Blueberry Picking Near Me

Apparently, there are many New Yorkers who are wistful about the pastoral wilds of upstate NY in summer months; and they ask themselves the question, where’s the delicious blueberry picking near me? Where do I find the farms? Is it July yet?

July is the blueberry picking season, and officially deemed National Blueberry Month in the USA. This North American native is grown in 35 out of 50 states. July 8 is the National Blueberry Day to spread the many benefits of the fruit like the fact that it is rich in fibre and antioxidants.

What is it about blueberry picking that makes it a desirable experience?

For one thing, blueberry picking is not something that you do in a British garden with an itty-bitty, bijou basket carried in the crook of an untaxed elbow. It’s back breaking work and not under the greatest conditions.

Typically, it’s cold when you arrive at a farm market in the morning and it gets hot in the afternoon. And probably so hellishly humid it makes you long for winter. The litany of discomfort includes bending over, stooping, kneeling, squatting, sitting and waving one’s hands to ward off the bugs. Oh yes, there are bugs in the fields. Horseflies, like bandersnatches, are known to bite through clothing. Lesser creepies like the mosquitoes, ticks and blackflies might not.

And then, with all the bending and picking and plunking and dislodging the wasp, the next morning you are sore, your arms hurt and your back is decidedly orthopaedically challenged. And of course, sunburn. Unless you covered yourself and cocooned yourself from the elements you set out to experience from your blueberry picking near me pursuit.

The business of the berry pick has even inspired evocative poetry, including this one from the poet laureate, Seamus Heaney, (despite his alluring reference to a rat-grey fungus).

And yet, people love to go blueberry picking. There are family farms like Lewin Farms and Alstede Farms.

There’s something about being connected to our food that inspires us. It’s why we like cooking shows on TV and recipe videos online. It’s why we like looking at images of vegetable markets with overflowing tubs of produce and berries - blueberries and raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and other pickable fruit like apples and sweet cherries.

This why so many New York City residents make the hike to a U-Pick farm in upstate New York, June through August, to spend a day picking whatever is in season following the quest for a “strawberry patch near me”. And, depending on the time of year and in geo-specific crusades for, blueberry picking near me, apple picking near me, apple orchards near me, U-Pick farms near me, strawberry patch near me and in fall, pumpkin picking near me - the business of gathering being more socially acceptable form of hunting; nothing more primal and human than to eat what you kill. Or pick. The farms offering picking, stomping, ice cream, and farm animals for the kids to pet.

At the time of this writing, it is June. And blueberry picking starts about now - early July and August being the season for it. And upstate New York is replete with “u pick farms” where to pick blueberries is the order of a sun drenched day.

This website has quite a list of places to pick blueberries. A list of over 200 blueberry / strawberry farms, in fact. You can go to this search result page and then narrow down your search to find the “berry farm near me” - just pick the region closest to you.

And if you like getting out there picking blueberries in places more exotic than Whole Foods, you’ll enjoy the bugs, the heat, the drizzles and even an itinerant wasp. And of course, the joy of popping into your mouth, the first of many blueberries that have just soaked in the sun.

Here's a weirdly compelling video of someone picking blueberries in the wild:

COOL FACTS ABOUT BLUEBERRIES

• Blueberries are high in nutritional value, low in calories and rich in antioxidants.

• The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of blueberries.
• Blueberries have 80 calories per cup, and one serving supplies 25 percent of the recommended values for vitamin C and manganese, as well as four grams of fiber.
• Blueberries have a low glycemic index, which is good news for diabetics cautious about eating fruit.
• The are native to North America.
• The blue color of the skin comes from anthocyanins, which may help reduce the risk of cancer.

(Source: Various)