My family has been picking blueberries at the same farm for as long as I can remember. Indeed, some of my earliest memories involve my two brothers and I piling into the car with our homemade, recycled milk jug berry buckets (more on that in a moment). There are several benefits to picking your own berries, and if you have access to a farm, I highly suggest taking advantage of doing so this summer! In the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina, blueberry season typically lasts from late June until early August. Why do it?
1. The price of picking your own berries inevitably beats the price of buying those puny, little cartons of berries in the grocery store. I picked two gallons yesterday for $14, whereas the same amount in the average grocery store would cost around $40-$50. What’s more, if you go to the right farms, they will let you overfill the gallon buckets so you actually get even more bang for your buck! 2. Picking berries forces you to spend some quality time outdoors. Thus, you get some great Vitamin D without even eating anything! 3. You can eat berries while you pick (it slows you down, but who cares? Why would you turn down a free lunch?). 4. You support your local farmers, and you literally watch the blueberries make their way from farm to plate. They don’t travel across the entire country and harbor associated carbon emissions costs (an estimated 11% of carbon emissions related to the food industry are linked to food miles). A healthy local economy benefits both yourself and others. And if you live in the country like me, buying locally is just plain nice. 5. Your hands pick better berries than hired hands. When you pick your own berries, you have the power to choose the largest, juiciest berries available. 6. If you choose the farm at which you pick wisely, you can avoid eating berries treated with excessive pesticides. This benefits bodily and environmental health. 7. Picking your own berries helps you be more mindful and appreciative of food. When we are more mindful and appreciative, a blueberry (and life, for that matter) tastes sweeter. Tips for picking your own berries: 1. Go early in the morning, when the farm opens. The day is only going to get hotter. 2. Don’t pick the edges of the rows; that is where everyone else picks. Venture towards the middles of the rows for the most berries. I found yesterday that the sunniest row had the most berries because everyone else wanted to stay in the shade! 3. To go along with Tip 2, don’t pick the first bush you see. Choose your bush wisely; you want to find one that you can pull off handfuls of ripe berries all at once. If you are picking berries one at a time, you are doing it wrong. 4. Ripe berries will come off of the bush easily. Do not force the berries to come off the bush before they are ready. 5. Bring a milk jug bucket in which to put your berries (see photo). The buckets supplied by farms can be a pain to carry around. Simply take an old milk jug (or OJ jug for my vegans), cut off the top, and loop a belt through the handle. You can now wear it around your waist! 6. Bring along some music, a podcast, an audiobook, or a friend. You might be out there a while.
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