When they met in 2011, Benji’s ability to grow, combined with Stacey’s background in agriculture and her experience working in the produce industry, came together perfectly to build The Berry Farm into a successful venture.
How The Berry Farm Happened
According to Mullen, it started by adding in different fruits – first strawberries, then blueberries and later cherries, and the offerings still continue to expand. When Ontelaunee Orchards (where Mullen was once a manager) in Leesport closed, customers were calling to find out where they could go to pick fruit; they were directed to the farm. Through word of mouth, more people visited and The Berry Farm came to be.
The farm was wholesaling fruit, but the turning point from dream to reality came with selling retail, creating a Facebook page and offering pick-your-own fruit at the farm. Discovering their niche with the berries, including specialty berries, has proved fruitful for Mullen. She adds, “We also preserve that ‘down on the farm’ feeling…the old farmhouse, the valley lined with fruit trees and berries all in the background. It gives customers the rural farm feel, rather than a commercialized pick-your-own.”
Fruits Aplenty
The Berry Farm offers some unique options for its customers.
Blueberries are still the most popular during the picking season, Mullen notes, but this year, yellow raspberries and loganberries are available, a hybrid of blackberry and raspberry. There are donut peaches, which are flattened, shaped like a donut, and sweeter than your typical peach. There is the pluot, a blend of plum and apricot, along with other apricot-plum hybrids such as plumcots and apriums. Mullen says the difference is in the ratio of plum to apricot.
One of the more unique fruits on site is the bubblegum plum. More of a novelty fruit, with just a few trees planted, this one is just different enough to be exciting. It’s a small reddish plum shaped like a ping-pong ball, and it tastes just like bubblegum.
Future Plans
The Berry Farm will continue with what it does best: planting. Along with increased interest from customers for the specialty offerings like the loganberries, bubblegum plums and different varieties of peaches, Mullen says she and Adam will continue by expanding the blueberries, raspberries and specialty crops.
Also in the works is homemade wine. Mullen says, “I have been experimenting in making homemade fruit wine. I hope to master the craft and get my license, and in two years from now, hopefully we'll be able to have Berry Farm wine.”
Mullen’s daughter, Emily, also started her own bee business on the farm. This will enable them to offer local honey to customers.
Another future goal of Mullen’s is to continue to make everything more sustainable. She will utilize organic methods where possible and use products on the farm that are safe for bees. All in a day’s work!
