We just finished up with our 8th season of welcoming you-pickers to our back yard, which happens to include three acres of northern highbush blueberries. This has been an interesting venture – helps pay for our farm, obviously, but also presents an opportunity to connect with the “general public” outside of academia [that probably wouldn’t happen otherwise, considering we are both introverts]. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the folks that take the trouble to come to a you-pick are fabulous, functional human beings. We are very, very grateful for their patronage, especially since blueberries from Canada are on sale for $1.50/pint at the grocery store and take 5 seconds to plop in your cart. We do, as you might expect, get some interesting questions and comments, and the “OMG! Nature!” thing has come up a few times.
Here’s a selection of our [reasonably patient] responses to not-so-frequently-asked questions and comments that occur while handing out buckets and ringing up sales:
- “No, we don’t have to plant them every year like potatoes. They are perennial shrubs.”
- “The berries do indeed taste better if they are blue. Green and pink, not so much.”
- “No, I cannot weigh you before and after picking to tell how many you’ve eaten in the field. Ha, ha, I’ve not heard that one before.”
- “I’m sorry you saw a Japanese beetle.”
- “Alas, we do not provide Wi-Fi out in the field.”
- “I can’t go pick for you while you watch the sales stand. Sorry.”
- “I know the picking season started one week earlier than last year, even though you were on vacation. It’s kind of a weather thing.”
- “Nope, there will not be more berries ‘appearing’ later. This is sort of a one-shot deal, they flower in the spring, and that’s what you see here.”
- “Yes, there may be some bees around. It’s a farm. We have bees. The name of our business is Bee Berry Farm.”
- “No, we cannot put a net over three acres.” (People are very concerned as to how we are not overwhelmed with deer, birds, bears, etc.)
- “I’m so sorry your child was stung while poking a stick in a yellow jacket’s nest.” (indeed very scary for all of us involved…especially the poor little guy with the stick.)
- “We do not apply chemicals other than water and fertilizer. Pardon? Yes, water is a chemical.”
- “Unfortunately, you cannot make your own bushes by planting these blueberries. And no, I’m not familiar with that website.”
- “No ma’am, I do not know who placed excess zucchini in your unlocked car.”
Other observations made and behaviors noted:
- Small children are usually not excited about roaming through a hot sunny field at 11:30 a.m. Though we salute the parents who think this might be a good experience for them.
- Please do not send said hot and annoyed children to stand unattended under the sales tent, staring at the proprietor.
- You would be amazed at how sound travels across a hillside; other pickers may or may not want to hear exactly what you think of your mother-in-law.
- Please don’t park IN our perennial border.
- It’s not fun to find a dirty diaper hiding in the bushes.
I’m. Trying to grow blueberries in Turlock, ca. The leaves are getting so parched from the sun. How much shade can they tolerate and still produce fruit? Mine get the eastern and southern sun rt now. I’m planting some fruit trees near the. But I’m trying to decide how close to plant the trees so they’ll provide some afternoon shade, but not too much. Thx in advance.
Hi Gail,
Shade definitely reduces fruit set in my neck of the woods…but I strongly recommend contacting your local Cooperative Extension office- they will have expertise regarding growing conditions in the Central Valley.
Holly