By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

You’ll find pumpkins of all sizes at pumpkin patches and corn mazes during the fall months. Most are operated by local farm families, who want to share the farm experience as well as a little farm fun with others.

When the leaves take on autumn hues, the air is a little crisper and pumpkins litter farm fields like orange confetti, it’s definitely time for a trip to a pumpkin patch. Pumpkin patches have seriously come into their own since my older children were young. In fact, I’m not sure where you went to visit one back then, but there sure weren’t any advertised in my vicinity. Not so now. Pumpkin patches and corn mazes are all the rage in the fall.

To run a farm these days, it takes a lot of hard work (sweat), patience, love and faith in the weather. You’ll find that a number of farm families want to share their farm experiences and their knowledge about animals and plants and let visitors, especially youngsters, have a good time doing it. Each September and October when the pumpkins are ripe on the vines, many farms open their gates, so to speak, to schoolchildren during the week and the public on the weekends. I’ve taken Brianna to Uncle Bob’s Pumpkin Patch in Coweta County a couple of times and to Ison’s Farm in Fayette County with a preschool group, but there are numerous ones around the state. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The strawberries are in at “pick-your-own” farms around the state. The whole family can enjoy picking their own fruit right off the vine and taking it to the dinner table.

The strawberries are ripening at most berry picking farms, so why not spend a Saturday morning with your child filling a bucket or two? Pick-your-own farms like Washington Farms in Watkinsville and Loganville, Adams Farm in Fayetteville and Southern Belle Farm in McDonough are open and ready for business.

Kids love to pick berries and eat them straight from the vine. It’s a great lesson on “where food comes from,” as well as just good, quality family time.

There are many pick-your-own farms around the state—strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and more can all be picked by families during the season. Choose one near you and call ahead to make sure it is open. (Sometimes farmers have to close the berry fields for a day or two so they can replenish.) Remember, it’s best to pick in the morning when it’s not so hot. Then, grab your sunscreen, a hat, plenty of drinking water, and maybe a snack or two—and go pick!

You can find more information about pick-your-own farms or other Farm Experiences in Georgia here at Brown’s Guides.