partnership to provide online shopping and home delivery.  Fresh Nation will operate an online storefront for the Market, providing local consumers with the ability to place an online order from many of their favorite Market vendors and receive same day home delivery from a Fresh Nation personal shopper. 

Fresh Nation delivers fresh food direct from farmers markets to consumers, by bringing local farmers markets together into a convenient online shopping destination, enabling farmers and food makers at the markets to reach new customers who do not normally make it to the market.  The company employs trained food shoppers to go the markets and personally fill customers’ online orders.  After receiving orders from Fairfield County residents for Thursday delivery, Fresh Nation fills these orders at the Westport Farmers’ Market and drives them directly to customers’ homes. 

“We are committed to bringing the freshest and best foods from the Westport Farmers’ Market to all members of our community,” said Lori Cochran


The Farmer's Cow 2014 Farm Tours: Meet Your Local Farmers!

Ingredients CT Farms Local Farm Farm Fresh

CTbites Team

The Farmer’s Cow announces its 2014 Farm Tour schedule and invites visitors to come out to the country and meet the farmer’s that bring you real local Connecticut milk and dairy products.

Locally sourced food is one of the hottest trends in the 2014 culinary forecast according to a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association. But what is local? The Farmer’s Cow milk comes from the contented cows of six real local Connecticut family-owned dairy farms, not from six other states.  “Real local” means our farm fresh products get to you faster and that means greater nutritional value and a smaller carbon footprint. 

“If you can visit the farm, then you know it’s real local,” said Robin Chesmer, Managing Member of The Farmer’s Cow.

"We invite families to see first-hand what life is like on a working dairy farm and learn about how we are working to save Connecticut farmland and sustain farming as a way of life.”

The 2014 Farm Tour schedule includes events in every season – winter, spring, summer and fall. Each tour is unique and celebrates a different aspect of what it means to be “real local.” Visitors can meet the cows and calves, learn about dairy farming and sample The Farmer’s Cow milk, ice cream and beverages. Hosted by The Farmer’s Cow farm families, all events are free and fun for all ages.

In case of inclement weather, please check The Farmer’s Cow Event and Facebook pages for updates.

All events are free and no reservations are required.

View the full Farm Tour schedule below: