The season of autumn is near and Karabin Farms has already prepared for it.

Saturday, Aug. 31 was the day apple picking season began at the farm. Karabin Farms is known to be Connecticut’s most diverse family farm and is located on 894 Andrews St. in Southington, CT. The farm will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Dec. 23 to prepare for the winter season, according to their website.

Apple picking is one of Karabin Farms’ biggest attractions and it will be available throughout the months of September and October. There are two kinds of bags that are provided to carry apples in that you can purchase in the farm’s store. The peck bag carries up to 12 pounds and it costs $18 per bag. The one-half bushel bag carries from a range of 20-25 pounds and it costs $28 per bag.

When it comes to apple picking, the bags will be the only items that customers would have to pay for. Everything else is free, including a wagon ride from the farm to the apple orchards on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A Karabin Farms employee drives a green tractor with a wooden wagon attached to it that is decorated with a red canopy through the forest area. While on the wagon ride, there are many sights for visitors to see. From the growing evergreen trees that could be cut down in time for Christmas to an overview of the mountains to the apple orchard itself, there are many things that can be discovered, including the possibility of finding deer and turkeys. When the ride is over, another Karabin Farms employee welcomes the visitors to the orchard and tells them which kind of apples are available for picking.

One of the first things that can be seen after walking down the steps of the wagon is a sign that directs visitors to the orchard. The very first step is to twist the apple three times. The second step is to lift the apple so the bottom faces the sky. The third step is to gently pull the apple from the fruiting spur. The final step is to carefully place the apple into your picking bag.

The orchard is organized into many long rows for apple trees and is surrounded by a large fence to keep them safe. Each row has a box in front of it which shows the name of the apples in the particular row and a picture to show what the type of apple looks like. As of now, three rows are available for picking and they contain Zestar, Ginger Gold and Mac apples. The other kinds of apples are Honey Crisp, Cortland, Empire, Macoun, Jonathan, Gala, Yellow Delicious, Red Delicious, Autumn Gala, Cameo, Mutsu, Snow Sweet, Rome and Northern Spy. They should be available for picking over the course of September and October. Once the wagon has arrived, visitors must board with their bags of freshly picked apples to get back to the farm.

While visitors are waiting for the wagon to pick them up for apple picking, they can explore other aspects the farm has to offer. Karabin Farms has a store that contains organic foods, drinks, syrups, preservatives, etc. The store has plenty of apple and pumpkin products that are available for the fall season. There are also other stands where customers can buy apple donuts and drink apple cider as well as other snacks. Karabin Farms also has a bunch of farm animals such as chickens, goats, horses, yak, pigs and geese that visitors can watch.

As Karabin Farms has officially begun to prepare for the season of autumn and has recently started their tradition of apple picking, they are also getting ready to begin another attraction that their farm is known for. Pumpkin Harvest is estimated to be available around September 14 and will have a bunch of pumpkins ready to take until Halloween.