Picking Blueberries

Yesterday was a lovely day - the sun was shining and there was a stillness in the air, but yet it was cool, exactly the way I like it.

Scenery along the way

I was up earlier than my normal days, and thought to myself why not take a drive somewhere with no particular destination in mind.  Mystery drives are so much fun!!!  Somehow I found myself heading up the Mountain Highway and after winding and turning amongst the giant trees and ferns, I landed up in Olinda.

Folly's Farm - Gateway to berry haven!

Along the way, its pretty as well as scenic as wild flowers and lots of hydrangeas dotted the road for miles on end.  A short drive is a good get away to break up the mundane days - blast up the music and just drive!!!  Passing quaint tea houses like Miss Maples famous for their Devonshire teas ... scones & jam in a Tudor style thatched roof building, the shops along the streets are "English" inspired looking, several escape retreat cottages are scattered everywhere, artsy fartsy type galleries, etc and obviously a blueberry farm too. 

Screaming - Pick n Eat me!

I landed up at Folly's farm and Blueberry Guru, Belinda who is the owner was very friendly and helpful but said picking was by appointment only!!!  Well, I managed to get in and she handed me a pail and a tray and led me to the designated trees where I was to start picking. 

Eye candy - I was overwhelmed with so so so so many clusters of delicious fresh blueberries on all the trees surrounding me.  They all looked so yummy I did not know where to start picking.  I was more interested in taking pixs first and posting it on Istagram, but thought I should make a start to fill the bucket.

This private farm is on 10 acres, but only blueberries are for picking and the best time of the year is between January to February.  Remember, you have to book for an appointment if you want to pick blueberries here.



Showing off the blueberries

My pick for the day

I know the sign says NO EATING but who adheres to signs???  Most times, aren't rules made to be broken?   The first 20 minutes or so I was a law abiding citizen, but temptation got the better of me as I started to get into the hang of picking the blueberries.  It was too easy to flick the ripe berries into my tray and it was filling up fast, but suddenly I found myself popping them into my mouth instead of the bucket!!! I must have eaten close to a kilo but my "buy out weight" was just over 2kilos.  Did I have blueberry bellyache??? Nope, I guess I was getting all the antioxidants my body has been lacking!!!  Apparently, blueberries are also known to have powerful medicinal values for lowering your BP.

Little tubs are for my chia pods

The almighty small indigo coloured blueberry is berry berry good for you.  It has more disease fighting antioxidants than almost any other fruit.  I know when people think of berries, they think of strawberries but although blueberry does not rank number one in most peoples mind, it does in mine!!!

I use it a lot lately in my chia puddings, and you can freeze them up to a year and they are still "fresh" in a vacuum bag with a couple of spoons of castor sugar.  This lady that was picking blueberries next to me has been picking them for the past 20 years and this is her tip for freezing them.  She uses it in her baking and breakfast, but I don't cook my blueberries in cake or muffins.  Most of the time, I just like eating them raw or on top of my chia pods as I like to be able to taste its true flavour and goodness of the blueberries and I believe this way, I can maximise its nutritional benefits.

My Blueberry baby bush

I have a blueberry plant in the backyard, and although it is still young, it has started to fruit - I ate the first picked berry and Ann was lucky to try the 2nd fruit.  It tasted berry good but for me to harvest enough to pig out on blueberries, I might have to wait a long time.

Buying it from the supermarket is the normal thing to do, but if you do have some time, and want some fun with friends, family or even the children, go pick your own!!! So much bigger, better and firmer and I cannot say enough for the love of tree freshness.



Handpicked in foreground vs Supermarket

FYI - Blueberries in Canada are the bomb.  I have never seen sooooo much at any one time and sold from the back of a truck.  The whole truck was filled with millions if not billions of blueberries!!! My bear friend bought me a huge tub for CAD$10.00 and every time I have blueberries, I never fail to remember this bear treat and it was the most blueberries I have had in one go until yesterday when I picked my own!!!