Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!

I have so wanted to find a pick your own blueberry and other fruits farm in north Texas. I've bookmarked the page you linked.

I'm getting much more interested in buying as much food as I possibly can from local sources. If I can buy the food I can't grow directly from the farmer, I'll be a happy camper. I was going to try searching for a blueberry farmer, cause blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, but the last time I did a search all I came up with was farms around Houston. So thank you again, Ppb, for the link.

Sally

p.s. Did I remember to say thank you?

Sally

Man - i wish there was a place close to me - all these are pretty far away. ;o(

Wow, Sally, you are so welcome! LOL! I do this every year, several times. It's just too good and I zone out with the blueberries and fire ants.

Scuba gal, you gots to have acid soil to grow blueberries, which is why they are not in the DFW area. I wonder if they'd grow in the little strip of cross-timbers that goes through Arlington and has red sand? Is Keller red sand or black clay? Maybe you could grow your own!

black clay :o( here in keller

The back yard is a lot closer.

Rick - are you referring to YOUR backyard? Are we to assume you have a back yard full of blueberry bushes??? I'll trade you some horseherb if you'll let me come pick. 8D

Full....no. However, I have blueberry, even though it only does ok. If you get the right varietals, they will grow here, in spite of the fact most prefer much cooler climates.

I won't get many meals off mine, but at least I have some. Not enough to offer to others, though.

You need much more space and a lot more plants than I have, to create a "crop".

Anyway, picking your own is a pretty temporary measure, as blueberries don't keep very long, unless you freeze them. Not as bad as raspberries, though, which will mold rapidly.

I really consider berries an "acreage" kind of plant, irregardless of the type. It takes a large area to provide many berries.

As a child, I picked and ate, as I went......mulberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. However, I actually like the northwestern berries a little better.....boysenberry, loganberry, and the Swedish ligonberry, which is especially tasty.

As I reflect on that time, it is hard to imagine being able to afford enough land to grow any kind of food on, in today's economy, even if I was a good enough gardener to do it......which I'm not.

Blueberries don't mind the heat if you get the right varieties, which is why they do so well in east Texas, but the do require acid soil, which is why they don't do well here, but do so well in east Texas.

I buy frozen berries all the time. I'd rather buy the berries direct from the grower, freeze most of them, and eat the rest fresh now. Why buy berries from China if you can buy them from Texas farmers, and make a fun outing at the same time?

Sally

Thanks for the link Julie.

I love blueberries. We have a blueberry patch and it's doing fairly good but hopefully it'll do better each year..

Duh! Ain't buying no food stuff from China.....at all!!

Nor anything else I use on my person, including toothpaste, lotions, etc.

All the Chinese stuff is potentially dangerous to your health.

Good luck with that, Rick. It's hard to find anything not made, grown, or manufactured in China these days, including food.

Sally

Yup. But I am trying my best, to avoid them, if they are hazardous to my health.

Anyway......sooner or later......assuming they don't start WW III, they will catch up in wages, and then we can all go back to buying American.....even though we won't be able to buy much of anything, from anywhere.

Will have to stop buying stuff in 4 more years, myself, as I won't be able to afford it on a retirement income. The utilities will take whatever is left, after taxes.

Well, DH and I made a very long day of it on Monday. First we went to Akins Farm in Terrell, and picked green beans. Boy did we pick green beans! We stopped at a bucket of round green beans (I forgot to ask the variety) and a bucket of Italian flat green beans. We picked up a couple of dozen eggs, too, while we were at it. What nice people the Akins are! We left their place and headed east to Sun-Tex Blueberry farm, an organic blueberry farm near Chandler. Again, such nice people. It's a small operation, but they had plenty of blueberries. We picked a gallon and a half, and left reluctantly, hot and tired. After a picnic lunch, we headed home and started processing the beans and berries. We put up bags and bags and bags of both of them in the freezer. We actually didn't finish until last night. It was a long, exhausting day, but so, so gratifying. I can't wait til the Akins' corn is ready, MMMMmmmmm. Hey, this buying local may get habit forming!

Sally

Blueberries are tasty but I'm allergic to them. I had blueberry pie once and swelled up like a balloon, face and hands. I'm also allergic to rhubarb, can't eat or pick that stuff. Sounds like fun if I could eat the stuff LOL. My DH loves blueberries though but I think his way of thinking of pickt blueberries would mean going to the store.

Sally I really must try this! Wonderful description! Now if I can only find it....PJ

It was a bit challenging to find the blueberry place, but we managed with the Google map and our Texas Map, and a few wrong turns.

Sally

PJ, You need to get a GPS they are great. I can go anywhere with no problems.

Barb honey I could get lost in a room with one door. Just ask Carolann! GPS might not be a bad idea. I (at least) MUST get a compass. PJ