Blueberry Picking June 30, 2010

Today had a magical start. Yes, magical.

I was able to go to a blueberry farm in the Orange Park area at daybreak and literally commune with nature. It was so good for my foodie heart. My intern and I traveled to the Dowless Blueberry farm where we met Stewart and Irmagene (not sure I spelled that correctly) Dowless. It seems like they have been growing blueberries for a long time and love doing it. It really is a remarkable experience to be able to shake the hand of the person who grows your food.

The blueberry bushes themselves were plentiful and large. Unlike some other farms in the area, their crop was large with many more to come. I think we only picked down 3 rows of one of the fields and came up with 3.5 lbs each. Stewart informed us that they do not use any pesticides on their berries. Let me tell you something, they are delicious. One observation we made is that they are much firmer than store bought berries. The berries are almost crisp with a juicy center. I have yet to taste one that is not sweet.

The farm is only open on Saturdays in July till they are picked out. I highly recommend it. Their address is:

7010 Ricker Road  Jacksonville

Oh, and your are probably not going to find a website or facebook page for this farm. =)

Here are some pictures of my glorious morning.

3.5 lbs of deliciousness