Wegmeyer Farms

We haven’t visited the Hamilton farm or the Oatland’s Plantation strawberry patches, but picking your own strawberries is something that you can also experience at Gilbert’s Corner (closer to home if you live in Aldie, South Riding, and other points further east of 50).
We’d always noticed The Pit Stop bbq stand on the side of the road, but we were intrigued when we were passing by this past Saturday and saw a bunch of people coming back from what looked like an open field behind the gravel lot, where the Pit Stop and other food stands are located.
We found out that Wegmeyer also operates a strawberry patch behind the lot, giving each customer a white pail for strawberry picking. With excitement, we headed into the field and spotted numerous beautiful, deep red strawberries. They’re low-​lying, so you basically crouch down a little and give a gentle tug from the vine to get a strawberry or two.
Now, these strawberries don’t exactly come cheap; they’re 3.99 per pound. Go more for the experience and the chance to taste some good strawberries. Most of our picks were sweet, a few tart ones. Hubby said they should be sweeter later in the season.
Though the prices are slightly on the more expensive end, we’ll be back just to enjoy the sun, the beauty of the patch, and the fruits of our labor.
This strawberry patch is fantastic for family gatherings, friend get-​together, and picturesque photo opps.
Go while it’s here!

I decided to go to pick my own pumpkin this year, a quick search on the internet found this one and the web site was well constructed. No admission to the pumpkin patch, and the drive is not too long. Got there, there is a big parking lot, and the pumpkin patch is on the left once you get into the shed. My problem is my dog cannot go in, America is so dog unfriendly, in France, dogs can go everywhere. According to the staff, it is because of health and safety regulation.
It is 50 cents per pound, although it sound very little, but pumpkins are heavy. May be because it is already October 26, the pumpkin patch is somewhat bare, it must have been very popular. It is not a big patch, so it did not take me long to inspect the goods and picked my pumpkin and some little one for decoration. None the less, it is my first pumpkin patch experience.
I believe in other season you can also pick your own strawberries, according to the website.

We went here for the pumpkin patch and the hay rides. They have a whole variety of different types of pumpkins to choose from and all in different sizes too. There was also a few great photo opportunity. One where you can stick your head through the wood and take one with their sign or sit on the hay stack with pumpkins or take one with the big Lego batman. The hay ride was pretty good as well. I like the trivia questions they put up. It is good for all ages.

Great, family-​friendly, and small (read: manageable for little ones) strawberry farm. Get here early during strawberry picking season as it is apt to fill up quickly with eager folks. It is a really well organized system; you are assigned a row to pick, so you don’t need to worry about others getting in your way as you pick to your heart’s content.
Strawberries are $ 3.99/lb. Bring your own bucket or buy one there.

Strawberry fields forever…
Well, not forever. Wegmeyer isn’t a huge farm, but it does have some nice strawberry patches that are perfect for picking with your favorite wee ones. When they open for strawberry season, you had better get here early. The first day they opened, we thought about heading over and thankfully called in advance — by 10:30 am they were already picked out for the day! We went the following day and made sure to get there before they opened (at 9 am) but apparently we weren’t the only ones with that idea — about 6 – 8 other families arrived even before we did. By the time we finished picking and enjoyed a little picnic — around 10:30 — the place was jam-​packed and they were turning people away. So plan ahead.
I really love and appreciate how well organized Wegmeyer is. They’ve got a great system that I haven’t seen at other (bigger) farms. It isn’t a pick-​your-​own free-​for-​all; when you arrive and «check-​in», you will be guided to a specific row from which you can harvest the goodies. The farmer who brought us to our row was a sweet older man (probably the owner?) and gave us a little mini-​lesson on strawberry growing and harvesting. When a row is being picked, a little red flag is put at the end of the row to signal that it is taken. We were given another red flag to put at whatever point in the row we decided to stop — that way, they know they can start a new person off from where we stopped.
Strawberries were $ 3.99/lb, which is what we pay for organic strawberries at Safeway in DC, but it was totally worth the hour drive out here for the experience. It is really lovely and we saw so many kids just having a great time. Our daughter (12 months old) was too young to do any picking, but she very much enjoyed the fruits of our labor :) There is a little playground area for kids and refreshments for sale, too, including a strawberry sundae (you better believe we got one — even at 10 am! ha!), strawberry jam, strawberry pie, strawberry slushies… you get the picture. And kids get a complimentary little strawberry activity book. Very cute.
We will definitely be back to Wegmeyer!

When nearby Great Country Farms was picked-​over for strawberries, we feared that we had driven 45 minutes in vain. A quick Unilocal search revealed Wegmeyer Farms and we got there before they, too, were wiped clean. It’s less of a carnival atmosphere than Great Country, but Wegmeyer Farms doesn’t have a $ 10+ *admission fee*. You just pay for what you pick, by the pound.
Most importantly, the strawberries are delicious and our toddler had a really great time.

Fresh quality strawberries ready to be picked at your leisure with ample space to picnic before or after. It’s a quaint family-​run farm out in leesburg that requires a trek down an unpaved road but the peaceful surroundings and gorgeous setting, nature at it’s best farm style. There’s even a playground for the kids to play and quite a few shade trees to enjoy.
Tyler, the owner is the sweetest person and had no problem imparting his knowledge of strawberries to this very curious city-​girl. When we got there around 11am, the patch was already picked out til tomorrow but he still showed me the patch and explained how one day in the sun will ripen all the currently un-​ripe berries. Amazing! I had no idea that when they start blooming it’s a daily thing! They go from tiny white flowers, to tiny lime green berries that then turn white and finally go red! I got to see the berries in all their forms traversing his lovely patch.
I can honestly tell you, you have not lived until you have sunk your teeth into a warm sun-​kissed strawberry picked with your own hands. There’s nothing fresher and they are sooo juicy and flavorful! I had a great experience here even though I didn’t get to pick a whole bucket of them.
TIP: call ahead if you aren’t going to be there when it opens, when they run out if berries it isn’t their fault, but if you call they will let you know if the fields are still berryful!