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- Hello, I'm Alexis. Welcome to Capitol Momma! I'm always out having fun with my little ones, exploring all that there is to see & do in the DC Metro area for kids. Join us on our adventures!
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Category Archives: Pick-your-own farm
A Strawberry Pickin’ Success
I was so happy the rain finally stopped so we could pick strawberries at Wegmeyer Farms this weekend. We went out to their field at the Oatlands Plantation and it was really muddy……boots are a necessity. But there were so many big, ripe berries that it made for a great picking experience. The girls each filled up their own buckets within about 25 minutes. The berries are so plentiful that we didn’t even have to walk down the entire row before we filled the buckets. The berries are delicious….so sweet and juicy. Please let me know if you have any good strawberry recipes!
Don’t forget that you can get 25% off your berries when you pick on weekdays by mentioning Capitol Momma at the register! See previous blog post for details on locations. Happy picking!
Strawberry Picking at Wegmeyer Farms + Discount!
One of my favorite things to do with my girls is to go berry picking. So I’m very excited that strawberry season starts in just one week, yay! Our absolute favorite farm to pick strawberries at is Wegmeyer’s. They take strawberry growing to the next level! Their berries are the sweetest and juiciest berries you can find in the D.C. area. Their fields are beautiful and so well cared for – they grow the strawberries on on raised plastic beds, which keeps the berries clean, dirt-free and makes for easy picking. And new this year, they are offering a Sparkling Strawberry wine in partnership with Fabiolli Vineyards.
Wegmeyer Farms has generously offered all Capitol Momma readers a 25% discount during weekdays (M-F) at any of the three locations. Just mention Capitol Momma at the register to receive the discount on your berries. Happy Picking!
Wegmeyer Farms has three u-pick locations:
Hamilton, VA boutique farm setting – Tucked away on back roads of Lincoln (between Purcellville and Leesburg) at a historic homestead, our farm provides the most scenic views of rolling farmlands. We offer picnic tables for you to bring your own lunch and refreshments available for sale. After you pick berries, we invite you to stick around with the kids and let them play on the John Deere tractor slide and playground. 38299 Hughesville Road, Hamilton, VA
Historic Oatlands – our strawberry patch and era-themed attire at this historic mansion will whisk
Gilbert’s Corner – strawberry picking in its most natural state. This no-fuss location is perfect for a simple outing. Parking is available right at the site. Intersection of Route 15 and Route 50 in Aldie, VA.
Customers are encouraged to call the strawberry field hotline at (540) 751-1782 or visit www.
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POSTED IN: Gilbert's Corner, Hamilton, Historic Oatlands, Pick-your-own strawberries, VA, Wegmeyer Farms
POSTED IN: Gilbert's Corner, Hamilton, Historic Oatlands, Pick-your-own strawberries, VA, Wegmeyer Farms
Strawberry Picking at Wegmeyer Farms Oatlands
Oatlands Historic House & Gardens
20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane
Leesburg, VA 20175
www.wegmeyerfarms.com
After 15 consecutive days of rain in DC, we just couldn’t wait any longer to get out into the strawberry fields. We knew there would be a pretty good chance we’d get rained on so we just put on our boots and jackets and decided to embrace the mud!
Once we arrived at Historic Oatlands, we found out that they were not offering the usual wagon rides to the strawberry fields due to the muddy roads. So we followed the strawberry signs and took the kids on a walk. They were full of energy, so this ended up being a good thing! Even though it is a fairly long walk to the fields the kids were entertained by the sights along the way. They stopped to look at the cows grazing in the field and look for frogs in the lily pond.
We had the entire field to ourselves on this rainy Friday morning, so the kids got to choose their rows and were excited to start picking right away. Since there has been a lack of sunshine the past two weeks, the ripe berries were mixed in with lots of unripe berries. We explained to the little ones that they could only pick the bright red strawberries and thankfully they (mostly) obliged.
Wegmeyers berries are simply the best; so juicy and sweet! We ended up eating almost half a bucket on our walk back to the car. You can see the passion that Wegmeyer Farms has for their strawberries just by looking at their fields. They grow their berries on raised plastic beds, which keeps the berries clean, dirt-free and makes for easy picking. We completed our strawberry picking outing with a picnic! And then headed home to make strawberry shortcake!
Bonus: Wegmeyer Farms is offering all Capitol Momma readers 25% off on weekdays – just mention Capitol Momma at the register!
Good to Know:
•Open 9am-6:00 daily
•Hayride tickets: adults $5, children 16 and under are free
•Strawberries are $3.99 per pound.
