5 minute read
Lets Go Picking by Tim Armstrong
Let’s Go Picking
By Tim Armstrong
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What can give you 5-10 lbs of berries per year, can live for over 40 years and can cost less than $20? Our friend the blueberry of course! According to healthline.com blueberries are low in calories but high in nutrition, the king of antioxidant foods, may help protect against aging and cancer, protect cholesterol bood damage, can help maintain and improve memory function and more. Blueberries in the backyard are a good t because blueberries are native to North Florida. According to Gerard Krewer a longtime University of Georgia researcher North Florida and South Georgia were very instrumental in bringing these wild blueberries out of the woods and helping create the big, sweet berries you know and love. e plants are acid loving and will grow anywhere azaleas thrive. Mulching once or twice a year with ne pine bark mulch seems to make them happy and keeping them well watered especially the rst year a er planting. At our farm we grow blueberries in the ground as well as big 30-gallon pots. We have found that companion planting with strawberries works well as they both like some of the same conditions.
is time of year brings great excitement to growers like myself because it brings strawberries, mulberries, blueberries and blackberries into season one right a er the other with tons of overlap. Strawberries can tolerate this cool spring weather and are always rst to give us fruit. e little plants are easy for backyard growers. Usually, you plant them in early spring and get berries your rst year. Chandler and Sweet Charlie are two of our Agriculture Extension O ce recommendations that we grow and sell. I don’t know of any Mulberry you pick farms but a walk around any of the older neighborhoods and parks should reward you with their delectable treats. I think of these as being the most bullet proof of all our back yard fruit trees in North Florida. ey are another native and the varieties range from the dwarf variety that only gets 15-20’ high to the standard black that can get 30-40’ tall. Nothing like watching kids enjoy the fruitful mulberry season. On our YouTube channel we have a video of a young friend at the farm sharing our not-so-secret mulberry cobbler recipe! Mulberry leaf tea has been used in Traditional Chinese medicine for many health concerns. We have tried this tea at the farm many times and nd it a pleasant green tea.
From April to July we heat up the oven for blueberry cobbler, blueberry crumb cake and mu ns . Also pancakes, ice cream and so many more favorites. You can see why there’s lots to love! Blueberries come in two main families. Highbush which are our early variety, March to May and Rabbiteye which come in typically May to July. And yes, they do like to be planted with a friend, a di erent variety of the same family, this helps with improved pollination. We sell both varieties at our farm. Backyard growers should look for a sunny well drained spot to plant these and give each plant about a 4’ by 4’ by 5’ high area for these to grow. For spacing we like about 4-6 feet between the plants ey go dormant and lose their leaves in winter but return in spring with the ower
buds usually leading the way. Backyard bushes are a delight for kids, parents and wildlife alike.
Don’t have that kind of space, no worries North Florida has some super you pick farms. Also local farmers markets will will be ush with just picked berries. One farm that I helped start, Berry Good Farms at North Florida School of Special Ed, 223 Mill Creek Road in Arlington will be selling their fresh berries at their Wednesday farm booth on campus. Farm Manager Jorden Williams and his assistant Jenna ompson are expecting a good crop and operate their campus market Tuesdays 10:30-1:30pm.
Some good friends just north of us in Nassau county run a farm called “ e Blueberry Ranch”. ey are in Yulee Fl, US HWY 17. It is run by Jamie and Josh Bunk and they have been raising berries since 2010. ey have 8 di erent varieties to try including the Krewer variety patented by friend Dr. Krewer which is best known for its extra large berries. eir season runs from Memorial day to Independence day, give or take a week or two for weather. is is a great outdoor family activity that we all can enjoy so let’s get pickin!
Tim Armstrong is owner of EatYourYardJax an edible plant nursery, aquaculture facility and education center on the west side of Jacksonville. He has spent his lifetime exploring the woods and waterways of North Florida and South Georgia, has a keen respect for nature and loves to share that passion with others. He also helped start “Berry Good Farms” for North Florida School of Special Education. He is a graduate of Will Allen’s Commercial Urban Agriculture program 2011 from “Growing Power”. He is a past recipient of Hands on Jacksonville’s “Hands on Earth Award”. His farm has been a training site for “Veterans Farm of Jacksonville”. Eatyouryardjax has a “YouTube” channel where Tim shares information on growing edible plants and you can take a virtual tour of the farm. You can follow the farm on Facebook where you can get up to date info on classes and festivals and sign up for his E-Newsletter at the website www.eatyouryardjax.com
Local $ Farms
Blueberry Ranch 852042 US Hwy 17, Yulee, FL
Blu By U Blueberry Farm 5571 Long Branch Rd, Jacksonville, FL
