Marini’s Farm Stand

Went to Marini’s Farm stand for the first time this weekend. I can’t believe I’ve lived in the area so long and had never been! The produce is amazing so fresh and great prices for such high quality food! My favorite part has to be the bakery though. I’ve was overwhelmed by all of the delicious looking options. We decided on the apple cider donuts (complete with cinnamon sugar on them), blueberry scone, strawberry scone, and a monkey bread muffin. Yes. Monkey bread muffin. Everything was absolutely amazing. I cannot pick a favorite. I’m very picky about my baked goods and these were top quality. Amazing favors, not too dry or greasy. Just sheer perfection! Bakery staff was extremely nice and helpful. If you go and have a chance to chat with Erin in the bakery definitely do. She’s so knowledgeable and clearly passionate about what she does. I can’t wait to go back for more baked goods and fresh produce!

Marini’s Farm has just opened their bakery. I am a French Baguette aficionado and I have to say their French baguette is superb! It is A bit pricey but well worth the flavor, chew and texture! Think French Baguette with a tad more moisture (not a bad thing!).
A REAL winner!!!

Great farm stand. I go here all summer long for produce.

I went to Marini Farm for my very first strawberry picking experience, and it was awesome! We went at the peak of strawberry season and arrived somewhat early to the farm. When we pulled up there were already a lot of people checking out and my competitive side went into crazy mode. Would there be enough strawberries for me? What if they took all the big ones?
Lucky for us, there were TONS of strawberries to be picked. We easily filled up 3 containers with juicy, red, perfectly ripe berries. The strawberries were $ 2.59/lb — a steal as opposed to buying directly from the farm stand — and I believe we paid about $ 8 in total for all that we picked (they had square available so we used a credit card to pay). The strawberries were incredible. I may never go back to regular grocery store berries.
We headed over to the actual stand after picking because we heard there was a festival going on. The festival wasn’t anything too crazy — really just a bunch of bouncy things for the kids. We decided to skip and just went inside the farm stand to peruse the fruit and veggies. We ended up leaving with a huge watermelon and a few dozen farm fresh eggs. There is also a green house attached to the stand and they were having some great 50% off sales the day we visited.
The reason I deduct a star is simply because I didn’t like that the fields were RIGHT next to the road. I was looking to totally leave the city behind for the day and seeing cars drive by as I was picking was a little distracting (I was also worried about one of the many kids running into the street!). I would absolutely still recommend berry picking at Marini Farms, but I wish I could just gather up the field and move it over! :)

There are two farms in Ipswich where one may go to pick their own strawberries. Between Russell Orchard and Marini’s Farm Stand, Marini’s was the closer of the two to Boston, and so we decided to go there.
On the way over, we passed what we thought might be a strawberry field to our left, with a couple of individuals squatting or leaning over amongst the rows of low green bushes, before we happened upon Marini’s Farm Stand also to our left — turns out we were correct! Pick up a low box of 6 green quart sized baskets in the covered area to the side of the farm stand and either take that walk back to the field, or drive your car the short distance to the parking lot across the street from the field. Warning — my group spotted a brown snake by the water along the way. Yes — eek!
It was a warm, grey cloudy morning when we came to pick our berries, which was just perfect since we were tired and sweaty after about an hour of crouching and picking red berries among the green leaves and the unripe little white fruit. I also liked that we had the field all to ourselves for the most part.
With the berries we had picked by the sweat of our brow all piled up in the little green baskets, we headed back to the farm stand to pay for our fruit. Guess they work on the honor system here. At $ 2.59/lb, my 3 non-​heaping baskets at 3.22lb. tallied $ 8.34. They take credit cards here.
If I had just wanted to pick up my strawberries straight from the farm stand, a heaping quartful goes for $ 5.99. They sell biscuits to go with them too, as well as other baked goods, fruits, veggies, and boxed pastas and bottled sauces, among other things.
A single unisex bathroom was available in the farm stand, as well as portapotties by the strawberry field.
To improve the farm experience, it would have been nicer if the field wasn’t located right on the road, but c’est le vie!
I noticed a separate area that looked like a children’s play area, but we didn’t visit, so no real comment here. They are also noted to have a corn maze during the autumn season from September to early November.

Fantastic strawberries! Great place to get local vegetables and flowers, neat and clean bins. nice, friendly staff. The only item on my wish list would be organic options for the «deadly dozen.»