•Don’t dress your children in their nicest clothes. There’s a good chance they are going home with strawberry stains. Totally worth it though!
•Containers are provided or you can bring your own. Just ask them to weigh your container first if you bring your own.
•The Carriage House has a restroom.
•No food is sold here but you are welcome to bring a picnic.
May – Monthly Roundup
May was a busy month full of fun adventures with my girls. We spent a lot of time outdoors at different farms and parks. It was filled with lots of flowers and happy moments. I’ve always thought fall was my favorite time in the DC area but I’m not sure anymore because this spring has been pretty amazing. We visited some really pretty places and made a lot of great memories!
Places we visited:
• United States National Arboretum
• Wegmeyers Farm – Oatlands Historic House and Gardens – blog post here
• Homestead Farm – blog post from last fall here
• Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens
• Washington National Cathedral and Bishop’s Garden
• Beauvoir Outdoors
• Scott’s Run Nature Preserve
• Croydon Creek Nature Center
• Fountains at Rockville Town Square
Events we attended:
• Day Out with Thomas – B&O Railroad Museum – blog post here
• Royal Tea Party – Thomas Farm Community Center
• Spring Market Fair – Claude Moore Colonial Farm
• Fairytale Ballet Tea Party – Metropolitan Ballet Theatre
• Hometown Holidays – Rockville Town Square
Classes/Camps we attended:
• My Gym
• Funfit Tots
• FS Soccer
Parks we played at:
• Meridian Hill Park – Washington, DC
• Chevy Chase Playground and Splash Park – Washington, DC – blog post here
• Clemyjontri Park – McLean, VA – blog post here – #4 in a list of the top 50 playgrounds in the US
• Hadley’s Playground – Potomac, MD – #41 in a list of the top 50 playgrounds in the US
• North Farm Park – Rockville, MD
• Cabin John Park – Bethesda, MD
• Potomac Woods Park – Rockville, MD
I hope this roundup has given you some new ideas and inspired you to go out and explore with your kids! Have a fabulous June!
Also, I use instagram as my everyday blog and share a lot of photos from our adventures on my feed.
Instagram: capitol.momma
And I share more information and photos from our field trips and outings on facebook.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitolmommablog
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POSTED IN: B&O Railroad Museum, Beauvoir Outdoors, Cabin John Park, chevy chase playground, Claude Moore Park, Clemyjontri Park, Croydon Creek Nature Center, FS Soccer, Funfit Tots, Hadley's Playground, Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens, Homestead Farm, Meridian Hill Park, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, My Gym, North Farm Park, Oatlands Historic House and Gardens, Potomac Woods Park, Rockville Town Square, Scott's Run Nature Preserve, Thomas Farm Community Center, United States National Arboretum, Washington National Cathedral, Wegmeyers Farm
POSTED IN: B&O Railroad Museum, Beauvoir Outdoors, Cabin John Park, chevy chase playground, Claude Moore Park, Clemyjontri Park, Croydon Creek Nature Center, FS Soccer, Funfit Tots, Hadley's Playground, Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens, Homestead Farm, Meridian Hill Park, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, My Gym, North Farm Park, Oatlands Historic House and Gardens, Potomac Woods Park, Rockville Town Square, Scott's Run Nature Preserve, Thomas Farm Community Center, United States National Arboretum, Washington National Cathedral, Wegmeyers Farm
Strawberry Picking at Wegmeyer Farms – Oatlands Historic Mansion and Gardens
Oatlands Historic Mansion and Gardens
20850 Oatlands Plantation Ln
Leesburg, VA 20175
www.wegmeyerfarms.com
My girls absolutely love picking berries in the spring and summer months. They were extremely excited for our first picking adventure. I really enjoy taking them to farms so they can learn where our food comes from and also have some good ol’ fashioned fun! Oatlands seemed like the perfect place to go pick, since we would also get to explore the beautiful mansion grounds I had heard so much about.
After arriving, we went into the Carriage House to purchase tickets for the hayride out to the strawberry fields. It’s about a 5 minute scenic ride out to the fields. My girls especially loved this part.
Once we arrived at the strawberry fields, we were greeted by friendly staff in 1800s era-themed costumes and they directed us to our row in the patch.
My girls had so much fun picking the berries and would squeal when they found an especially large one. The strawberries were so plentiful, we didn’t have to move very far down our row. Clara and Mae were just a little disappointed when we had completely filled our baskets and had no more room to pick any more!
Wegmeyers berries are so sweet, juicy, and perfect. I can’t even really describe how good they are!
