When I mentioned that our family talked with a blueberry farmer when we went picking, several of you asked what we learned. Most of our questions centered on the economic aspects of the business, and since our new farming friend was chatty, we learned about everything else in between as well.

The first thing that struck me when we pulled up was that all the blueberry bushes were in pots. Yes, pots! This made for easy picking, as you didn’t have to bend down to get the lower berries. Since blueberries need acidic soil, pots make it easier to control growing conditions. I’ve since learned from my reading on the subject that oak leaves and pine needles are great organic ways to increase the soil acidity, which is good, because those are free and available materials in our own yard.

I would imagine that pots would make for easier weeding as well. I had a distant cousin who grew blueberries in west Florida, but she mowed them down because of the weeds. They were just too much to maintain. I noticed that the weeds were prolific on this farm as well.

As a side note, I wonder if U-pick operations haven’t tried some kind of method where pickers get to subtract the number of weeds they pull from the pounds that they pick. In other words, if I picked 10 pounds of berries and 3 pounds of weeds, then I would only pay for 7 pounds of berries. Just thinking aloud, as you’d probably have to adjust the ratios accordingly to make it profitable for the farmer and worthwhile to the picker.

We learned a few particulars about growing blueberries in Florida. I checked out a book on growing blueberries “in the south,” and it didn’t seem to square up with what we learned during our discussion. I’m inclined to believe the farmer, as we were eating blueberries while discussing them. The thing is, nothing I can tell you —save a bit about blueberries needing well-drained, acidic, organic soil— will help you grow blueberries where you live. Each climate is different; therefore, the culturing is not the same.

Next spring, we hope to get to a little place that grows blackberries. (The closest “farms” are two hours away, and the growing season is over this year.) I’m sure blackberries grow wild wherever you live, but in Florida, only the spring breakers are wild. Everything else is work.

Our new friend explained that growing food is more of an art than a science. You just have to try it, tweaking as you go. I agree with this, as even in neighborhoods, each yard has its own unique micro-culture. The neighbor across the street from me has better shade, and so his impatiens don’t need near the coddling as I do to mine.

At the nice little place we picked, regular blueberries were $3/ pound and organic blueberries were $5/ pound. The education, of course, was worth more than that.