Berryfield Farms U-Pick Blueberry Centerburg, Ohio

blueberry picking at berryfield farm ceterburg ohIs there any better way to start than day than picking fat, sweet blueberries on a lovely farm? Lil, my in-laws, and myself spent the morning doing just that at Berryfield Farms yesterday. Located near Centerburg, Ohio, a 40 minute drive from our Clintonville home, Berryfield is an authentic, non-agritainment farm. Among the farm's rolling hills lie three acres of well-established blueberry bushes. Ripe Bluecrop and Blueray fruits loaded the branches. A third variety, Elliott, will be ready to pick soon.

blueberry fruits

With ample space between rows, heavily fruited bushes, and bird songs, picking was pleasant and easy. Berryfield provides bag-lined buckets that hold a little more than five pounds when full. In a leisurely hour and a half, Lil and I were able to pick twelve pounds.

bird netting over blueberry bushes

Berryfield Farms uses netting to deter the biggest pest to blueberries: bird theft. They do not use chemicals and support a thriving community of pollinating insects, diverse ground cover, and wildlife.

red shack at berryfield farms

Speaking of pollinators, beehives on the property provide honey available in the darling shack filled with vintage furniture where guests check in and out. A few farm-produced items like birdhouses are also for sale. The grandsons of the owners provide herbal iced tea and real juice lemonade with ice for $1 per cup, welcome thirst quenchers after hot picking.

For the 2012 season, berries cost $2.85/pound payable by cash or check. They are sold pre-picked for $6/pint at the Sunbury Farmers' Market Saturday mornings.

berry weighing stand vintage piesafe

The farm is open from 8 am - 12 pm Monday through Friday, Saturdays 8 am - 5 pm and Sundays 10 am - 4 pm. If mother nature cooperates, the growers expect berries to last another four weeks this year, or until approximately the fourth week of July.

petting dog at blueberry farmIf you go:

    • Heed their instructions to wear hats, stay hydrated, walk around the irrigation hoses, ignore the bees, and have fun.
    • Bring cash or a check as credit cards are not accepted.
    • Go early to enjoy picking before the heat of the day.
    • Be prepared to be charmed by the sweet farm dogs.

Berryfield Farms 6424 Township Road 199 Centerburg, Ohio 43011 740-625-7278

Blueberry Bonus

Live on the west side of the city? I recommend Berryhill Farm in Xenia, my review here.

My berry recipes: jam, berry tartlets, liqueur or freezing.

Prepare children with our favorite blueberry books.

Fruit Blossoms and How I Care for Them

peach tree blossom care No flower is more welcomed in my garden than the first buds of our fruit trees and bushes.  With the warmth of the past few days, the peach trees in the treeyard bloomed.

strawberry blossomI spotted a strawberry flower in the bed yesterday.  These beautiful flowers will soon develop into sweet nutritious fruit. dwarf cherry blossomThe dwarf cherry has buds just waiting to burst.  I have no idea what to expect out of these knee high trees.  They are purported to produce edible fruit and time will tell whether that is true.

plum tree leaves Leaves on the plum tree are unfurling.  Because this is the first year for the plum, with a heavy heart I will pinch off any blossoms before they go to fruit.  Allowing the tree to grow with no fruit for at least one full season helps it establish roots, branches, and height. raspberry vinesRaspberry vines are growing and leafed out.  I buried several vines to establish some new plants. The blueberry bushes are just starting to sent out leaflets.

A part of me lives in terror this time of year.  A good hard frost can ruin the growing season for all of these fruits.  I follow forecasts looking for evening temperatures below 32 degrees.

The beauty of living on a tiny urban homestead is that I can cover these trees and plants if there is a frost warning.  I pull out sheets and tarps, anchor them with rocks, and give a little protective insulation to my precious fruit blossoms.

Once past May 15, the frost free date for central Ohio, I let down my frost guard.  The fruits slowly grow.  I keep an eye out for pests that might be invading and will treat accordingly, though I've never had any problems.

