Sunday, July 07, 2013

More about blueberry picking

The deal was pretty simple: we took containers for picking (buckets) and other flat containers to spread the berries out in after picking. At check-in, a member of the farm staff weighs your picking buckets. After you pick, she weighs them again and you pay for the difference, which is the weight of the berries. The price is €3.50/kilogram. After weigh-in, you have to drive out into the fields to pick.

My car parked outside the barn where the weighing and paying takes place. Did you notice that I erased my license plate number?

Some people show up with flats rather than buckets. Same deal, weigh-ins before and after. I took buckets and flats, thinking that I shouldn't let the berries stay in the buckets too long for fear they would crush each other. It turns out that the berries weren't that delicate and I just kept them in the buckets until I got home and they were fine.

The sign with the price list. Pick-your-own berries are €3.50/kilo. Already-picked berries are €9/kilo, 3 kilos or more are €8.50/kilo, and 5 kilo flats are €8/kilo.

The farm also grows irises, peonies, day lilies, and other assorted flowers commercially. My friend K. told me that earlier in the season, when the fields of irises are in bloom, the sight is amazing. I'll bet it is. In July the blooms are all done and the fields aren't as impressive. But the blueberries are ripe!

9 comments:

  1. (waiting on blueberry muffins and pancakes)

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  2. One of my fondest childhood memories is of the annual family outing to pick wild bilberries in the summer. And of the bilberry pie my grandmother made from them. Any left over would be bottled as we didn't have a freezer (or even a fridge) when I was very young. Because they were growing wild, they were free!
    We drove past the spot where the bushes grow amongst the heather on the moors yesterday and I thought of your post.

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  3. Gosh you've had that Pug 207 for some years now - any thoughts of a replacement?

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    1. leon, we're going to try keeping it for as long as we can, and when we do get a newer car, we'll likely keep it as a second. It's in good shape for a 12 year old car.

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  4. Good match at Wimbleton yesterday!

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  5. Can't wait for blueberry tarte photos-- or blueberry something! I think that I may make a Tarte Amandine aux Bleuets today.

    Welcome back, Ken!

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  6. Enjoyed reading about this!

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  7. Blueberry Fever strikes Walt's Blog!!!

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