Our first trip to Albritton in South Sarasota County.
What you need to know for locals and visitors.

Today, the kids and I took a trip to Albritton Fruit Farm off of Clark Road in #Sarasota. We had a great time picking the 4 varieties of blueberries, playing in the "sandbox" and pole barn. The season is open from March til May and I am sure we will head back later this spring.
What to bring
Since this was my first trip to Albritton I did a little homework before we went to find out what we needed and that was basically nothing! Albritton provides buckets and bags for harvesting the blueberries, which is required for the weighing process. Not all farms do this -- the other local farm I frequent does not have buckets or bags for you to us so this was a plus. I would highly suggest you bring water and hats for out in the field. There is a bit of a walk from the pole barn to the fields and once you get out there you will not want to walk back to get water. (There is water for sale in the pole barn.)
Picking
Once we arrived, after the kids spent a few minutes in the sand box that was complete with GIANT truck tires, we were given two buckets. Then the picking process was explained to us - only pick the dark blue/purple berries, don't step on the plants and wash your hands before you head out. Albritton has 4 blueberry varieties - you can see below in the picture the types and the color coding they use in the field. Then we headed out to the fields. The further back you go in the fields the easier the blueberries are to find since they haven't been picked over as much. We spent about an hour and a half and picked 3lbs. of berries. (Albritton has porta-potties out near the fields which is GREAT!)

Weigh & Pay
After we were done picking we headed up to the pole bar to weigh and pay! The pole barn was great -- shade, picnic tables, games for the kids, drinks and produce! Albritton also had honey from their farm for sale. I can't resist fresh local #honey! The team of workers weighed our berries and sold us the honey and we were on our way home! It was a fun and yummy outing for the afternoon with the kids.
Tips & Tricks
Bring water -- it was hot!
We went later in the day and it was not crowded at all (they are open 9-2)
Take a little stroll to the back of the fields for easier picking
Bring cash to avoid the credit card fees
Pack a picnic lunch - the pole barn would have been a great spot to relax
Allow some extra time for the kids to play in the sandbox
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