Ripe for the pickin:’ Blueberry Bunch Farm offers sweet U-pick opportunity as season peaks
Blueberry Bunch Farm is ready for the community to come out and pick blueberries, as the weather has turned ideal for the sweet fruits to be picked.
U-Pick Manager Kris Velasco said this season’s blueberries are three weeks behind due to the cold weather late last year.
This season marks the sixth year Blueberry Bunch Farm has opened for U-Pick. It opened on the fourth Thursday of March this year, as they now have a great number of blueberries to pick.
“A lot of people are excited to come back,” Velasco said.
There is no entrance fee to visit the farm, which is at 2754 Howard Road, LaBelle. Blueberries are $7 a pound, or $30 for a full bucket. He said they provide buckets and plastic bags.
The U-pick is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays until the middle of May.
“We added on Thursday last year and it has been a great success,” he said. “Every year we try to see if we can improve something from season to season.”
April marks the peak of the blueberry season.
“The first five seasons it was the beginning of March to mid-May,” he said. “We hope we can extend the season. We will take it week by week.”
After May the weather becomes too warm, and blueberries begin to rot fast.
After Hurricane Ian, Velasco said they had to replant 25,000 new plants – half of the farm – which includes four new varieties they did not have before. The good news – the plants that survived the hurricane are doing better than before.
“A lot of them are young. Some don’t have names. We will see how they do – if they produce more and are better for this climate,” he said.
Blueberry Bunch Farm typically has 50,000 blueberry plants on its acreage. The farm is currently concentrating on U-Pick and providing blueberries for farmer markets and local produce. The hope is to bring some of its commercial production back soon.
“Last year we had a little bit more and this year we have a little bit more than last year,” Velasco said. “Everything is a little bit behind. The warm weather will start ripening them fast.”
Once the weather reaches the ’60s at night, and the sun shines all day, the blueberries ripen faster.
The farm has been owned by his wife, Jessica Molzan’s family, for the past 15 years.
“It used to be only commercial, but just before COVID, in 2020, we started the U-Pick,” he said.
His wife makes blueberry popsicles and blueberry lemonade, and his mother-in-law, Leslie Ann, makes blueberry soap, blueberry jam, tea towels and pottery. This year they have added blueberry barbecue sauce.
Individuals can also purchase blueberry plants to bring home for their garden. They come with directions on how to care for them.
“We only sell the strongest. It is the one that survives the best,” Velasco said.
Another addition this year is an expanded parking area.
“We have a lot of return customers. A lot of customers coming two or three times during the season. It’s a nice farm to have a good time, pick blueberries and get a little bit out of the city,” he said.
The great part about the farm is every age can pick blueberries, as there are lower bushes for younger kids and higher bushes for adults to pick the variety they choose.
“They have different flavors,” Velasco said.
For more information, visit blueberrybunchfarm.com or facebook.com/blueberrybunchfarm/.
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