U-Pick

2023 U-PICK

9/3/23 IMPORTANT UPDATE!

WE ARE DOING U-PICK ONLY ON THE WEEKENDS NOW. We don’t have the staff to keep the stand open as the kids are now back in school. We still have some BLUEBERRIES out there to pick, however it’s getting to be a bit of an easter egg hunt. As far as RASPBERRIES & BLACKBERRIES, they are on still and will be until they finally freeze out in the late fall. Keep in mind, we don’t have many rows of each and they tend to get picked out after a busy weekend and they need a few days to recover. ALSO keep in mind that they are hiding under the leaves and people come up with empty buckets and say there aren’t any out there — then folks come up awhile later with full buckets saying how there are still lots out there. You gotta’ look for ’em folks!

PRE-PICKED BLUEBERRIES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE FRUIT STAND ANY LONGER. You can either head out and pick your own (again, weekends only) OR you can buy frozen from this year’s crop. They’re available in 5# bags and individually quick frozen which makes them really easy to use. Only $3.00/lb – they’re even cheaper than picking your own! And we have lots. Ask the restaurant staff for details.

Thanks folks! 🙂 BBK

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Fields are open 8am-2:30 on weekends only. (We don’t let pickers go out after 2:30)

$3.50/lb U-PICK
$5.00/lb * PRE-PICKED BLUEBERRIES
$3.00/lb BLUEBERRIES Frozen in 5# bags

As the season is just beginning, right now we have blueberries, (and a few raspberries) available for you to pick. Just come to our Fruit Stand for a bucket and go out and pick. (Please bring a CURRENT VALID DRIVER’S LICENSE TO TRADE FOR BUCKETS.) When you’re done, please bring your bucket and fruit back to the stand and we will weigh your berries and charge you for what you picked. We will trade you your driver’s license for our buckets back. Also folks, we ask that you please don’t graze your way through our fields. Please pay before you eat.

Bring sunscreen, and plenty of liquids to drink. We also have bottled water available at the fruit stand. (Please remember to leave no trace and pack your garbage out of field.)

* QUESTION: WILL WE BE SELLING PRE-PICKED BLUEBERRIES BY THE LB AT THE FRUIT STAND?

AT TIMES we will have pre-picked blueberries available for sale at the fruit stand. However, we are limiting those sales this year due to labor costs of picking and very limited staff availability to actually pick. We will not be taking or filling any orders for pre-picked blueberries this year. They will be available on a first come – first served basis if/when available. (There is no phone out at the Fruit Stand and messages back and forth are very difficult with a busy restaurant happening at the same time.)

Please note that we will be selling pre-picked blueberries in 3 lb clamshells and nothing smaller. (Costco recently bought out ALL the 1 & 2 lb containers on the market, so it doesn’t look like we’ll have access to any this year.) A 3 lb container is $15.

If you want to take some fresh blueberries home – why not bring a friend and enjoy the pick! It’s fast and really easy to fill a 1 gallon bucket in about 6 minutes. It’s fun, clean, and it’s gorgeous and relaxing out there!

If you’re physically unable to pick, or just plain don’t want to…? Get creative! Maybe ask a rambunctious kid in the restaurant waiting for food (not our staff please) to go pick you a bucket and give him a little something to do it for you. They enjoy it, it’ll make them realize how good it feels to help someone else, and it helps pass the time. Again, just have them go to the fruit stand before and after picking.

Looking forward to a wonderful season of picking! The crop outlook? The berries look bigger and even higher quality than usual, however there isn’t as much fruit out there as there usually is. So it’s more important than ever for folks to respect the rules out there, ok?

WHAT TO BRING

Please be prepared to leave your CURRENT DRIVER’S LICENSE at the fruit stand in exchange for the buckets we lend you to pick into. We’ve had a big problem with theft over the last couple of years and find this encourages folks to come back, return the buckets AND pay for their fruit more readily. Yes, it’s a hassle, but we can’t think of anything better.

