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| Blackberries from Sta- n-Step Blueberry Farm |
Peace on the farm
The dew still coated the grass when my husband and I arrived at the Sta-n-Step Blueberry Farm this morning. From surrounding trees, the birds called to each other, and the fragrance of green leaves scented the air.
Clear summer skies in Arkansas brought sweltering heat. We were prepared. Our hats and sunglasses shielded our eyes from the glaring sun.
Les, the owner, greeted us with plastic buckets. Several people picked from berry-laden bushes. Les and his family tended the plants all year for the brief June/ July season.
We visited the rows of blueberries first. The branches were heavy with plump fruit. Blueberries seemed to drip off the vines. We filled our containers before finding the blackberry bushes.
The blackberries were bigger than my thumb. No thorns stuck me either. Tame plants don’t grow barbs like the forest varieties. With a light touch, the berries rolled off the stems into my palm. I collected a gallon of them within fifteen minutes, plenty to eat now and freeze for later. There may be cobblers in the future, but I doubt it. My husband can devour a gallon of berries in twenty-four hours.
The blackberries were bigger than my thumb. No thorns stuck me either. Tame plants don’t grow barbs like the forest varieties. With a light touch, the berries rolled off the stems into my palm. I collected a gallon of them within fifteen minutes, plenty to eat now and freeze for later. There may be cobblers in the future, but I doubt it. My husband can devour a gallon of berries in twenty-four hours.
The Sta-n-Step Blueberry Farm is located at 3104 Wildcat Creek Blvd, Fayetteville, AR. It’s near Tontitown. If you want to pick berries, hurry. By mid-July, they'll be gone.
