How do I reserve berries?  The process is simple.  If you would like to reserve berries, just go to the Reserve Berries page and fill out the form.  You will then be able to choose to reserve Pre-Picked Berries or select a time & date to Pick Your Own.  If you would like to come to pick on the weekend you do not need an appointment.

What are your weekend PYO hours?  We are open for new PYOers from 9am-2pm on weekends.  There can be long waits on weekends for use of our rakes and sorting machines.  Please feel free to bring a picnic, musical instrument, a game, etc. and enjoy this beautiful land while you wait.  This year, our "Blueberry Farm Cafe" will be open on weekends during the harvest season and will serve cold and hot drinks as well as blueberry inspired breakfast, snack and dessert foods.

Are your berries organic?  While we are not certified organic, the fields owned by the Benson Place have been organically managed for the past twelve years. A small amount of herbicide has been sprayed in recent years on a few areas of the fields that we lease, but no chemicals are currently being used.

How many quarts are in a twenty pound box?  A quart of blueberries weighs about 1.4 pounds. A twenty pound box, therefore, is about 14 quarts of berries.

What are your farming practices? We aim towards sustainable management of our fields, including organic practices as well as reducing the use of fossil fuels. The 35 acres of blueberry fields are managed almost entirely with human power.  We burn the fields every spring on a rotation, a traditional practice to biennually rejuvinate the blueberry plants.  We also believe in sharing the harvest with the bears, birds and other wildlife for whom the low-bush blueberry is an important food source.  We are at the beginning of a year-long pollinator habitat project to create additional habitat for our native bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds.

Can I visit the farm on the off-season?  Yes!  You are welcome to come walk the land at any time.  There is a trail easement held by the Franklin Land Trust and created by the previous owners of the farm, Dave Gott and Ted Watt, that allows anyone to come and walk the farm roads.  Please park at the barn or on the road and stay on the farm roads.  Leashed dogs are also welcome as long as they also stay out of the fields.  In the winter, feel free to come cross- country skiing or snowshoeing. For more information feel free to call us: 337-5340.

What happens if I don't show up? If you are unable to pick up your berries on the date and time you scheduled for, please call us and let us know. We can usually keep them in the walk-in cooler, for a small charge.  If you need to cancel a pre-pick or a u-pick reservation, 24 hours notice is greatly appreciated.  This way we can make the berries available to others.

What is the price difference between pre-pick and u-pick? The u-pick price for 2012 is $2.55/ pound. This puts a 20 pound box at $51 (about $3.60 a quart).  The pre-pick prices are $67 ($3.35/ pound) for a 20 pound box (about $4.69/qt), $36 ($3.60/ pound) for a ten pound box (about $5/qt), and $20.50 ($4.10/lb) for a 5 pound box (about $5.75/qt).

How long does it take to pick berries? What is the process?  It usually takes a liesurely hour and a half to two hours for a small group of people to pick and sort a twenty pound box.  This includes a 5-15 minute walk out to the berry field we are picking in, hand raking the berries, walking back and using the sorting machine.  This process can take much longer on the weekends due to waits for the rakes and sorting machines (see above question on weekend PYO hours).  Most people enjoy planning for some additional time to walk the land and enjoy the views.

I am coming with an elder who isn't able to walk far to harvest berries.  Can you accomodate us?  We save some picking closer to the house and parking area for folks who cannot walk as far.  This usually would mean a 3-5 minute walk.  Please feel free to call ahead the day or two before you are coming to see if we still have this picking available.

What happens if it rains on my picking or pick-up day?  We do shut down in heavy rains and thunderstorms because wet harvesting conditions make for mushy berries.  If this happens, we will call and rescedule a different pick-up/picking date, if there are still slots available. In this scenario, we do our best to accomodate. 

I signed up for the fourth week. Will I get my berries?  The fourth week is seen by us as a waiting list week.  On a good year, we may still have berries available the fourth week, but we are not cerain about harvesting this week. While we do our best every year to predict yield, and schedule pre-orders and u-pick times accordingly, mother nature has the final say and it is a difficult art to gauge how many berries are really in the field.  Unfortunately, we can not guarantee your berries for any week of the season, but we encourage folks to sign up for the earliest time possible to have the best chance of getting berries.

Can berries be frozen or flash-frozen for me?  We do not have the facilities to flash-freeze berries. If we have freezer space, we may be able to freeze your berries for a $2 fee per box.