U-Pick Tour–Wintergreen Tree Farm–2012 blueberries take 2

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Yep, after our visit to Wintergreen Tree Farm on Tuesday, Sally and I headed back to Mantua today.  Once we checked in, we headed to almost the last row of bushes.  Then, we headed to the back of the row.  At times, it was hard to get through the aisle.  I knew if we kept going, the picking was going to be great.  The berries did not let us down.  Even though Sally can walk on her own, I don’t know if I can go blueberry picking without a stroller.  It’s nice to have a place for all of our stuff.

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Sally has been really enjoying my attention since Nick’s been at camp this week.  I kept catching her eating blueberries out of the big bucket.  My response was usually for her to pick her own if she was hungry.

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Back at the shed, Hannah checked us out.  We picked almost 9 pounds!  I didn’t get a photo of our crop, but our buckets was just a couple of inches from the top.  Again, I put them in containers and they went straight to our freezer.

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I talk to Hannah about the crop.  She guesses that there’s about 2 weeks of picking left.  I’m hoping to take my niece and nephew when they come to town.  It’s going to be tight.  My niece really wants to go blueberry picking.

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Sally posed with Hannah.  It was a great day for picking!

U-Pick Tour–Wintergreen Tree Farm, Mantua Ohio–2012 blueberries

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick 1 Response »
Jul 112012
 

It’s blueberry time!  Blueberry picking is one of my favorite u-pick crops.  It’s not as easy to fill a pail like apples or peaches, but it’s so rewarding.

We really like Wintergreen Tree Farm for blueberries.  Here’s a photo of one of the rows that we picked in yesterday.  The bushes are tall enough that you aren’t even in full sun.

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Since Nick is enjoying camp this week, Sally and I headed out to the farm.  I wasn’t sure how it would be to have a toddler to entertain while I picked.  She did great.  It took her about 2 seconds to pick and eat a blueberry.  I love the guilty look on her face.  There’s a reason she’s in a purple shirt.

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The bushes were loaded with blueberries.  Picking was especially good yesterday.  It was even better if you took time to walk to the back of the row and pick.  It’s hard to walk by ripe berries, but it’s usually worth waiting for the superb picking.  I generally will walk to the end of the row and then work my way back to the front.  I start out meticulously picking and then as the little ones get tired, I do some picking, walking, picking, walking routine until we get back to the parking area.

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Even though Sally can definitely walk, we took the stroller.  I had planned to use it for gear and berries, but she actually sat in it off and on.  It worked out just fine.  Last year, the kids and I fell in love with Julie.  She’s moved on from working at this farm and Hannah has taken over.  She was nice enough to let me take a photo of her.  She’s worked chestnuts and Christmas Trees here before, so she’s not new to the farm.

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This is a photo of the little shed where you start and end picking.  There’s a port-a-jon and two picnic tables.  They also sell cold drinks at the shed.  I ended up picking just over 7 pounds of berries.  $11.50 was our total.

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I put the berries into these containers, delivered one to a friend, one to the fridge and the rest to our freezer.  Some people lay berries out on a cookie sheet to freeze first, but as long as the berries are dry, I just freeze them in the containers.  If I start running out of containers, I’ll sometimes pour them into resealable plastic bags once they are frozen.  That way, they don’t get squashed.

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The photo on the right is to show the great color on the berries.  We’re hoping to go picking a few more times this season.  I haven’t decided if we’ll try any other farms this year.