Pick-Your-Own Memories at Stults Farm

By: Megan Malloy

A typical day for Jill Stults starts at 4:30 a.m., though, she insists, there really is no such thing as a typical day on a farm. Jill and her husband, Stanley, manage and comprise the labor force of Cranbury’s Stults Farm. 

Beginning in 1984, the farm began offering pick-your-own strawberries, a tradition which Stults continues today. The farm has since expanded to offer pick-your-own vegetables, raspberries and blueberries.

“It’s something wholesome to do with the family,” Stults said. “There’s only certain things you can do and this can be outdoors and (you can) be together and have fun and fresh food.”

Popularity for pick-your-own has waned in recent years, according to Stults. They opened up the farm stand in order to sell produce to those who don’t have time to pick their own.

“People are too busy now,” she said. “It’s just totally changed from what it used to be. We never had much on the farm stand side, and now we move a lot of produce that we pick ourselves. People pick less, and we pick more.”

The farm has been in the Stults family since 1915 when Stanley Stults’ grandfather, Clifford Addison Stults, purchased the 93-acre farm and began growing potatoes and wheat commercially. The farm still grows wheat and soy beans on rotation, and sweet corn will be harvested in late July this year, which is always a huge draw for families, according to Stults.

In 1990, Jill and Stanley Stults preserved the farm, becoming the first farm in Middlesex County to be permanently preserved through the Farmland Preservation Program. The Stults’ son, Brian, is partners with his father and will take over the farm when Stanley retires. 

“Hopefully, someday [my grandson] William and my son will take over,” said Stults. “But this farm will always be preserved. So we might not farm it for future generations down the road, but someone will.”

Stults offers pick-your-own Mondays through Fridays, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m from May through October. The farm stand is also open during those hours.

You can also purchase Stults produce at the Rutgers Farmer’s Market on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. or at the West Windsor Farmer’s Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To check out what produce is available for picking, click here. 

For more information, visit stultsfarm.com or call 609-799-2523.