Day Trips: This Pick-Your-Own Farm in Central Jersey Has 140 Crops to Choose From

After a Specca Farms customer approached Wendy Byers with an interest in buying cardoons, it took her five years to successfully grow them. 

Cardoons, which are similar to artichokes, are now one of the 140 crops that the Central Jersey farm offers visitors. Of those crops, over 100 are classified as ethnic, meaning they were brought to the United States from around the world and are not part of the mainstream. 

“If a customer wants us to grow something, we will try to grow it,” said Byers, who has worked at the farm for 40 years.  

Specca Farms is a family-owned farm spanning 150 acres, 90 of which are used for growing crops. It’s located in Bordentown, NJ about 45 minutes from Philly. 

The farm is a pick-your-own operation where the customers do the harvesting themselves instead of the farmers.

The Specca family established the farm after they bought an abandoned dairy farm across the street from their current land.

Lisa Specca, her husband David Specca, and their sons are fourth- and fifth-generation farmers. Their sons can be seen driving around in a truck, making sure everything is in order and up to their standards. 

The sense of family at the farm extends to customers, too. 

While on a farm tour in mid-June, Wendy stopped to say hello to a group of men who have been visiting the farm every year for the last 40 years. The group brought homemade meats and cheese for the farm staff. 

And although some of their staff are not technically family, the Specca family still treats them as such. 

Sydney Mulhall, who lives in Burlington Township, NJ, worked for them for a few years before coming back recently. 

“I wanted to come back here because they work with your schedule,” Mulhall said. “They’re super flexible, and they teach you everything about the farm and how it is run.”

The farm also regularly engages with the local community. 

For example, Byers teaches local children about different types of crops and their uses. She also makes strawberry ice cream with the kids, who pick the strawberries themselves. 

Last September, after longtime customer Debbie Storer retired, she saw a help wanted sign at the farm and applied on a whim. 

“I’ve been picking here for years,” said Storer, who was hired not long after she applied. “It is a favorite place of mine.” 

Through her job at the farm, Storer said she has gained an appreciation of other cultures and how they use the crops for different recipes.

Storer said that people check out with trash bags filled with various crops that they can’t find anywhere else. 

Meanwhile, others visit the farm for mainstream crops. For example, lately, strawberries have been in high demand. 

On Memorial Day weekend, Specca Farms sold over two tons of strawberries. For customers, it costs $5 to pick their own strawberries. That $5 then goes toward their final purchase at $4.50 per pound.  

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