Blueberries are a Texas thrill
Pick-your-own operative thrives

By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

George Pierce displays a handful of berries from the pick-your-own farm he and his wife operate near Pickton, in Hopkins County. -- Staff photo by Kramer

June 16, 2005 - The blueberries are ready at George and Florean Pierce's Hopkins County pick-your-own blueberry farm.

This time of year, a full acre of blueberries are blooming. The property off Farm-to-Market 3105 is small and simple. A freshly-mowed pasture directs customers to 550 bushes where they can pick their own. A green metal building holds a refrigerator stocked with blueberries for a customer to buy.

As remote as the location may seem, people are driving from miles away to gather fresh blueberries and enjoy the scenery.

Florean purchased the property about two years ago while George was away visiting family in California.

Matt Harris, 11, pulls fresh blueberries from the bushes at the Pierce's farm in southeastern Hopkins County. Matt was at the farm with his mother and brothers recently. -- Staff photo by Kramer

"She called and said 'I bought a blueberry farm,'" recalled George, while holding a small handful of the berries.

George said the property was planted in blueberries about 12 years ago by the previous owner.

"We didn't have any idea what to do," said George. "The man we bought it from told us a little bit, about keeping it trimmed and all."

When the pair purchased the property, there were already many loyal customers, and some seem to believe that the early bird gets the berry.

"We've had them out here as early as 6:30 in the morning," said George. He said some patrons take their time and pick for 20 minutes and others spend hours in the bushes.

Nancy Harris has been visiting the pick-your-own farm for 10 years with her three sons.

"It's just a good family experience," said Harris. "It's a good thing to do. The familiarity and trust involved; it's a homey atmosphere." Harris spent nearly an hour picking from the bushes with her sons. Five pounds later, they decided to make plans to return in a week when more berries would be ripe.

Harris said they usually pick about 15 pounds. She freezes the berries (George reminds people not to wash berries before freezing or they will clump together), and she said her kids love the berries as a snack.

George believes the kids who visit the farm get something out of the experience.

"They get out here and laugh, and some of them don't know what to think," said George. He noted the lessons children can learn at a pick-your-own farm. "Nature, you know the way things are grown, the agricultural aspect, seeing the birds - they gotta learn sometime." Many of the Pierces' customers are from distant urban areas where children may not have been exposed to such a natural setting.

George admitted he also gets something from the experience.

"It's kinda relaxing getting out there on the tractor and mowing," said George. "And you get to talk to a lot of people."

Both George and Florean are retired, yet the blueberry farm has become a full time job for them.

"The hardest part is keeping it mowed and trimmed," said George. "You have to trim the bushes or the berries get so high you can't get to them." The farm has several varieties of blueberries on site and even after being trimmed, some of the bushes are nearly seven feet tall.

The bushes grow and spread every year. "They kinda take care of themselves if you just mow and weed and take care of them a little," said George.

George waters at least three times a week and said that when it rains, the rows have to be mowed three times a week.

The lack of rain this year has caused the berries to ripen slower. George hoped that all the berries would be ready soon. Without rain or water, George said the bushes can begin to die out in as little as a week.

The rain is not the only influence on blueberry yield.

"The birds, they like them," said George. The rows of berries are full of birds who have made the bushes their nesting paradise.

In the past, the birds were the least of the Pierces' worries. "Last year, about this time, a big hail storm came through and knocked the berries off," recalled the grower.

He said anyone considering starting a pick your own farm should have their soil tested. He wishes someone had offered him some extra insight to the task of operating a pick-your-own farm. "There's a lot of work involved."

The return on his work comes when the berries bloom and ripen from June to mid-July.

The farm's popularity has grown during the recent health trend. George said blueberries are very healthy. "They've been putting out lots of reports telling people to eat blueberries."

When compared to 40 other fresh fruits and vegetables, recent studies have found that blueberries rank number one in anti-oxidant levels. These anti-oxidants minimize the risk of cancer and several diseases. According to a study from the University of California at Davis, blueberries also reduce the build up of bad cholesterol. Blueberries have been linked to eye health, urinary health, and anti-aging. More on blueberries can be found at http://www.ushbc.org.

George is proud of the health benefits of blueberries, but likes their taste as well. "They're good," he said. "You can do lots of things with them."

He said he had been eating on a blueberry cake all week. While he enjoys eating the blueberries fresh by the handful, he has several favorite blueberry treats including pies, cobblers and smoothies (he said he puts a handful of berries in the blender with vanilla ice cream).

The Pierces plan on continuing to operate the blueberry farm and while the farm is not a "money-maker," George feels like the future of the farm is safe.

The allure of pick-your-own farms seems to be growing. As city walls sprawl and children see produce only at grocery stores, a place like the Pierces' pick-your-own farm has something unique to offer. For $2 a pound, visitors take home the lesson of fresh produce selection, the memory of nature without concrete, and the freshest product money can buy.

(The blueberry farm is located on FM 3105 off 269 South, near Pickton. The Pierce's can be reached by calling 903-866-0690.)