TURTLEPOINT — At least one blueberry picker was waiting early Saturday in a car parked in the Bozberry Farms parking area before the gates opened at the rural Turtlepoint property.
That individual was followed by several dozen more pickers who were eager to be the first to harvest blueberries at the farm on opening day for the 2017 season.
The farm, located at 1699 Rock Run Road off Route 6 and Route 155, is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and has u-pick blueberries for $1.25 per pound. Bozberry Farms signs are located along the routes to provide directions.
Owners Bruce and Brenda Bosworth, who have owned the farm for 11 years, said this year’s crop comprises fat, juicy blueberries of several varieties thanks to the plentiful rain this summer.
“Look at all the cars,” Brenda Bosworth said while looking out over a field where cars parked below the hilltop blueberry patch. Pickers make their way up to the covered stand where they weigh their buckets, or borrow buckets, before catching a ride up the hill on side-by-side all-terrain vehicles driven by staff. After reaching the hilltop, visitors can also enjoy a view of the distant mountains and valleys.
“Bruce said there was already somebody here at 7 a.m. (waiting)” and others waiting at 8:30, Brenda Bosworth said. For his part, Bruce Bosworth said he is pleased with this year’s crop and is also pleased to see many of his regulars return.
“Most everybody who comes here are regulars,” he said, while adding there have been several children brought to experience blueberry picking with their families.
A couple of the early pickers found near the top of the hill were Tim Taylor of Duke Center and his granddaughter, Breanna Holsinger, 12, of Bradford. Taylor said he and his granddaughter have picked blueberries at the farm in the past, but this was their first time to visit on opening day.
“Whenever he comes up here, I come up, too,” Holsinger said of her grandfather.
When asked what they liked best about picking blueberries, Holsinger said she liked “eating the berries” occasionally while she picked.
“If you go down there and your teeth are blue, they’re going to charge you for a pound,” Taylor said to his granddaughter with a laugh.
Others found picking berries during the cloud-covered morning included Ann Gannon of Bradford who said she has visited the farm for a number of years.
“We freeze them and then eat them all year long,” she said. “The grandchildren come and make blueberry muffins.”
Gannon said the overcast day made the picking more pleasant because “the sun isn’t beating down on you.
“I enjoy being out here and doing this,” she added. “And I would tell people it’s a great crop this year.”
Another picker, Marie Petrick of Roulette, and formerly of Olean, N.Y., said she also visits the blueberry farm every year.
“We usually pick between 50 and 70 pounds and freeze them,” she said, noting they travel to the farm several times a season. “Blueberries are healthy and nice on cereal in the morning.”
For more information on the farm, visit bozberryfarms.com.
The farm accepts vouchers for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
