March Farm

March Farm at Bethlehem is a fourth-generation farm that writes the best crop notes in this region: it tells you what colour the fruit should be before you pick it.

What You Can Pick

• Blueberries - "typically begins mid July and continues through August"
• Peaches - "typically begins in early-August and continues through mid-September"
• Apples - from the first weekend of September in the Farm Store Orchard, then mid-September onwards in the Hill Top Orchard
• Pumpkins - "typically begins late-September and continues through October"

The Apples

Two orchards, and the farm names the varieties in each. The Farm Store Orchard opens first with Cortland, Gala, Honeycrisp and McIntosh. The Hill Top Orchard follows with Cortland, Empire, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, McIntosh, Macoun, Mutsu, Crimson Crisp and Red Delicious.

Good to Know

On the peaches: "Peach picking requires a bit of a hike but is well worth the effort after sinking your teeth into the fuzzy-skin that is sweetly juicy with each bite."

On picking ripe fruit, for blueberries: "be sure to look for berries that are very dark blue in color – green berries have not ripened fully and are not ready to pick"; and for peaches, "look for fruit that are dark yellow/red in color – green/white fruit have not ripened fully".

Current hours are 10am to 6pm every day. There is a Hayloft Playscape, a Pond Side Animal Yard, a Hill Top Corn Maze, hay rides in autumn, concerts, workshops and yoga.

Pro tip: the two apple orchards are two different experiences. The Farm Store Orchard is beside the car park and opens first; the Hill Top Orchard is the walk with the view and holds the Macoun and Mutsu. If you can only do one, the Hill Top is the one.