Blueberry Hill

11/14/2023

we try.

CELEBRATING NATIVE SHRUBS: Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is an upright, multi-stemmed, broad-spreading, deciduous shrub found from New England to Pennsylvania and in scattered locations as far west as Illinois and into the Southeast. It grows 6 to 12 feet tall in sun to part shade and rich, moist to wet, acidic soil. It has glossy, deep green foliage that turns brilliant red to purple in the fall. It is an important woody keystone plant, feeding the caterpillars of 234 Lepidoptera species.

Nodding clusters of urn-shaped white flowers bloom from April to June, attracting butterflies for nectar and a number of specialist bees in the genus Andrena for pollen. Although blueberry plants are self-fertile, cross-pollination between multiple shrubs produces the best fruit crop. Berries are dark blue to purple with a blue-gray bloom and draw many species of songbirds.

Highbush Blueberry is useful for ornamental purposes and well as for fruit production. It can be included in shrub borders, used as a hedge, or planted in combination with other acid-loving shrubs, such as rhododendrons and azaleas. Deer may occasionally severely damage this shrub, especially in the winter.

06/07/2023

Just a final reminder to move to our new page, Blueberry Hill at Paris Mountain for seasonal updates. We will be opening soon.

05/09/2023

Just a reminder as blueberry season approaches to join us on our new page Blueberry Hill at Paris Mountain for seasonal updates.

04/20/2023

Thanks friends for moving over to our new page Blueberry Hill at Paris Mountain! Many of you have already joined my daughter and I over there. Get all your patch updates over there!

04/19/2023

Blueberry Hill friends please come check out our new page. We chose to build a new page this year since we have been locked out of so many features ever since April passed in 2018 and her FB page was decommissioned. All future Blueberry announcements will happen on our new page Blueberry Hill at Paris Mountain
We look forward to seeing you there and this summer in the field gathering blue blobs of blueberriness!

04/18/2023

April 18,2023: Good morning friends. We had a good bloom this year and it is still ongoing for another week or two. I am playing catch-up on the pruning, since my disability kept me out of the patch over winter. We hope to begin picking by mid-June if the fruiting schedule works out like previous years. We thank y'all for your continuing support.

02/04/2023

This is true....

01/31/2023

We are going to find out if a handicapped guy can prune blueberries. Wanna come watch?

11/03/2022

08/06/2022

We are at the end of the 2022 picking season today (August 6). We are thankful for such great community support. Hope to see you again next summer!

08/04/2022

Saturday will be our last day for the 2022 season. Still a few berries, but very hard to pick--just spent 2.5 hours picking 2/3 of a gallon. Thanks for your support during a challenging season!

08/01/2022

I'm gonna try picking today after the sun comes up. You should too, because the berry countdown is running!

07/26/2022

ALERT!
We need to find a new source for floating catfish food in large bags of 40 or 50lbs. Thousands of dollars worth of Japanese koi are at risk--some over 20 years old. We used to get it at Tractor Supply, but they no longer have it. Cannot afford regular pet store prices.

07/22/2022

Good Friday morning, pickers! Still have good supply for you, but probably this is the last weekend that I can say this. Come this morning or tomorrow morning if you can. Afternoons will be way too hot!

07/18/2022

This week is for good pickers who also grin a lot! Next week may be more grinning than picking, but we will let you know. I just checked the patch and there are still plenty of wiggly blue things hanging on bushes, but procrastinators need not apply!

07/17/2022

FEELING THE BLUES
The blueberry--a simple, round, and delicate creation that seems to appear spontaneously upon the twigs of unlikely wild but fragile bushes, is one of the most powerful forces in my universe. It fills my dreams with fears, yet my days deploy in choruses of praise to the One who made such a simple thing and introduced for into my tending, keeping and harvesting training.

The heat of the Southern summer pummels my frame and I barely notice. While blood from cuts and tears to my flesh caused by wild blackberry interlopers runs down my aging arms and legs, transforming me into a creature fit for a horror film, I consider it as naught for the great company of pickers and their kin who thank me for establishing and keeping up such an operation as BLUEBERRY HILL.

"Only God can make a blueberry" I remind them gently. The children squeal with delight over the discovery of clusters of this sweet treat brought to within their reach by attentive parents, grandparents and other taller, stronger friends. Even the birds feel safe enough here to build nests and raise their young in this barely cultivated patch of our planet. Each year this task becomes more and more challenging.

Old bushes die. Irrigation fails, while the memory of the system builder evaporates faster than the water needed for the roots of thirsty blueberry bushes. Prayers for mercy are offered and a deluge comes. But will those who may pick come also? Days with hardly a visitor come and go. The refrigerator fills with my own pickings but with none to buy them. Will the taxes get paid?

Then, as if in migrant convoys sent by hungry birds, the picking families and individuals arrive. Parking gets tight. The patch begins to sound like an elementary school at recess. The bright Japanese Koi monster fish circle near their feeding stations in anticipation of ministrations from dozens of small hands attached to wide-eyed young humans.

You see, it is not really about the blueberries themselves, after all. It is about the hyperactive social squalls that their presence creates for about 8 short weeks during a South Carolina summer. Then they are gone, petered out, leaving behind exhausted bushes and farmers with memories strong enough to sustain them until the next season should come.

07/16/2022

No more putting it off. Come get some blueberries. We have them on the bush or in the fridge. Tick-tock!! (Should have berries for two or three more weeks.)

07/15/2022

This will likely be our best weekend for picking remaining this season (which has about three weeks left.) DON'T MISS IT! I you would like pre-picked berries, please call ahead--907-5588. I can personally pick about two gallons during my 4-hour workday. Saw a "passel of 'em" yesterday!

07/10/2022

Bring your mud boots this week! All this rain is going to make those berries swell up nicely!

07/05/2022

Blueberries are still going strong! Come out and visit a spell and get you some!

07/04/2022

Yes are providing the Blue today for your Red, White, and Blue potluck dishes!
If things are as busy as most year the blueberries may runout by mid-afternoon. Come this morning!

06/23/2022

We will be open Friday and Saturday.
Beat the Heat and come before noon!
We may be in the patch or hiding inside in the AC. Come knock on the door when you arrive if you don't see us.

06/22/2022

The patch is resting and refilling today. Please come again later this week!

06/19/2022

It has been a fabulous week! Big thanks to all you loyal blueberry getters! We will be closed Sunday as usual and hope to see you bright and early Monday morning! Now I'm off to see my new granddaughter and future blueberry picker who arrived Thursday.

06/16/2022

PICKING REPORT
We have gallons of berries already picked. Come get them before we decide to freeze them for ourselves. Don't worry--you won't freeze out there if you pick your own. Quantities are limited, but we are seeing beautiful "blues" leaving by the bucketful! We thank you for your support after what has been a tough year but also filled with blessings from God!

Because of the heat, we are doing business from our front porch at the log house for now. Kids get to feed the fish there also (in the shade.)