Amy's Blueberries

Fresh is the number one priority at Amy's Blueberries. During blueberry picking season from early July until mid August, you'll see Amy's whole family out in the patch picking the two acres by hand. Amy's mom and husband, her three boys and her two sisters all join in to help. The picking starts around 5am and goes until 5pm. They take care to sort the berries, leaving behind the ones pecked by birds, the soft ones, the wet ones (these will mold,) and stems. The berries sit in cold storage (not refrigeration) until they're transported from the coast to the Co-op within two to three days of being picked. How's that for fresh!

Pruning all the plants for the two acres begins in the dead of winter. Another one of Amy's off-season tasks is spreading alder chips that add valuable nitrogen and organic matter to the soil. And of course another task familiar to many southern Oregon gardeners is the perennial battle with the ubiquitous blackberry!

Amy has been in southern Oregon since the fifth grade. She and her husband both went to Southern Oregon University, and later bought their current plot of land in Coquille that already had a blueberry patch on it. The previous owners had been maintaining the patch organically and Amy has kept up with the organic requirements. In addition to its residential horses, cows, chickens, goats, bunnies, dogs, and cats, the farm was graced by visiting bees this year. That's good news for Amy's Blueberries.