While David the Good was in Florida in the Spring he visited a u-pick blueberry patch where he learned several tips on how to successfully grow blueberries in Florida. You can read about that HERE. I’ve been considering planting blueberries in my yard but wasn’t sure which verity works well in our area. What better way to learn than to go to a u-pick here and start asking questions? I decided to go to Fifer’s Orchard, they are a family run farm that has been in the area for one hundred years. It has grown into a very large operation with several u-pick options throughout the year. They have had a public blueberry patch for over twelve years. They are a grower, packer, and shipper of 2,500 acres of fruits and vegetables. Impressive. After chatting with the store manager, she informed me they use three different types of bushes. Those being, Bountiful Blue, Jersey Blue, and Early Blue. If you’re not sure what grows in your area, find a u-pick patch and ask around they were very helpful! Even if you’re not interested in growing your own it is a fun experience to visit a local farm and pick your own food. If you are fortunate enough to have kids bring them along, their small fingers come in handy for blueberry picking (just make sure they don’t pick the green ones, ha!) We thoroughly enjoyed our morning at Fifer’s and look forward to picking in our own back yard in the future. One tip I learned today is to make sure you cover your bushes. The birds in our area enjoy the blueberries and might beat us to our harvest. If you have a fence or a shed where you can drape netting over it will help keep them protected. We will happily be snacking blueberries over the next week.

Thank you, Fifer’s for a wonderful experience.