First of all you have to have a bucket. You will soon want to have a few with you as the berries are so good that you never get enough, especially when you start freezing them, cooking them for jams and sauces or, my favorite, putting them in the blender with various things for a morning liquid breakfast and treat. Anyway, even if your first intention is to just get enough for your breakfast cereal, you will likely get carried away and want more and more and more. We all do!
There are all sorts of bucket carry methods. Some have replaced the bail of the pail with a strap and hooks so they can sling it around their neck, over their shoulder or even around their waist. You can get an adjustable luggage strap, with a heavy shoulder pad and non-slip grip, from the luggage store. It already has the end hooks, which can be attached to the pail, and such a strap can be had about twelve bucks. Just take off the bail and figure a way to attach the hooks to the pail. You can experiment with all sorts of carry arrangements.
Some of the old-timers, like my Pop Pop, used to lace their belt through the pail and just let it hang as they walked around each bush and picked until it was full. He had both hands free to pick that way. Who would ever want to pick with only one hand? That's way too slow! When I was younger I hung the bucket around by neck on a big soft rope. Now I use the luggage strap method and change it around all the time for comfort and utility. I think most people just hold and move the pail or slip one arm through it to the elbow, like you would carry a purse while paying the cashier.
Most folks seem to look for those giant blueberries (or any other berry they are picking) and often leave all the small and ordinary ones. I like the ripest fruit the best, by far. I have been known to go to where the bushes have already been picked a few days earlier and get the ready-to-burst ripe berries. Some scientists say that a fruit is not fully nutritious until the moment it is ready to fall to the ground as a seed carrier. I am that way too. I prefer all my fruit when it is so ripe that I just touch it and it falls into my hands. The complex chemical changes in the plant that turn the fruit into a perfect food for the seed occur just before it falls to earth and that is when I want it for my body's use.
I like the fruit plump, juicy and cool! I eat a LOT as I pick, so for me the very best time of the day to pick is the cool of the early morning, as early as I can arrange it. There is no better way to start the day than picking blueberries in the field and having a belly full of fresh berries for breakfast. I just give the cashier more money to pay for all the berries I eat while picking. My favorite picking fantasy, and one I've luckily enjoyed a few times, is picking at sunrise in a heavy cool dew and staying at it 'till the warming sun has burned off the last of the wetness and I'm full as a tick on a hound dog's ear.
The cool of the evening is another good time to pick, when the sun has had the entire day to nourish the leaves and push that good juice into the berry. I love the feel of the cool air and the warmth of the sun burned soil coming up in my face, when I pick berries in the cool, late, afternoon or early evening! Personally, I am not a middle-of-the-hot-sunny-day picker. Some like it hot. I don't. There is something special about having a couple of full pails of blueberries beside me as I travel home in my vehicle at sunset.
Blueberries are a delight to pick, at Ryan's Blueberry Farm, as they are tended in rows with good walking spaces in-between. The thorns are not a problem like they are on other berries, or some of the wild berries at the edge of fields and woods. At Ryan's I can wear a T-shirt, shorts and even sandals if I want. As I am not a heat of the day picker, I don't need the big straw hat. If you pick middle of the day, to do your berry harvesting, bring a big cool hat and sunscreen.
Some of my favorite times have been when I've picked with children or a friend. I have a bad back so blueberries are nowhere near the trouble that strawberries are! What a relief that is! Still, for berry picking, I like to bring my lightweight folding stool or chair. Nearly weightless folding stools and chairs are available at K-Mart, WallMart or outdoors stores like Sunny's Surplus. In the old days, lots of folks around here used to bring the milking stools with them or even a folding card-table chair to move around the bushes with. They weighed a lot more than my folding stool that I got from a hunting store where they sell them to the dove hunters.
As I am only interested in the ripest of the berries, I only seek those that are deep, dark, and blue all over. They aren't ripe till they are deepest blue. It's that deep blue that has all the miracle ingredients that makes blueberries one of the healthiest foods on earth! Let the immature blueberry-children grow -- leave the unripe ones to ripen is my motto.
Like all fruit that I'm aware of, the ripe berries are ready to fall off the bush and the unripe ones need some pulling and tugging. When the kids are with me, I tell them that if the bush is moving much when they pull the berries, the berries are not ripe. Sure, the unripe berries will get more blue if you set them in the sunlight, even after you pick them. But, I doubt that they are getting all the same nutrients from just the sun that they would be getting on the plant if they stayed there until they were done. The bush ripened ones seem to be a lot sweeter to me.
I look forward to being spoiled again this year, with fresh and nutritious berries from the farm. Those ones in the store just don't make it for me, unless that is all I can get.
Copyright ? 2001-2005 www.jodyhudson.com
Source of Article: www.jodyhudson.com
residential cleaning services Winnetka ..Unfortunately, it has been proved beyond doubt that a large... Read More
Understanding What a Low Cholesterol Diet isBasically, in order to... Read More
The factors that affect the nutritional requirements of an individual... Read More
Most of us are "regular" people. We don't eat the... Read More
Glucosamine is readily produced in the human body and is... Read More
Looking for an easy and natural way increase your vitality... Read More
In a new study published by the American Heart Association,... Read More
Every where you look you see articles or news or... Read More
Come on, guys and gals. Those Trix are for kids.And... Read More
It seems as if the health of America is failing.... Read More
High Fructose Corn SyrupBefore we get to high fructose corn... Read More
Oats (botanical name Avena sativa)An oat is a grass that... Read More
The proliferation of fast food restaurants, convenience stores, and vending... Read More
Carbohydrates - found in grains, breads, pasta, and sugar, as... Read More
Nutrition usually only comes up when people are finally deciding... Read More
1. Enjoy what you eatWhether someone is following the Atkins... Read More
Fat is a nutrient that is a contributor to the... Read More
Biological clockObviously you need biological clock to time and alarm... Read More
Several years ago, Marilyn M. couldn't even spell fibromyalgia.Now she... Read More
They're not only good for you, but they taste good,... Read More
It is believed that cane sugar was discovered before the... Read More
Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing my 6-month old... Read More
At any grocery store in North America right now, there... Read More
A flood of scientific evidence about fish oil points to... Read More
Most of us equate the word diet with calorie reduction.... Read More
high-end home cleaning Highland Park ..Every where you look you see articles or news or... Read More
THE RISKThe primary symptom of acid reflux is obvious to... Read More
Diets concern especially Americans as they do have a "national... Read More
Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the... Read More
It's really hard to believe that something could be worse... Read More
Fire ElementAccording to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) there are five... Read More
In parts 1-4 of this series of articles titled "Take... Read More
The subject of health care itself often seems plagued with... Read More
Nature works mostly on the principle of thing and no... Read More
The debate regarding Fluoride continues to rage, is it good... Read More
How many times have you tried to diet/lose weight in... Read More
Scandinavian fishermen are a healthy bunch. It had long been... Read More
Water is the single most important element for human existence,... Read More
Okay, so you think you are doing pretty well with... Read More
Being vegetarian is one of the greatest things in the... Read More
Studies support the benefits of eating a diet rich in... Read More
Making simple changes to your food diet can help remedy... Read More
Salt was used long before recorded history began. One of... Read More
Increasing the fiber in your diet has been shown to:... Read More
1. Enjoy what you eatWhether someone is following the Atkins... Read More
Understanding What a Low Cholesterol Diet isBasically, in order to... Read More
Did you know the average American gains 5-7 pounds every... Read More
I turned into my parents' driveway in Maryland and parked... Read More
The importance of protein in a healthy diet is well... Read More
Milk is highly underrated. Experts say, America finds itself in... Read More
Nutrition |