Going Farther Afield For Local Fare ––

The Annual Search For Better Berries

By Dottie Evans

Searching for fresh, local strawberries can be a challenge, especially for those of us who remember when local, fresh-picked berries were available everywhere –– at certain roadside stands or on the local supermarket fruit counters.

Sad to say, those roadside stands are gone and grocery stores have mostly gone over to volume sales of those gigantic California strawberries that begin to monopolize the fruit displays in early April.

“I’ve never seen any real local strawberries sold here,” admitted Tyler Aaron, a four-year veteran employee of the Big Y at the Queen Street Shopping Center. Mr Aaron works full time in the produce department.

“We have to go for volume, and Driscoll’s [from Watsonville, Calif.] is what we carry,” he added.

“We’ll soon have blueberries from New Jersey. The Connecticut blueberries won’t be available until August,” Mr Aaron said.

Admittedly, those big California berries are tasty and two or three chopped up is all it takes to fill up the cereal bowl. But some of us refuse to settle for the imports. We are determined to have what we used to have –– those smaller, sweeter, riper-all-the-way-to-the-center fresh strawberries of days past.

And if we cannot grow them ourselves, or mooch the occasional pint off a friendly neighbor or relative who has kept a small plot of strawberries in a back yard garden, we must travel.

Down Route 25 or 34

It turns out that the closest pick-your-own strawberry patch is only about a 20-minute drive from Newtown, down Route 25 or 34. The Jones Family Farm is a 400-acre produce and Christmas tree farm in nearby Shelton that has been in continuous operation since the 1850s, having originally been a dairy operation.

Philip James Jones, a Welsh-Irish immigrant, was a butcher who raised sheep and cattle, selling his meat and potatoes from a horse-drawn cart in the city of Derby 150 years ago.

Six generations later, Philip Jones’s descendents are still working the land, having adapted to change so that now the onetime dairy farm is a successful pick-your-own farm business.

Visitors from towns in central and western Connecticut have come to expect a friendly welcome and look forward to family outings as they follow well-marked signs to the three Jones Farm centers, known as Valley Farm, Pumpkinseed Hill, and the Christmas Tree Farm. Depending upon the season, they may participate in picking their own strawberries, blueberries, pumpkins, and Christmas trees.

A recent trip to the Jones Farm Pumpkinseed Hill picking center yielded a full ten-pound box of strawberries in just 45 minutes of concentrated picking. The rows were wide and well-marked and the berries plentiful and clean.

A berry ferry (lorry-style truck) transported visitors across the fields and afforded a nice jouncy ride to delight the youngest berry-pickers. The view across the hilltop to the adjacent 300-acre tree farm was breathtaking.

Children are especially welcome to the Jones Family Farm, where there is a Three Little Bears outdoor playhouse and plenty of room to run around, while the adults relax on benches and enjoy the scenery.

“How long will the strawberries last?” one woman wanted to know, as she prepared to exit the Berry Ferry van with her box full of ripe berries balanced precariously in one hand.

“One more week if we’re lucky,” said the driver, helping her down.

“But the blueberries are coming on fast. There’s farmer Jones now walking the rows, checking on their progress,” he said, pointing to an elderly man in a white hat who was just emerging from the next field over. The blueberry bushes surrounding him were practically shoulder height.

Philip Jones held out a handful of ripe blueberries in his cupped fingers, offering them to several visitors to sample.

The consensus after tasting was, yes, they were perfect. Crisp and firm with a lovely, powdery bloom. The blueberry popped most satisfyingly in the mouth, releasing its sweet, tart juice.

“The best thing about blueberries is they last all summer,” Mr Jones said.

Since this was the first week in July, it was clear that strawberry time was almost over. But those of us who had picked while the picking was good went home satisfied. No California import could match these brilliant red jewels. Fortunately, Connecticut farm-grown strawberries are still out there for those willing to pursue them.

 

The Jones Family Farm is at 555 Israel Hill Road, Shelton.. The phone number is 203-929-8425. The pick-your-own farm is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 9 am to 7 pm in July and August. From Newtown, go south on Route 25 or 34 to Route 111. Follow 111 toward Monroe. Turn on Route 110 south to Shelton and proceed two miles to the farm. Then follow signs to designated picking areas.