The Pickin' Patch — Attraction in Simsbury

I go here frequently. Very nice people. And I really support our local farmers. Most of what I’ve gotten. There is very good. But this week, I got quite a few peaches and plums. Unfortunately they were picked too soon. My problem is that I really love August peaches, corn, and tomatoes. Those are kind of the big three in August and early September. The tomatoes are good. The white corn was immature and the Colonels were very very small. I didn’t get a lot out of it. Yellow corn might be better. But the peaches were mealy. And by that I mean that the outside seemed soft like a ripe peach. But, they are all squishy and gray on the outer edge, and that portion is very tasteless and kind of gross. And the inner portion is rock hard and tasteless. This is the kind of peaches I get the rest of the year. But I don’t expect that from local peaches in August. But if they are picked too early, this can happen. The plums were the exact same. Terrible! I don’t think these are raised at their farm. But I do believe that they are local. I just had to comment that if you are going to sell peaches in August…..please do better. I’ll visit again. I had to throw away about $20 of the $27 of fruit and vegetables I purchased...

The Pickin' Patch is a pick your own (fruits and veggies) farm established in 1666; it used to be a dairy and tobacco farm. Yes, I love historic places and farms! I read reviews and gathered that it was a great place to visit, especially during the autumn time. The parking lot was spacious right off the busy road.

They offer hayrides and there was a pumpkin patch; you can pick your own in the field or in the store. There was a garden center and farm store. The farm store had jams, jellies, apples, gourds, cookies, veggies, pumpkins, mums, hot sauces, etc. They had wheelbarrows for you to use, if you're planning to buy a few big pumpkins. They also had an apple fritter/donut/cider stand. I purchased half a dozen of apple fritters for $8; you can add extra cinnamon sugar. Those apple fritters looked like donut holes but tasted like apple donuts, it was very splendid! Overall, a great spot to stop by if you're into the small town farm vibes. There was a beautiful view of the Heublein tower on the hill and the fall foliage. It's the perfect...

I truly love supporting all the wonderful farms in the area. However today I have to share how disappointed I was with Pickin' Patch. After being told it was a tough year for berries I found that the strawberries were truly not even pickable. I was shocked that they even were letting people pick and then charging them for berries the size of peas that were not ripe. It would have been better to see a sign explaining the bad season and take the loss. I was also very surprised at the quality of the strawberry patches. No wonder the berries didn't stand a chance. I will think twice when supporting local next time at the...