We headed to the strawberry hut to pay for our berries and the girls were excited to get stickers and official strawberry picker coloring books. The wagon took us back to the Carriage House and from there we walked over to the historic mansion to explore the four acres of gardens.
The peonies and irises were in full bloom!
I highly recommend berry picking at Wegmeyers Farms Oatlands location. It was such a unique experience with the history and beauty of the property. There are about 3 weeks left in the season, so hurry and go visit them! For more information on the other two picking locations, check my blog post here. And don’t forget that if you pick on a Thursday (Family Picking Day) this season, mention Capitol Momma and receive 25% off!
Good to Know:
•Open 9am-5:30 daily
•Hayride tickets: adults $5, children 16 and under are free
•Strawberries are $3.99 per pound.
•Thursdays throughout the season are Family Days. Receive a 25% discount by simply mentioning Capitol Momma.
•Don’t dress your children in their nicest clothes. There’s a good chance they are going home with strawberry stains. Totally worth it though!
•Containers are provided or you can bring your own. Just ask them to weigh your container first if you bring your own.
•The Carriage House has a restroom.
•No food is sold here but you are welcome to bring a picnic.
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POSTED IN: Leesburg, Oatlands Historic House and Gardens, Pick-your-own, Strawberry Picking, u-pick, VA, Wegmeyer Farms, you-pick
POSTED IN: Leesburg, Oatlands Historic House and Gardens, Pick-your-own, Strawberry Picking, u-pick, VA, Wegmeyer Farms, you-pick
Sharp’s at Waterford Farm
Sharp’s at Waterford Farm
4003 Jennings Chapel Road
Brookeville, MD 20833
sharpfarm.com
We’ve been so lucky with amazing fall weather that we have had the chance to explore a lot of farms already this season. One that I hadn’t heard much about before is Sharp’s at Waterford Farm in Brookeville. It is a 530 acre working farm located in the western part of Howard County, family-owned and operated since 1903. I haven’t spent much time in this part of Maryland so I was eager to go explore a new place.
The farm offers free hayrides to a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkins right off the vine. When we arrived, the tractor was getting ready to take a group of visitors out to the patch, so we hopped right on.
It’s a relaxing and scenic ride to the pumpkin patch as you pass cornfields and a small pond. The pumpkin patch includes an area of sugar pumpkins, which are only about 6 to 8 inches in diameter. I learned that the sugar pumpkins are better for cooking because of their firm, non-stringy, sweet flesh. They also make great painting pumpkins.
After the hayride the girls ran right over to look at the chickens and rabbits. The farm also has some friendly goats and cows. There is an animal feed vending machine by the goats if you want to feed them. Clara also enjoyed the observation bee hives.
Sharp’s has a 7-acre corn field that they cut every autumn and transform into a corn maze. The theme of this year’s maze is “Black Bears & Coyotes” and there is educational information about these animals throughout the maze. You will have to answer true and false questions to help lead you on the correct path through the maze. There is also a mini maze that is more appropriate for the little ones.
Inside this charming, bright red barn is where kids can make a scarecrow or get their face painted.
You can pick your own popcorn in this field.
Sharp’s also has a country store where they carry jams, jellies, salsa, local honey, apple cider, baked goods and more. They also have a variety of fall decorations including wreaths, indian corn, hay bales, gourds, corn stalks, mums and decorative pumpkins.
Also inside the country store is a small farm museum, displaying various historical farm tools and equipment.
It was really nice to visit a “low-key” farm where there wasn’t a crowd of people. It felt good for the soul to get out of the hustle and bustle of our area for a couple hours. My girls never get tired of spending time outdoors on a farm, so of course they had fun!
Good to Know:
•Open for the fall season on Saturday, September 27 and every weekend through November 2.
•No admission fee.
•The fee for the corn maze is $7 adults, $5 children, 2 & under are free. Mini maze is $1/person for unlimited trips through the maze.
•On the weekends, JZ’s brick oven pizza truck is onsite selling pizza, barbeque, and hotdogs.
•Sharp’s offers educational farm tours that are great for schools, daycares, scout troops, etc.
•There is a picnic area located by a scenic pond.
•There is a self-guided nature trail.
•Portable restrooms only.
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POSTED IN: Brookeville, Corn Maze, Country Store, Educational Farm Tours, Farm Animals, Hayride, Nature Trail, Pick-your-own, Pick-your-own pumpkins, Sharp's at Waterford Farm, Tractor Ride
POSTED IN: Brookeville, Corn Maze, Country Store, Educational Farm Tours, Farm Animals, Hayride, Nature Trail, Pick-your-own, Pick-your-own pumpkins, Sharp's at Waterford Farm, Tractor Ride