AWESOME! Love this place! Fresh, beautiful selection of fruits and veggies. Not too expensive for the quality, in my opinion. It’s worth the trip to me from Saugus to get their produce.

Great place to check out during the fall!
Came here with some friends using a Groupon for the maze. We had a good laugh as the maze was surprisingly harder than we had anticipated. Everyone loved shooting the apple cannon as well.
The farm stand had a huge array of produce — both imported and locally grown. They had some varieties of things you don’t see often in conventional grocery stores (purple potatoes) as well as the things you’d expect. Picked up some of those purple potatoes and some mini-​pumpkins, acorn squash and corn. The corn was delicious! Great prices and friendly staff.
If you’re in the area, you should definitely pay this farm a visit!

Marini’s has been a longstanding favorite for my husband and his Ipswich-​based family. This is THE place to go for picking berries, corn mazing, and unbeatable fresh farm produce.
When we went last weekend to get some strawberries, with the season presumably over, we were happily encouraged to find quarts and quarts worth of quality berries still to be had (and boy were they YUMMY).

I had been meaning to visit Marini Farm for a while now. I’ve long followed them on Twitter and Facebook, and yet I’d never made the trip to Ipswich. But then I was wooed by the BuyWithMe offer, and I needed a cool local place to buy some Christmas wreaths and a tree anyway, so that was that. We headed up there this afternoon.
It was a lot smaller than I expected it to be, but that was fine with me. They had a lot of trees set up outside, all by height, and there were happy and helpful people ready and willing to take your chosen tree, wrap it up, and tie it to your car. All of the trees, to their credit I guess, were very «perfect-​looking.» You know the type: kind of like a triangle. I’m not a triangle kind of gal, though. I like shorties and fatties. Preferably both. I’ve had shorty fatties for the past several years, and they didn’t have any trees that fit that description. So we had to get this more normal-​looking tree. Hrmph. It’s sitting in the stand right now, undecorated for the time being, as I try to learn to love it. I know this is my problem and not Marini’s, but I kind of wish they had a little section for the freak trees, the island of misfit trees or something. That’s where I’d find my kind of tree. Maybe next year.
Inside the little shop, I found a lovely swag for my door, some wreaths, and some potatoes. Yes, potatoes. They have their own produce there too. So you can get your Christmas tree and some fresh local potatoes all in the same place. What’s not to love?

Might as well dangle this carrot, seeing as how season has ended. The day prior to the farm closing up shop, Melissa A, Jocelyn C and I found the greatest and best thing in the history of things that project humans upward: the jumping pillow.
More on that in a hot minute.
Marini’s actual farm stand must be excluded from the review because there was practically nothing left. Crops were done. A few bags of apples napped on the AstroTurf shelving, a potato or thirty, discounted snack mixes at the counter and a beverage cooler that screamed «This convenience store is drug front!» with its sparse offerings. Not much to behold because hey, season’s over.
Now for the good stuff: we cashed in our BuyWithMe deal which offered entrance to their maize maze, a shot at the corn cannon (wha?) and 20 long minutes on the jumping pillow (double wha?)
This was my first corn maze experience, and like any first experience, I found myself with two girls, confused while holding a map and flag. It’s a very large maze, with color-​coded sections and game stations along the way. Catering to the true puzzle junkies, the record time to beat the labyrinth mandates visiting all the stations, so «follow a single wall» folks be forewarned: you’ll find the exit, but come up short on completed tasks, which include word finds, secret-​decoders and uncheatables like symbol etchings. Genius!
The corn cannon ended up being a glorified potato gun, launching the much more seasonal apple at plywood targets — a witch, a jack-​o-​lantern and the flag of Finland (triple wha?) — through craftily conjoined pressurized air, release valve and big, effing pipe. Mythbusterish fun, if sad for the apples.
«Someday I’m gonna get big and fat and a kid will eat me after lunch and grow up healthy and strong!»
— Nope, sorry dawg. I’m using this stick to jam you in a tube and launching you at Finland.
«Oh.»
And finally, the jumping pillow — a new addition for the 2010 season. Picture a bounce house without walls, netting or an overhead. Now triple the jumping space, double the height potential and put three adults on it. Ya feel me? An activity you can’t help but laugh hysterically the entire time you’re performing, this Trump of the trampoline is worth the trip on its own.
Oh Fall 2011, how soon can you get here?

