Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Berry blue

On Tuesday, Ken and I and our friend K. drove up to the local myrtille (blueberry) farm for a morning of pick-your-own fun. I did this last year with great success (we're just now finishing the berries I froze last July), so I was looking forward to more of the same. I was not disappointed.

The morning was bright and sunny and cool. The pickin' was easy!

The berries were ripe and plentiful and picking them off the bushes was pretty easy. Ken and I filled up our buckets with more than eight kilograms of berries, over seventeen pounds! Today I will wash them, pick the stems out, and freeze most of them in zip-top bags for use in the coming year. Of course, we plan to eat some fresh ones, too.

Ripe berries were abundant; we timed our visit just right.

A new feature at the farm this year was section of pick-your-own framboises (raspberries). Wow. The bushes were heavy with plump and juicy fruit and we picked 800 grams, nearly two pounds. I think we ate half for dessert yesterday and the rest went into the freezer for making ice cream or frozen yogurt in the days to come. I'll post photos of the raspberries soon.

10 comments:

  1. oh man, what a haul! I can't wait to see what you do with the fruit goodness!

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  2. I second that emotion! Look at those bushes! Well, look at the fruit and remember there's a bush underneath. I picked the lowbush variety last year, which are smaller, so I didn't get such a weight, but they made good icecream.
    Usually some kind of fruit fails us for the year, but this year everything is producing as well as the nuisibles will allow. Right now we have cherries, raspberries, strawberries, loganberries, tayberries, jostaberries (3 of) worcesterberries (2 of), gooseberries (about a dozen of), redcurrants and whitecurrants to deal with, and when they're done we'll be straight up there. P.

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  3. We must get directions for this place from you - for the day when we too have a freezer!

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    1. The so-called picking was really just grabbing a bunch of berries and easily pulling them off so that they would fall into the bucket underneath. It was almost cheating. No thorns, no insects, no dirt — just mowed grass — to walk on. This is definitely an annual affair. The blueberries you pick cost 3.50€/kg. Reasonable, given the freshness.

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  4. Blueberries freeze so well. Those bushes are lush.

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    1. They were amazing, E., and at the peak of ripeness.

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  5. great idea to froze berries for the upcoming season.

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  6. Yum! Love blueberries and really enjoyed picking them last year; as you say they freeze so well. Will have to pass this year [op and driving embargo until 28 July] but will go again next year.

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  7. Thanks to your comments, I checked and the U-Pick farm I go to will open this Saturday and I plan on being there shortly after they open at 8:00a.m. for their grand opening! Prices are to be $1.50/pound and this farm does not use any pesticides!!! I, too, am quickly trying to eat the rest of the blueberries that I picked and froze last year. I'm thinking - perhaps they, too, might have raspberries that I can pick??? Great Idea!

    Your field bushes are really loaded. I'm hoping I'll find a similar situation here.

    Saturday night I have tickets to hear the Canadian Brass at The Oregon Bach Festival! I'm trying to keep up with Wimbledon, Germany vs. USA in Brazil AND keep up with my growing weed problem outside my home!!! (Not quite as good as you, two, at keeping up with outside chores (!)

    Mary

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