It’s that time of year! Time for trips to the local farmer’s markets stocked with fresh, local fruit and produce. Though when time and energy allow, it is nice to be able to visit farms and orchards that are open to the public, and pick your own! We did just that this morning. While the fog was still on the mountain tops and the air was still cool, we drove to Renick on Rt. 219, to the White Oak Berry Farm for a pick-your-own kind of morning. This is an annual tradition for my family. Each year between the last of June and middle of July, we make a few trips to stock our freezer full of sweet, delicious blueberries.
Photos from our morning at White Oak Berry Farm:
When you arrive you see several signs in the field which show you where to park. Grab your sunglasses and a hat and go to the check in area to get your bucket and directions to the current picking fields. The buckets have a rope attached, which you tie around your waist or neck and a few plastic bag liners to hold your bounty. Then you venture down the long aisles of loaded blueberry bushes and decide where you want to get to work. As you pick, you notice the conversations going on around you between families, friends and strangers who all have the same goal…to find the best berries. It’s always fun meeting new people and you never know what news, gossip or even recipes you’ll pick up along with your harvest! In the distance you may hear a rooster crowing or a goat or cow and you think to yourself how tranquil and peaceful it is here. I always wonder if the farm owners know just how much they give their patrons. I know I don’t come just for the blueberries but for the opportunity to reflect, disconnect from technology, and share in a wonderful memory with my family that I will treasure long after the delicious berries are devoured.
After an hour or so we decide we have enough for this trip and we make our way to the checkout where they are weighed. I overheard someone say that they should weigh each person on the way in and again on the way out, since a few berries are always sampled in the field. I was grateful they only weighed the berries, lol! This year the cost was $1.85/pound for pick your own, or $3.70/pound if you want them picked for you. Each trip I usually pick around 5 pounds of berries.
The White Oak Berry Farm is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays but open Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri from 8 am – 12 noon and again from 4 pm – 8 pm; Sat 8 am – 5 pm. It can get quite hot while picking so the best times to come are early in the morning or in the late afternoon. No tobacco or tobacco products are allowed on the farm due to a disease that could kill the blueberry plants. There is a public toilet on site with no running water. They sometimes have overages from their vegetable garden which they have for sale at the checkout.
For more information about West Virginia, visit us. Go here for more information on the White Oak Berry Farm.