We do provide buckets for picking but NOT for taking your fruit home. We do tend to run out of buckets during heightened activity, so you are always welcome to bring your own. Wearing a belt around your waist to hang your bucket from is helpful if you’re looking to use both hands.

WATER. WATER-WATER-WATER! It’s hot out there so remember to stay hydrated. (Folks, we appreciate you not leaving garbage in our fields.)

Clothing: If it’s hot, we encourage folks to wear a WHITE, loose fitting, lightweight, long sleeved cotton shirt. This will keep the sun off your skin and keep you significantly cooler. Practical footwear is a must, and don’t forget to bring a hat also to protect you from the summer sun. We encourage folks to come early on hot summer days. Our fruit stand and fields are open from 8-2:30 daily.

SUPER SECRET PICKING TIP THIS YEAR

Although there some colored berries throughout the entire field, the only ones that are RIPE AND SWEET are the Dukes. It’s a bit further to walk, HOWEVER, they are GIGANTIC this year and super easy to pick. The ones you’ll see along your way to the Dukes might have some color, but don’t let them fool you. They’re not ripe and they’re not INCREDIBLY SWEET like the Dukes are right now. Go to the furthest right of the field and then about half way down the rows for the gigantic ones! Folks that are familiar with our farm and picking over the years are always fans of our Chandlers. Those are the COLOSSAL ones that are the last to come on toward the end of the season. Guys – our DUKES ARE COLOSSAL THIS YEAR AND LOOK LIKE THE CHANDLERS! COME ‘N GIT ‘EM!

ESTIMATED PICKING DATES

Blueberries – July 1, 2023 – end of August (or later – weather dependent. We’ve had blueberries in the fields until October, however the volume ends around the end of August.)

Raspberries – July 1, 2023 – late fall when they freeze out

Blackberries – Mid-August – late fall when they freeze out

Please check for more farm updates on our Facebook page.

We would like for you and your family to have a fun and memorable experience at Blueberry Hills! Please take a moment before you go out to pick explain to your kids on how to identify and pick only ripe fruit. A fully ripe blueberry will be uniform in color and should easily come loose from the plant. A reddish ring where the fruit is attached to the stem indicates that the berry is not ripe. Don’t pick those. They’re not perfect yet! 🙂

Let’s teach our kids to be good stewards of the land and that all plants are living things to be cared for. Horseplay is not allowed in the fields. If you have any questions, feel free to ask one of our friendly staff.

2021 Season Wrap Up:

Upick started on June 27, 2021 and ended late August. It was a fast and furious season this year, as we had very extreme and unusual temperatures that reached 117 degrees for about a week. This burnt/boiled some of the berries on the bushes. We’re guessing we lost about 1/8 of the crop. It didn’t seem to matter in the end, as we must have had a really heavy crop. Our tonnage picked in the end were around avarage for other years.

2021 SPRING UPDATE

The bushes are just starting to come out of dormancy as spring has finally arrived in the Lake Chelan valley. At this point in time we are anticipating being right on schedule with the same picking dates as 2020 (listed below.) As we get closer to harvest, we will start updating on actual true harvest dates. So – please use the dates below as a GENERAL GUIDELINE, knowing we can not predict Mother Nature and we have to let her do her thing! 🙂

We would like for you and your family to have a fun and memorable experience at Blueberry Hills! Please take a moment before you go out to pick explain to your kids on how to identify and pick only ripe fruit. A fully ripe blueberry will be uniform in color and should easily come loose from the plant. A reddish ring where the fruit is attached to the stem indicates that the berry is not ripe. Don’t pick those yet. They’re not perfect! 🙂

Let’s teach our kids to be good stewards of the land and that all plants are living things to be cared for. Horseplay is not allowed in the fields. If you have any questions, feel free to ask one of our friendly staff.

WHAT TO BRING

Bring sunscreen, and plenty of liquids to drink. We also have bottled water available at the fruit stand. (Please remember to leave no trace and pack your garbage out of field.)