When fruits are just barely mature, changing from chartreuse to full color, my blood pressure rises again.  I want the juicy sweet berries and fruit for myself and my family.  Squirrels and birds have the same desire.  To reap the full harvest, I cover the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries with bird netting.  We reuse netting from year to year, getting our money's worth out of the $7 investment.  When I am ready for berries, I lift the netting or pick right through it.

This will be our first year allowing the peach and cherry trees to fruit.  I hope that pests will not be a problem either during development or harvest time.  I am armed with information from Mother Earth News and Back to Basics should I need to naturally treat animals invading my micro-orchard.

Keeping fruit trees is an emotional process for me.  I love fruit so very much that I take special, some might say obsessive, care of my plants.

Do you have fruit trees?  How do you care for them?

Expanding the Urban Orchard

red raspberries planted on the alley fence On Sunday we went shopping at our local nursery Oakland Park for garlic starts (they did not have any hardneck varieties) and blueberries (which they did not have either).  They did have a dwarf european plum tree at 33% off.  We were sold.

For awhile I have been hating on two overgrown shrubs in a small bed near our garage.  They are not pretty and produce nothing worthwhile.  The spot gets a fair amount of sun; at least enough for a small tree.  So, the shrubs had to come out before the plum could go in.

While Alex was removing shrubs, I went to Lowes.  I generally try to avoid Big Box stores, but Alex had seen blueberry plants there earlier in the week and we really wanted to expand our blueberry bed.  (By personal and non-profit accounts, Lowes is one of the more employee and human rights friendly Big Boxes.)

When I came home, the shrubs were out and the tree hole was dug.  Alex was a patient co-gardener and  re dug the hole when we realized the tree would be more centered a few feet over.

Lillian "helped" the whole time.  Sometimes her assistance was more trouble than help, but she does love to break up dirt clods.  Given some layers of clay in our holes, there were plenty of dirt clods.  She is also a helpful model of how deep a tree hole needs to be.

tree yoga pose by Lil

Lil was great at lossening the roots.  Then she sprinkled some alpaca green beans in the tree hole.  These alpaca feces are full of nutrients!  My neighbor Mary graciously provides them to me for free right now, but may eventually sell them as part of her burgeoning farm, Alpaca Green.

did you know alpacas make a communal toileting spot?

The plum tree was planted in the new hole.  I made Alex take a picture of me filling in around the tree, lest anyone think I always leave the heavy lifting to him.

Under one of the overgrown shrubs was a hearty and pretty azalea.  We thought it would do better out front, so I replanted it.

I worked on planting the blueberries when Alex got the idea that we could fit a new raspberry patch in our side yard if we just removed an overgrown rose of sharon.  He worked on it for a long time and finally sunlight shed on the side yard.

Off he went back to Lowes where I had seen the raspberries.  He chose three Fall Gold plants, which are supposed to be ever-bearing.  The spot we planting is not truly full sun but hearty raspberries will likely still produce.

three raspberries with hostas in between

We do not expect fruit from any of these plantings for at least two years.  We will pinch off blossoms from the plum and blueberries to allow the plants to establish strong roots before putting energy into fruiting.  In a few years, we should have quite the urban orchard!

---

Summary of our Fruiting Plants

plant (variety) - quantity - location -years in ground

peach (dwarf) - 2 - front yard between sidewalk and street - 1

cherry (dwarf) - 2 - backyard - 1/2

raspberry (red early) - 1 - backyard by alley - 1

raspberry (red everbearing) - 1 - backyard by alley - 2

raspberry (fall gold ever-bearing) - 3 - sideyard - 0

strawberry (early) - 10 - sideyard - 2

strawberry (late) - 10 - sideyard - 2

plum (dwarf self pollinating) - 1 - backyard - 0

blueberry (multiple) - 4 - front yard - 1, 2, 0