The blueberry season typically starts mid to late July and lasts for a couple of weeks.
During the season, we are open to the public (no appointment necessary).

U-pick costs $3/lb for 5 or more pounds. $15 total any amount less than 5 pounds.

Cash, check, credit/debit, or tap

No, we only have blueberries during the season.

During open hours, we may have a limited amount of pre-picked berries available at $6 per lb.

No, we do not have any plants for sale.

While we are very flattered that you want to enjoy the beauty of our farm while picnicking, we don't have the capacity to host picnics during the u-pick season.
There are many great nearby parks (such as Clarks Creek Park) where you can enjoy a picnic before or after visiting our farm.

Our farm dog says, "please leave your dog and pets at home." For health and safety reasons, pets are not allowed on the farm. There is no shade in the parking lot, so your pooch would be more comfortable at home.

We provide buckets for picking and bags for you to take your berries home in. There are restroom facilities and drinking water available. Bring sunscreen on sunny days - there is little to no shade in the field.

We have a small parking area off of S Fruitland.
If the parking area is full, we encourage you to park on Historic Way just north of the farm off of S Fruitland. On Historic Way, there is a side entrance to the farm that will open during operating hours and will take you into the farm. Historic Way provides much safer street parking and walking than the busy and dangerous S Fruitland.

We are not certified organic, but pesticides have not been used on our plants since we have owned the farm (1998).

Environmental Working Groups's listed the "dirty dozen" of 2012. It lists the top 12 fruits and produce that you should buy organic. The dirty dozen had high levels of pesticide residue or multiple types pesticides, even after washing the produce. Blueberries made the list with one of the samples tested containing 13 types of pesticides.

Though the farm is not certified organic, we choose not to spray our plants with poisonous chemicals. To make those tasty berries that we love, we rely on local native bumblebees to fertilize the flowers. Pesticides are non-discriminatory. If we sprayed pesticides in the field to control bugs that sometimes feed on or are found around the berries, we would harm our pollinators as well. In addition to concerns about harming our pollinators, we are concerned about the effects of pesticides on humans. Given the choice, we would much rather have a few insects crawling on the berries than having neurotoxic or carcinogenic chemicals coating our fruit.

At least 20 varieties of blueberries, which were planted in the 1940s, grow on our farm. There is only a total 50-60 varieties of blueberries in the world, and half of those are grown in the northern regions. So our farm hosts the majority of blueberry varieties grown in the northern region!

The variety berries differ in size, shape, and taste. Each variety also has a distinct growth pattern and ripening cycle. Some berries ripen early, while others ripen later in the season. For example, in our field, we have a popular commercial variety whose berries turn blue early in the season. However, those berries don't produce sugar and get sweet until much later (these berries are usually roped off during the U-pick season).

Since the majority of the field was planted before the commercialization of produce, most of the blueberry varieties must be hand-picked. Some blueberry varieties in our field are not typically found in grocery stores. So when you visit the field, use your senses to taste and see the difference in our fruit.

When you visit please respect the field rules. And do not enter the roped off areas.

They are not only for the protection and health of the blueberry plants; they are for the protection and health of you!

There are a couple of reasons areas are roped off: the berries are not yet ripe or for your protection from hornets and wasps that sometimes nest in the field.

Hornets and wasps often make their nest in the field. Native hornets general nest in old rodent holes in the ground (non-native European hornets commonly build their nest in the sides of houses).

Please remember that these wasps and hornets serve an important function in the field and in your garden! They feed on caterpillars, aphids, beetle grubs, and flies, all of which can directly harm crops or can transmit plant diseases.

We are a small operation and are not currently seeking workers or volunteers. If you are interested in gaining farming experience, there is a diversity of opportunities through local organizations that are await a dedicated volunteer eager to get their hands dirty.

When you find a variety of blueberry that you enjoy, pick the bush clean! Look up at the top of the bush and look inside the bush to pick all the berries. Careful move limbs (without bending them too much) to look into the bush. It is amazing how much fruit can be hiding behind a few leaves!

To pick ripe berries, take a cluster in one hand and gentle roll your thumb over the berries.  The ripe berries will fall off into your hand (without a stem) while the unripe berries will stay on the bush.

A ripe berry will be entirely blue and should come off the bush without much effort. An unripe berry is green, entirely red, or has a red blush around the stem. Please leave these on the bush so others many pick and enjoy them in the future.

When picking berries, remember to be gentle to the plant - do not bend, break, or twist the branches. The future health of and the amount of fruit on the bushes depend on how the plants are treated by pickers.

No, unlike peaches or bananas, blueberries do not ripen after being picked. If they are picked red or green they will not turn blue or become sweeter.

Do not wash the blueberries or this will hasten their deterioration. (We do not use pesticides on our bushes, so they are perfectly fine to eat without washing.) Instead, store the unwashed berries in a shallow container (do not stack the berries too deep or they will get crushed) with the lid on but not sealed. In the fridge, the berries should last for about one week. 

If your blueberries have been sitting in the fridge for a little too long, there is still a way to extend the life of your blueberries. First sort through the berries to remove wrinkly, squished, or moldy berries. Place the berries in a salad spinner that is lined with several layers of paper towels. Carefully rinse the remaining good berries and spin them to remove the excess water. Transfer the berries to a clean container lined with a fresh paper towel. Put the lid on the container, but do not fully seal the container (air should be allowed to flow into the container). Keep the berries refrigerated.

Freezing blueberries is a perfect way to save the berries to enjoy year round. To freeze berries, seal the berries (do not wash them) in a freezer storage bag and lay the bag flat in the freezer. Do not stack anything on the berries or else you will get freezer jam. The berries will last up to one year in the freezer and are still good in a lot of recipes or perfect as a frozen treat.

Those are called mummy berries. A disease caused by a fungus can grow on the berries eventually drying out the berry, causing it to shrivel. When the mummy berries fall on the ground, they spread their spores, continuing their life cycle.