Blueberry Bragging

The vision of a perfect summer sunny day in the country surrounded by Sugar Pine trees and the laughter of children with buckets picking luscious blueberries is not anything that I thought would ever be a part of my world. This adventure happened with my three wonderful grandchildren (Brag #1), their mom and me driving to Berry Heaven located in Garden Valley near Coloma. The route was charming with the sun shining through the trees, horses in pastures behind white fences and hilly curves to the valley.

We have very little experience picking berries and no background at all with blueberries. A bit of nervousness wondering how the kids will act (since this was my idea), how long will it take them to be bored and could this possibly be a very bad idea? I was relieved to see a park on our way, so we had a backup in case it was needed. 

Terrie Cook and her family warmly greeted us when we arrived. There was much excitement as we got our buckets and headed to the berry patch. Terri and her husband are somewhat new to the berry business, but their efforts and future plans are ambitious. The U-Pick was began last summer with immediate takers and this past winter they added over 100 new plants to their six acres. We learned that there are different varieties and that the harvest season is long, lasting into September. They also have Thornless blackberries and raspberries that are available from August to almost October. 

Terrie gave us instructions on how to look for the perfect blueberry and if it’s ripe will come easily off the stem. We headed down the first row armed with our new knowledge and with very serious intent to properly pick the berry. The children started out immediately – the three year old notes that Terri was right as the all blue, blueberry will come right off the stem. She immediately pops it right into her mouth. Very soon, they find what they call “jackpot bushes” with oodles of flawless beauties. They are having a great time – they soon notice the difference in flavors of the varieties. Look for the bigger ones, but like to eat the smaller ones as they seem sweeter. They try a blueberry raisin. Unbelievably, we pick for over an hour and then we go to have our bounty weighed. We had over six pounds of this luscious fruit (Brag #2). Probably should have weighed the kids.

We had our picnic lunch looking over the bountiful garden planted alongside the blackberry patch. The kids had a great time visiting with the chickens and were very proud of their efforts. It was decided that a blueberry pie must be made for Dad. 

It was truly a day that will be treasured for a long time and I’m sure we will return. The open days and hours can be found on their site berryheavenusa.com. I made my first blueberry pies and they were pretty darn good (Brag #3).