Here are a few tips of things that work for us when it comes to blueberry picking:
~Where to go.... There are a lot of state forests around here. The ones that have lots of pine trees (or used to have pine trees) are often good locations. We have learned about good spots by asking around and friends telling us. We also just keep our eyes open year round for possible spots.
~Be sure to bring plenty of water for thirsty people to drink.
~Make it a fun family outing. Our whole family enjoys picking berries or at least going out and having fun in the woods.
~ Be prepared for bugs. Mosquitoes are pretty common, ticks too. Deer flies like to crawl in your hair and bite. If it isn't to hot it helps to wear long sleeves and pants (and to keep ticks out you can pull your socks over your pants) and a hat or kerchief. You might want some bug spray too. I don't like the stuff but I did use it on Monday evening.
~To get my younger three to help pick for saving rather than just to put in their mouths I gave them small containers and told them after they filled them and put them in my bucket then they could go play a while and eat whatever they picked. We did several cycles of that during our picking time. Trying to fill a whole bucket was pretty overwhelming for them and they tended to spill them anyway.
~We were running short on buckets and so I cut the milk just above which Mara than attached to her waist to put her berries in. She thought it worked pretty well.
~Berry picking is a good time to practice counting with little ones. Megan enjoyed picking more while counting the berries too.
~Have fun, bring along identification manuals for the neat flowers and such that you will find while out in the woods, Praise God for his wonderful creation!
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing Abbi. We love blueberries here. We buy them every week at our local Costco.
Enjoy the rest of your week,
LaVonne @ Long Wait For Isabella
What fun. Our blueberry picking time in NJ is end of May.
Last fall I planted two blueberry bushes in my yard and we got to eat about 6 this year. They were good though.
I enjoy blueberry picking, but there are no wild areas to do so. We did find and organic pick your own blueberry farm a few years ago, which was fun, but about $20 for a small container of blueberries.
I wish we could go somewhere and just find some.
Great tips. We have wild ones here too. I haven't been yet since we are still trying to finish up raspberries and strawberries! Its later here for strawberries. So much to do!!!
I find good spots where the soil is more sandy. Usually around pine trees like you said, and it has to be more open to have enough sun. The pine trees make that acid soil that the berries need. I find logged areas to be good too.
I like to take a 3 L basket (the kind you buy peaches in at the grocery store in their season that have a cardboard basket and a plastic or wooden curved handle) and then attach that to a belt around my waist for hands free picking. I also like to bring small camping chairs for the kids to sit on and pick or relax when they are done and some things like books for them to read or look at when they are done and we aren't. I know there is lots to look at outdoors but often my oldest gets easily bored with that if we're just picking in one place.
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