So we came to Marini’s last Saturday to take part in the Corn Maze and other related activities. When I first heard «corn maze», I had a bad feeling, coming from the city and having some preconceived notions about what a farm looks like, but I set them aside as I spent a couple hours here. There’s a lot of things at Marini’s so I’ll cover them in the order I went through.
First up was the Corn Maze. I thought it was gonna be boring and confusing, but actually it was a lot of fun. Before you enter the maze, there is a video orientation talking about the maze and the rules for it. They also give you a worksheet and a crayon to finish a puzzle, in which clues are scattered all around inside the maze.
At certain spots, there are maps that resemble those mall maps that say «You are here», except it doesn’t say you are here. The borders of the maze are covered by ribbons, which are color-​coded to indicate which part of the maze one is in. If you’re not good with directions or spatial recognition, at the very least, bring comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty; inside the maze, it is muddy at some points. Don’t worry if you get lost either, because the staff there can always find you.
The next thing we did was go on a hayride. The hayride goes up the hill, around the entire farm. Our guide was a pretty friendly person, and pointed out many functions of the crops, farm implements and surrounding area.
After that, we went to the Apple Shooting spot. This is where apples are loaded into a cannon and people take turns shooting targets in order to win a pumpkin. It’s harder than it sounds.
Then off to the farmstand to check out foods and other produce to bring back. They have a wide assortment of vegetables ranging from potatoes and lettuce, cucumbers, scallops, pumpkins etc. Also they have $ 5 fried dough, which I passed on immediately.
It was an unexpectedly fun trip. A couple hours away from technology does a person good. Also it was pretty relaxing and the people are friendly, both the staff and the people visiting Marini Farm. I’d come here again, but I’m too far :(

HUGE cornmaze. Insanely large and pretty well coordinated. They have a safety video, flashlights, and maps for your maze adventure. They also fully succeed in creating a maze that even adults can get lost in. We got thoroughly lost and enjoyed ourselves in the process. There are employees that walk around and are stationed at a few locations within the maze.
I would NOT recommend doing the whole thing with small children. Might be best to retrace your steps or make sure you have allotted two hours and they have gone to the bathroom prior to heading into the maze.
The farm stand also has a great selection of produce, breads, and pumpkins, with great apple cider!

It’s very difficult to separate one corn maze from the another when most are all the same. For the most part all include a semi-​long drive to the rural areas of New England and are often accompanied by a farm right next door. Groups of families, loud teenagers and various couples pay a fee, enter, get lost for a few hours then come out. Every now and then there will be the group of people who manage to make it out in less than an hour while you’re stuck in the middle of the maze shouting at your husband, wife, girlfriend or what have you on which way to get out… fast! I think most people find it less and less fun the longer they are in the maze. But before the kids start crying, whining and asking when they’ll be out remember that you entered a corn MAZE!
Marini’s Farm in Ipswich is located a few minutes off of Route 1. A big farm stand with lots of seasonal produce, items and other stuff for sale. But most people I believe come for the maze. Last night along with some friend we came here to try our luck and beat the big bad maze. However, unlike most places Marini’s is open until 10 PM (select nights)! You thought going through a maze in the day was hard?! Try it at night! I would say this is better for older visitors like teenagers, couples and families with children no younger than 16. Unlike in the day here at night the maze takes on a new form that closely resembles CHILDREN OF THE CORN. The moon was full and the light shined down on the high stalks bathed customers in an erie glow.
At the beginning everyone is given a worksheet, crayon and flag to raise incase you need help (emergency or hints to get out). You are then instructed to continue towards the entrance where you’ll be given further instructions. Then you are on your own as you enter a labyrinth of twists and turns. Don’t worry you won’t run into David Bowie anywhere but you’ll encounter hints, clues and even boards that can send a text message to for help. Naturally someone always wants to be the leader and take charge but remember to work together. Or at least try to.
Marnini’s Maze is a lot of fun, if you get the chance to go at night I highly recommend it. But you must bring your own flashlights and be cautions. Last night I didn’t even think the terrain would be muddy and got my Chuck Taylor’s all dirty. Definitely bring a good pair of hiking books rain boots or something you don’t mind getting messy. Try to beat the best time and have fun!