This is an abbreviated list of farms, along with farm stands, orchards, and cranberry bogs that can be found in Massachusetts. There are a ton MORE than I have listed here, but it will give you a starting point if fresh produce and cider donuts are your goal.

I’ve listed farms/stands that I know and like, but here is a website listing Eastern Massachusetts farms with their information.

Amesbury Massachusetts

Cider Hill Farm
Petting Animals, Apples, Bakery/Breads/Pies, Corn, C.S.A., Dairy/Ice Cream, Fruit/Fruit Trees, Hay/Straw, Herbs, Meat/Beef/Pork/Lamb, Poultry/Chicken/Turkey/Duck, Flowers/Plants/Bulbs, Pumpkins, Eggs, Honey/Beekeeping, Vegetables, Pick Your Own
45 Fern Avenue
Amesbury, MA 01913
www.ciderhill.com
(978) 388-5525
Open from 1 May to Thanksgiving

Ipswich, Massachusetts

Marini Farm
The green greenhouse opens late April
Farm stand opens on 5 June, see website for more dates
Corn maze opens in Sept (see website for this year’s date)
http://www.marinifarm.com/

Danvers, Massachusetts

Connors Farm
Apples, Bakery/Breads/Pies, Berries, Mulch/Compost, C.S.A., Corn, Dairy/Ice Cream, Fruit/Fruit Trees, Hay/Straw, Meat/Beef/Pork/Lamb, Poultry/Chicken/Turkey/Duck, Flowers/Plants/Bulbs, Pumpkins, Vegetables, Pick Your Own
Robert Connors
Valley Road Danvers, MA 01923
www.connorsfarm.com
(978) 777-1245

Cranberry Bogs in Massachusetts

Bright red berries, plump, juicy, Sassamanash*, tangy, tart, red berry, Mossberry, dried cranberries, or jellied. No matter how you enjoy your Cranberry, from photography to next to the stuffing at Thanksgiving, there is something that draws us to these berries that thrive in acidic soil, which is layers of sand and clay.

This wetland is lower than the surrounding areas, and the plants are kept moist during the spring and summer, but it’s not until Autumn and the berries ripen that these bog growing areas are flooded. Then a special tractor runs up and down the rows of plants, gently shaking the plants, and the berries are released, floating to the surface.

Then the dark red cranberries are gathered to one side and a vacuüm tube is placed on the surface of the water. the berries are sucked in and drop on to a hopper that separates them from other matter and then a conveyor belt runs them up into a waiting truck.

If you are interested in photographing or touring a working farm, click the map, and you will be taken to a Massachusetts Cranberry website that lists many farms that either offer the tart red berries for sale or might offer Ag-Tourism events on their farms.

Here are some Agri-tourism Cranberry farms

Hall’s Cape Cod Cranberries in North Harwich, Mass.

Agritourism

This link goes to the Massachusetts Agri-tourism farmer organization. This is one of the oldest farmer groups in the country. They represent hundreds of cranberry growers who farm 11,500+ acres of cranberry bogs and protect 60,000+ acres of open space in southeastern Massachusetts. 

*Cranberries, or Sassamanash as the Algonquians called them, are a welcome sign of autumn. Several varieties – both indigenous and introduced – are found on Vancouver Island. When these crimson delights are blended with fermented apples, the resulting cider is a tasty balance of bright acidity and autumn sweetness.

Suggestions? Let me know