If you’re a transplant like many of us are, this is one experience you must try., «Pick Your Own» blueberries! At a recent July 4th celebration w friends and colleagues, one had the idea of picking blueberries the following Friday. Initially, I thought it was comical as we’re all from the west coast and not quite considered farmers per se. Lol. Yet on the other hand, I thought it would be adventurous and exciting to experience Alabama in a unique and new way. So off we went w the idea. LOCATION&PARKING Gin House Branch Farm’s address is Decatur, but it’s actually in Priceville. So don’t be surprised when your GPS routes you to Priceville, near I-65. Parking isn’t exactly clear on the field especially if you arrive early. Once you see the green shed, just park near it. You’ll know it when you see it. ;D EARLYBIRDGETSTHEWORM A group of us met up at the farm field early @ 8:30AM that [9/80]Friday to beat the torturing heat of the sun and humidity and any possible crowds. We came prepared — hats, sunscreen, bug spray, and for some — tikes and teens to help w the pick’n. Who wants to spend their Summer sleeping in on a weekend anyways?! Lol. ;D Let’s just say, the teens weren’t exactly excited to be there as the rest of us adults were, but that soon changed. It’s really all about the experience and creating memories, right?! ;D Upon arriving, we notice one truck already there — a friend of ours, along w his wife, got a head start. The rest of us rolled up, got our hugs in, chatted quickly, then got our buckets from the picnic table out in front of the office(evergreen colored shed) and headed for the fields. HONORSYSTEM When no one’s at the green shed office, Gin House Branch Farm functions on an honor system. Amazing, right?! Signs are clearly posted w what’s available for picking(currently Blueberries in July) and the cost. For everyone’s convenience, there is a locked drop box to place your dinero in on the way out. GHBF takes checks and cash only. The cost of blueberries is quite reasonable at $ 13 per bucket. The white buckets are 5 quarts in size and are available to use for free. Be sure to line them first w the available plastic bags(similar to plastic grocery bags) located on the picnic table, especially if you don’t plan to keep the buckets. Just be sure to return them when you’re done picking. If you do want to keep them, the buckets are an additional $ 1 each. PICKYOUROWNBLUEBERRIES GHBF is one of many farms here in the south. This particular farm is considered a «Pick Your Own» farm where you get to pick your own fruits, veggies and such when in season and as advertised. The first field we went thru was the Muscadines which are known to be the native Southern Grapes. These were not ripe at the time, but were beautiful nonetheless and currently off limits when it comes to picking. So we continued on toward the blueberries in the north field. We were welcomed w rows upon rows of blueberry bushes! Since we’ve never picked blueberries in the past, I researched it, of course, before our farming adventure. ;D The suggested method of picking blueberries is that one has to «roll» the bundles of blueberries in their hand between the palm and fingers. The ripe purple ones easily detach from the stem while the unripened(pinkish in color) remain on, usually. It’s best to do this w one hand while holding your bucket w the other underneath to catch the falling blueberries. However, I learned quickly that it is even better to pick only the BIG blueberries so you don’t get the wrinkled or overly ripened ones too. This became our«preferred» method vs the suggested. This method also takes longer to fill up a bucket or two, but definitely worth the time and money invested. Whatever way you choose, you’ll get some good ones from this field. VERDICT&RECOMMENDATIONS What an experience we had — waking up early, starting off our day in the company of friends, picking our own blueberries, losing each other in the fields, hearing the laughter of children amidst the bushes, and even having fun trying to find one another afterwards. This is by far one of the most unique southern adventures we’ve tried since relocating here, while yielding us some of the largest and sweetest blueberries than what we normally would find in local grocery stores. As tempting as it can be to be the first to fill up a bucket amongst friends, leave the competitiveness at home and come prepared to have fun in the calm of the morning. I highly recommend it at least once in your lifetime. Pick enough blueberries to fill 2 buckets and freeze some for the winter and off seasons. If you’re juicing like some of us are, I’m sure you’ll be back before the season ends as we will. Blueberries are high in antioxidants and perfect for juicing and snacking frozen on a hot-humid day in Alabama. Some of our friends will be making jams and even blueberry pancakes out of them. Go there before the season ends!