We do provide buckets for picking but NOT for taking your fruit home. We do tend to run out of buckets during heightened activity, so you are always welcome to bring your own. Wearing a belt around your waist to hang your bucket from is helpful if you’re looking to use both hands.

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PLANTING & CARING FOR BLUEBERRY BUSHES
SITE SELECTION AND PREPARATION Select a sunny location in well-drained soil free of weeds and well worked. (Fer you’n me, Buddy, that’d be a spot yer not doin’ nuthin’ with that’s close to a hose.) Locate in an area where irrigation water is available, as best results will be obtained by keeping the root zone moist throughout the growing season. Where the soil is poor or marginally drained, raised beds 3-4 feet wide and 8-12″ high work very well for blueberries. (Otherwise, the flat & lazy kind’a plantin’s best.)

A fail-safe way to grow blueberries in almost any soil is to incorporate peat moss into the planting medium. For planting directly in the ground, work up a planting area approximately 2-1/2 feet in diameter and one foot deep. Remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the soil. Add an equal amount of pre-moistened peat moss and mix well. One 4 cubic foot compressed bale will usually be sufficient for 4-5 plants. For raised beds, mix equal volumes peat moss with acid compost or planting mix. Blueberries thrive in acidic soils – between 4.5 –5.5. You will very likely need to amend your soil! DAD SAYS – IF YOU DON’T TEST AND AMEND YOUR SOIL – DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON BLUEBERRY PLANTS! THEY WILL NOT THRIVE – NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO IF YOUR PH ISN’T RIGHT! Your garden center representative can recommend a soil acidifier if necessary for your area.

SPACING Blueberries can be planted as close as 2-1/2 feet apart to form solid hedgerows or spaced up to 6 feet apart and grown as individual specimens. If planted in rows, allow 8 to 10 feet between the rows depending on equipment used for mowing or cultivating.

PLANTING For container stock, remove from pot and lightly roughen up the outside surface of the rootball. Set the top soil line of the plant about 1-2 inches higher than the existing ground and firm around rootball. Mound soil up along sides of exposed root mass. Water in well.

MULCHING Blueberries do best with a 2-4″ mulch over the roots to conserve moisture, prevent weeds and acid organic matter. Bark mulch, acid compost, sawdust, grass clippings, etc. all work well. Repeat every other year.

PRUNING Blueberries should be pretty heavily pruned (ABOUT 1/3 OF THE PLANT) each year to avoid over-fruiting which will result in small fruit or poor growth. Follow these steps after the leaves have dropped:

4. Remove low growth around the base. If it doesn’t grow up, it gets pruned out!

5. Remove the dead wood, and non-vigorous twiggy wood. Select for bright-colored wood with long (at least 3 inch) laterals. Remove blotchy-colored short growth.

6. If 1/3 to 1/2 of the wood has not been removed by the above steps, thin out the fruiting laterals and small branches until this balance has been obtained.

FERTILIZING Blueberries like acid fertilizers such as Rhododendron or Azalea formulations. For newly planted stock, use 2 tablespoons (OR LESS!) of 10-20-10 (or similar fertilizer) in late spring or once plants are established. (Be very careful! Blueberries are very sensitive to over fertilization! Less is always more!) For subsequent years, use 1 ounce of fertilizer for each year from planting to a total of 8 ounces per plant. Apply in early spring and again in late spring for best results. Always water well after fertilizing. DO NOT to fertilize after the 4th of July – as your bushes need time to go dormant before the fall. For organic fertilizers, blood meal and cottonseed meal work well. Avoid using fresh manure as it will burn the plants and, well, it smells like fresh manure. ;/

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SHOPPING LIST

Blueberry Plants (2 per family member) Peat Moss (4-5 plants per bale) Soil Test Kit

Mulch (1 cu. ft. per plant) Fertilizer (details above) Soil Acidifier