How do I pick a .....

Strawberry:

Strawberries are red & firm when ripe and very easy to pick a bucketful or two! Grasp the berry gently and bend the top of the berry away from the stem while pulling it toward you. The stem should break right at the top of the berry.  Place it in the bucket gently.  You can usually stack strawberries pretty deep in a bucket without damage. Please don't step on the plastic which is the berry bed! If it has rained in the last couple of days before you pick, you may want to wear some old or waterproof shoes - some areas of the patch may be a little soft.

Raspberry:

A ripe raspberry will have a deep red color, will be full & plump & round (not flat) and be very slightly "soft".  Picking raspberries is different from blackberries in that the raspberry slides off of the stem and leaves a hole at the top of the berry.  Some of the best berries may be hiding under the leaves, so check there and close to the ground as well as at the top of the bush.  Raspberries are VERY fragile, they are easily damaged by your fingers or piling them too deep in a bucket.  Rinse them in cold water when you get them home and eat them fresh, freeze, or can them. (HINT: They are WONDERFUL on Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Syrup!!!)

Blueberry:

Nothing beats the taste of a fresh blueberry, but they are wonderful frozen or canned too!  To pick blueberries, use your fingers to "roll" groups of them, the ripe ones will fall off in your hand (or on the ground if you are not careful!)  You'll be surprised how quickly a bucket will fill with this delicious, small fruit!  Blueberries will keep very well for many days in the fridge for fresh eating, and for many months when frozen for making breaks, pancakes & smoothies.  Frozen blueberries are an excellent treat on a hot day!!!

Blackberry:

Blackberries have a bad reputation for being difficult to pick - this is mainly because wild blackberries are full of thorns, hard to get to, and usually infested with chiggers and snakes!  Fortunately, our blackberries are much more relaxing to pick.  There are NO thorns and the plants are trellised for easy access.  We keep the area around the plants clean and mowed to discourage any 'wild critters' from living there too!  There are few jams that are as flavorful as ones made from this berry and if you've never had fresh blackberry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, you just haven't lived!

Grapes:

Grapes as I'm sure you are aware grow in bunches and are quite easy to pick.  If you have come to pick grapes, just be sure and tell us at the store and we will furnish you with something to cut the bunches of grapes.  We have several varieties of grapes ranging from red and white table grapes (eatin' grapes) to red and white wine grapes (drinkin' grapes).  Let us know which you are interested in and we'll direct you to the right ones.

Muscadines:

For those of you that don't know, A muscadine is a native Southern Grape.  They grow quite large and have a strong wonderful taste.  If you have tried one, you'll agree that nothing else equals the burst of flavor you get when biting into a fresh muscadine.  Muscadine also make wonderful jellies and wines.  Picking them is quite easy, just reach up and grab one!  They do not grow in bunches like their grape-cousins, but they are very easy to pick.  Muscadines will keep and stay flavorful in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks.