We're having a snowy winter The 2007-2008 winter has been one of the snowiest on record. Nearly 15 feet has fallen so far since the snow started falling in early December and we're not through March yet, often a very snowy month! Up until the heavy rains came this weekend the snow was more than 50" deep covering all but the very tops of the biggest bushes. The young bushes and the 3' stakes marking them have long ago disappeared. All this should be good for the bushes, and we're expecting a very good year this summer. The snow insulates the bushes and there should be very little winter kill from below freezing temperatures and cold winds. And, yes, we expect the snow will be gone by July, even though this is Maine. When the snow stiffens up or has a crust on it, Colby delights in running on top of the snow. Here he is sunning himself on the snowbank. Notice the iced over bushes behind him, and perhaps you will recognize the very tip of the wooden gate leading from the side yard to the blueberry fields. Since I took this picture, two more storms have come and the gate and stone wall are completely buried. Check back. When the snow gets down enough we'll start pruning, although it might be on snowshoes this year!

Some closing notes from our 2007 season It was a nice, brisk fall day with blue skies yesterday when Penny and I took a walk through the blueberry fields. We found hardly any berries left on the bushes however and must, with regret, close down the blueberry picking for this year. It was a season with mixed reviews. The early variety Blue Crops produced as we have never seen them do before, and they were our stars this season. The spring was cold and rainy, however, so we were a week delayed in opening past our normal mid-July opener. Berkeley production was down from normal, which balanced the record Blue Crop output. Jerseys were good but not up to their usual steady show, and the Elliots were slow in ripening and only average in their output. Normally at this time of year we'd have several hundred quarts of Elliots still on the bushes, but not this year. Thus the closing of our picking season a little early. Overall our production was down from the last two record seasons, but was still respectable. During late August into September we had to close for several days to let the berries ripen for picking. As I said, the Elliots were slow in ripening, despite my best efforts to go into the fields and talk to them, encouraging them to ripen faster. Our customers were fantastic and a fun group of people to meet and talk with. Nearly every day in July and August the parking lot would be full of cars and all the picking buckets (we have 55 of them) would be gone out in the hands of pickers in the fields at one time. We entertained three groups of summer campers from the area, and many groups who brought picnics to enjoy on the picnic tables under the shade trees. It was neat to hear so many small folks on their first berry picking excursion, with the "kerplunk" as they dropped berries in their blue tin buckets sounding from all over the berry patch as their parents told them about Sal and the bear in "Blueberries for Sal." Many family traditions started in the berry patch this year, and we look forward to the families returning year after year. All the new blueberry bushes we've put in continue to grow and are starting to bear fruit nicely. Next year will be an even better year, and our hope is that we will be able to have berries enough for everyone who wants to pick 'em! Thank you all for your patronage, and I hope you have a wonderful fall and winter season. Remember us next summer, and check back to see how the season is coming next spring. We'll let you know how the bushes come through the winter and when we expect to open for our 2008 picking season! 2007 - Status of Varieties Blue Crop - Picking season over Berkeley - Picking season over Jersey - Picking season over Elliott - Picking season over Little Giant - Planted 2006 Blue Gold - Planted 2006 Marilea Bannon (r) and Amanda Robson were the "First Ton Picked" winners for 2007. They are pictured here with Colby, the official blueberry greeter dog for Crabtree's Pick Your Own Blueberries. On Saturday, August 11, our pick-your-own customers collectively passed the first "ton of blueberries picked" milestone this season. The lucky pickers who pushed the total over 2,000 pounds were Marilea Bannon and Amanda Robson, a mother and daughter team from Sandy Creek, South Bridgton. For being at the right place at the right time they received their berries free as well as several gifts from the blueberry stand. Marilea (r) and Amanda (l) are pictured here with Colby, the official blueberry greeter dog for Crabtree's Pick Your Own Blueberries. This is the best year we ever saw for our Blue Crop variety Several groups have brought picnic lunches to make the picking a true summer family outing

Blueberries and Old Books?

We added a new feature to our Crabtree's Collection Old Books website in 2001 and every summer offer Pick-Your-Own Blueberries at our Maine Farmhouse. Stories about of our blueberry operation are linked to this page below. Check out the pictures of our place.

The first varieties of our highbush blueberries ripen around mid-July, and we then open our Pick-Your-Own Blueberry (PYO) operation to the public for the picking season. If you have been following the Maine Farmhouse Journals you know how pleased and proud we are of our old place here (see Bears in the Blueberry Bushes), and the PYO Blueberry operation gives us a chance to share a part of our experience with all of you.

Click on these links to get directions to the farm, our hours of operation and prices, information about the history of blueberries, and tips on picking and storing blueberries as well as links to several blueberry recipe websites. Getting Ready for Blueberry Season tells about some of the work that goes into having big, juicy blueberries for picking. We also have pictures showing what the blueberry patch looks like during the Quiet Seasons of autumn and winter.

Large, juicy blueberries hang in big bunches for easy picking

When we purchased the Farmhouse in August 1998, one of the bonus features was the extensive mature plantings of highbush blueberries in the side field. The former owner, Dot, had planted and nurtured hundreds of highbush blueberry bushes. They are now 25 years old, and bear sweet, juicy blueberries the size of your thumb. The chest-high bushes almost bend over under the weight of clusters of berries.

Since 1998 we have doubled the size of the berry patch with new plantings and usually add new bushes every year. We have also installed a drip irrigation system and pamper the bushes with annual pruning, fertilizer twice a year, and regular weeding and mowing. We don't use any pesticides on our bushes and encourage people to each the berries right from the bushes to add to their experience.

We opened the berry patch as a Pick-your-own operation in 2001 and it has become a wonderful experience for hundreds of families every summer. The picking is easy, and the berries are wonderful. There are several different varieties that ripen at different times during the summer, so there are blueberries to pick from mid-July until September most years. We look forward to seeing you during the summer picking season - watch this page to see when the different varieties of highbush blueberries are ripe and ready to pick!

Please call us if you have any questions or suggestions, and we hope to see you at Crabtree's PYO Highbush Blueberries.

We are listed with the State of Maine "Get Real Maine" for PYO Blueberries in Cumberland County.

We are also listed on under Regional Attractions - "Maine Lakes and Mountains Region".

[Blueberry Home Page] [Directions] [Hours and Prices] [About Blueberries] [Blueberry Recipes] [Getting Ready for Blueberry Season] [Colby's Letter to Camp Laurel] [ PYO Blueberries][Water for the Blueberries] [The Quiet Seasons] [E-mail ] [Crabtree's Collection Home Page]

Maine Blueberry banner and Sebago Map created by Allen F. Crabtree IV

This page was last updated March 8, 2008.

Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 by Allen Crabtree