This may be more invoved than you want but...Maybe offer a hayride around the orchard and drop them off in the area you want them to pick. Wouldn't have to do it all the time. Just have desigated times and special times for groups. I have seen this done with apples and pumpkins.
When I taught school we would take the kids to a pumpkin patch like this. We even ate lunch there at picnic tables Charge groups a set fee and each person takes home a small bag that they picked.
The Garlic Lady

What about holding a scarecrow contest? Have customers make them and the prize would be a free hour of picking or something like that. Have customers vote on best one. Have artists names on back so no one knows who made the sc but after contest display all contestents name. Give each contestent a little prize for just entering. Let the local paper know what you are doing and get free advertisement.
MaryKay

Those are some great ideas. We do have an old fashion tracter that was my husband grandfathers. It has been re done and would be perfect. I love the idea of the scare crow contest. The wheels are turning. Thanks Kelly

Regarding hayrides - I don't know if you have to have different insurance in case some kid falls off. Something to think about....

If you are going to have the public on your property on a semi-regular basis for anything at all, you probably should increase your liability insurance anyway. Double check with your insurance agent, but I would say you would need, at the least, one million in coverage, and 2 might be safer.

Look at it as protecting yourself - if they sue, you HAVE the coverage, and won't lose the farm to pay their damages. Litigants ask for, and juries award, damages, often, with little awareness of the true merits of the case, or the hardships they may be causing. Unfortunately, in this day and age, a burglar can sue, and win!!, for injuries caused when the homeowner took exception to being robbed! So if a kid fell, even if he/she was fooling around, you could be the ones to pay for it.

Hi Dreams,

First off get a mailing list. Send out cards when the fruit will be RIPE not before.

Second run a good clean honest operation.

Next forget the hayride. All you have to do is do a web search on tractor accidents. Remeber you want to get em in and get em out. The longer they mill around the longer there eatting ur hard grown fruit.

This is not to say u can't have a picnic area etc. where they can have fun but have it AFTER they pay for the fruit.

I personally have no area's like that my farm is too close to the big city and all the people want to do is eat and break my branches.

If ur looking for ideas plant something that blooms or rippens the same time. If ur looking to get more people post fliers at health food stores. I don't put a flier in the paper because the cost is not worth it. Think out of the box BUT remeber you can have a mob of people on ur property ruining ur plants and house.

That said as you grow and have family's come year after year it sure is fun. You don't say how large u are or if there are other farms around you. It is not hard to come up with idea's it's just good idea's that work for you.

Good luck and let me know,

Bucky

I echo Mr. Buchster. I know it sounds harsh, but he is right about not having the people linger around. The public can do a lot of damage to your property and waste much of your profits. Get them in and get them out.

Since blueberries mostly ripen in the latter part of summer, selling plants wouldn't really be an option - most people already have their gardens in by then. But if you have the time and space, plus the money to buy the seeds and starts, having vegetables or cut flowers to sell, although probably not u-pick, might work. You could have the flowers growing, and go out to pick as a customer wanted a bunch, with a posted price list such as "Bunch of 10 stems, $8.00 (or $12.00); Bunch of 15 stems, $10.00 (or $15.00), lilies $2.00 per stem, etc., etc." Your prices should be competitive with the ones in a decent florist and at the least match or exceed those in the local grocery store - after all, the customer is getting very fresh flowers, and just the ones they want! You probably should get a bucket of florist's preservative solution, and package it in small envelopes or small zip-locs, for the customer to add to their vases. Or buy a case of the small packets of it, already made up. Wrapping the whole bouquet in newspaper, and then damping the ends and putting that in a plastic bag would keep the flowers fresh while they were being taken home. For the veggies, having them picked and displayed at or near the cashier's area would probably generate sales. Just have them close enough to dicourage "grazing"! Having people pick their own would probably result in damaged plants - most people don't know how to pick ripe vegetables, nor how to recognize what is a ripe vegetable, unless they are experienced gardeners already, in which case, they probably HAVE a garden!

As a customer, I would buy fresh-picked basil. Add a pesto recipe along with freezing directions. Or "edible" bouquets?