Tammen Treeberry Farm

Perks of This U-​Pick:
–Hauling off with as many pounds of straight-​off-​the-​tree blueberries as you want
–Popping a free berry breakfast into your mouth as you pick
Tips From a Veteran Picker:
–Bring an additional container (i.e. large styrofoam cup from McDonald’s) to initially put your blueberries in and later dump into the bucket provided for you (you’ll pick more blueberries faster)
–Apply sunscreen and bug spray
–Wear shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
–Arrive early in the morning, because it can get hot and miserable with the lack of shade, and you’re more likely to beat the crowds
–Invite a friend or two — it’s more fun that way

I am dreaming of going back ASAP. I’ve never been crazy about blueberries but after this I think I’m a blueberry addict. These blueberries were absolutely amazing! Insanely sweet, super plump, juicy and ripe. I really wish we picked more. We only brought home half a bucket full of blueberries. We ate most of them right away and I froze some to make desserts with.
These were very hard to pick and our bucket never got full because we were eating them faster than we could pick them! I don’t know how much we ate… but we ate a lot and we all had green poop the next day.

As an experience, this place is great. The berries are cheap and delicious and the picking process is fun. I’m originally from the area but I brought my girlfriend along and had a great time.
Except…
The place could use a little more organization. The checkout process is a nightmare when its crowded. We went midday on a Saturday and after picking for 45 minutes (12 pounds of berries) waited an hour and 40 minutes to pay (after having to walk back to the parking area because there were too many people to wait for a trailer). The line was massive when we left, stretching far farther than it had when we got into it, so those people must have been waiting even longer.
They only have two registers and two scales, so everything gets all bunched up and also the way they drop people off makes it easier for cheaters to cut in line. What they need to do is send one of the many teenager workers sitting around down the line with a scale on a cart, weighing people while they are in line, so the payment process can move faster. Or just charge flat rates — $ 20 a bucket, $ 10 a half-​bucket, ect. I would have been willing to pay 50 percent more to save that time.
I don’t mind a little wait, but nearly two hours in line just to pay (not to mention the understandable half-​hour we waited just to get to the fields in the first place) is really quite ridiculous.

Way out about 60 – 70 miles from Chicago is a slice of life in the form of fresh berries that you pick yourself. In an age of packaged meals and concrete everywhere, a return to nature doing a task done by our ancestors for thousands of years is welcome. The act of picking berries is hard work. You don’t dress up for it either. The blue stains on your clothes, the sweat, the occasional snags on branches will leave you dirty and wanting a shower afterwards. However, it is a rewarding experience. Lots of Eastern European immigrants are among the pickers. They bring entire families as this is a reminder of their homeland.
You certainly feel for those migrant workers who gather our crops for dirt-​poor wages so we can have our 99-​cent berries in July at the local store. Here, you pick them for yourself and you get the fresh berries right from the source. An open wagon pulled by a tractor hauls out the pickers in groups, all with metal buckets in hand, and returns others from the field.
You can spend hours working on the berries sometimes. I get about 8 – 9 pounds in an hour. My wife always out-​picks me by about a pound, though. Berries cost about $ 1 per pound you pick. Being blueberry addicts, we can consume a 15-​pound load in a weeks’ time. Ice cream with blueberries, or mixed in yogurt, blueberry turnovers, or just eat them by the bowl-​ful.
Don’t go here if you’re in a hurry and need to get someplace later. This is an experience you need to enjoy without the worries of the daily rush on your mind. Berries are usually in season by the 1^st or 2^nd weekend of July. Picking goes on for about 3 weeks. The 1^st pick is always the bigger and better time to come. By the last weekend, it’s picked over and harder to get that bucket filled.