I grew up going to Cape May, New Jersey every Summer with my family. Cape May is a lovely beach town full of old Victorian homes and eclectic culture. It has yet to be overcome by throngs of people like other local beaches and it is even more beautiful in the off-season. Eventually my parents bought a home there that they rent out over the Summer. Our trips up to Cape May usually happen in the off season but recently the house became available so we went up for a few days. Last Fall we discovered a beautiful farm where we went on a hay ride and decorated pumpkins with our children. So it was definitely on our list to visit again this time.
Beach Plum Farm is a sustainable farm in West Cape New Jersey that is owned by Cape Resorts Group and supplies produce, flowers, eggs, meat, and honey to its restaurants. The farm is also open to the public and has a beautiful farm stand. Visitors may tour the farm for free or choose an in-depth guided tour for $3 a person for adults, $2 for children. Here are some pictures from our visit a couple of weeks ago.
Here is a beautiful hand drawn map of the farm.
An example of planting and growing crops amongst native weeds like clover that act as a ground cover and mulch for the plants.
Rows and rows of horseradish for Bloody Mary's!
Chamomile and hydrangeas.
I even spotted some purslane growing amongst the plants. I'll write a whole post on that later.
More hydrangeas. Such a beautiful throwback flower.
This our tour guide Erisa Ann telling us about the bean pole teepees they have.
The chicken run. They produce about 250-300 eggs a day!
The farm sits on a wetlands area that has been preserved. Amelie found a muskrat hiding in the water.
Berkshire pigs for the restaurants. They are purposely not named.
A number of these beautiful ferns have come back around the wetlands after all the care that has been put into the farm.
All of the fallen or cleared wood is chopped and used for firewood in the fireplaces of the group's hotels and restaurants.
Horse manure is collected from the Cape May Carriage Company and used as fertilizer.
This large greenhouse allows them to extend the growing season to grow produce throughout the year.
One of a few stops to remove rocks from the shoes:)
Cabbage growing in the back fields. Oh the sauerkraut you could make with this!
Harper counts the quarts of blueberries as they are picked.
A spot to rest.
Sunflowers for the restaurants and hotels and beyond that honey bees!
Harper waits to buy honey at the farm stand.
Freshly picked greens being washed for the restaurants.
Italian and purple basil.
Piglets!
Feeding the piglets.
Tour lasts a little over an hour (maybe more with little ones) so do plan on bringing lots of water and wear hats if it's a sunny day. What a wonderful farm that manages to truly execute its mission. We certainly learned a great deal that day.
Oh, and we were so hot we delayed lunch and went straight to Bliss for homemade ice cream. Harper chose lemon-basil-mint sorbet, Tom got vegan coconut, Amelie chose honey, and I ordered this masterpiece:
An avogatto. God's gift to the hot and tired. One shot of espresso over creamy homemade vanilla ice cream. Pure heaven.
Bliss has locations in both Cape May and West Cape May and they sell at the West Cape May Farmer's Market on Tuesdays after June 26.
Thanks for checking out our home away from home. See you back at the digs soon!
-C
The Blue Pig Tavern (where we had dinner that night)
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