Hey, y'all. I'm posting below information about the u-pick blueberries at the old Tusccaloosa CSA farm (CSA not operational now but they still run the blueberry picking in the summer). It's a lot of fun for the kids, and blueberries freeze great, so I like to stock up for the whole year.
Here's the info:

U-Pick Blueberry season at Carol and Jean’s farm will begin Wednesday, July 2, 2008. We will be open for blueberry picking during July and August on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. Hours will be 4:30 pm until dark. Bring your friends and neighbors. The more the merrier.



We have 150 bushes -- all thornless, upright bushes that are easy for anyone to pick. Just reach in and grab the blue berries! We have late afternoon hours so you can be more comfortable picking in the shade provided by the woods on the western side of the blueberry bushes.



Of course our blueberries are grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. They are just dern good to eat and good for you.



The price for blueberries will still be $7/gallon this year.





So grab your friends, neighbors, family and co-workers and carpool it out here (saving room for your bounty you’ll be hauling back)





Here are our strong recommendations for how to enjoy your evening picking blueberries:

1. Come after 5:30pm when all 150 bushes are in full shade and the afternoon heat has subsided a bit.

2. Wear close-toed shoes and socks since we have fireants on the farm. Fireants are surprisingly fast at finding a bare toe or ankle. I can almost guarantee you that one will sting you before you get done picking if you tease them with bare toes. And it only takes one sting to take the fun out of the evening.

3. Wear long pants. You may think it’s too hot to wear long pants, but trust us. No-see-ums, gnats and mosquitoes love bare legs. You’ll pick more and pick faster if you’re not swatting at your legs the whole time you are here. Though it is sometimes entertaining for others to watch.

4. Bring the kids a toy (or six). Kids love to pick blueberries, but they don’t tend to enjoy picking as long as adults. And, oddly, kids don’t usually find watching the adults pick very entertaining.



We also ask that if you plan to use insect repellent, please, please, please apply it at home and wash your hands thoroughly before picking. It is chemical-free berries you are after, right?



And just because it is raining in town doesn’t mean it’s raining out here. Those late afternoon thunderbumpers are often gone by the time you make the drive.



Despite all my warnings about the insects, picking blueberries in the late afternoon out here is a really pleasant activity. Folks are chattering throughout the patch, the red-headed woodpeckers are flying in and hauling out berries one at a time, the setting sun casts a nice light on the farm, and you’re getting buckets of tasty and healthy blueberries!



Come on out!



We’ll provide the buckets for picking and the bags for taking your harvest home.



We have plenty of berries for you to stock your freezers with enough blueberries to have smoothies, muffins, cobblers and pies all year long.



Directions:

Take US Hwy 82 West out of Tuscaloosa. About 3 miles past Northport Lowes, turn RIGHT onto COUNTY ROAD 21 (which is called Upper Columbus Road once you turn onto it). Go 6.7 miles on County Road 21 / UC Road. Turn RIGHT onto JACKSON TRACE ROAD. Go about ½ mile, veer LEFT onto our drive (look for blueberry sign at drive entrance). Follow drive left, across lake to parking area in pasture. We’ll see you in the white tent in the blueberry patch.

That sounds fantastic. Thanks for posting. I absolutely love blueberries and so does Jack. My husband hates them and I can't imagine hating blueberries. LOL.
But do you think Jack is too young to do something like this?

Kristi, I think he would enjoy it. There are bushes with low enough branches for him to reach, but not all of them. We were out there yesterday, and you do have to watch out for ants, but my 3yo had a great time. I think both of mine first went when they were about Jack's age, pretty much the first summer after they could walk. Yesterday, was hot, though, I will say. I think the heat is supposed to back off a bit after Tuesday, so that shouldn't be such an issue. weather.org says it's 100 right now. Ugh!

Great info, LM. We were just talking at breakfast that our bb stock in the freezer was running low. My inlaws just recently went to a u-pick blackberry farm outside of Montgomery and brought us several quarts. So, we've been a regular smoothie shop over here this summer.

Thanks for sharing.

I thought I would bump this and add an email I got today about prime picking conditions this weekend. See first post above for more information and directions to the farm.

Just want you to know this weekend will be great for blueberry picking. The cooler temperatures will make for much more comfortable picking (whew!). The bushes are loaded with berries right now, and now that we’re finally getting rain, the berries have sized up nicely. You’ll just have to reach in and grab them by the handful. There will be berries for at least another couple of weeks, but because of the abundance, this weekend’s picking will be the easiest. So come on out. Below I’ve pasted the original info about berry picking, including directions. Feel free to forward to others.