Wild Blueberry U-Pick at Big Belle Farm

Wild Blueberry U-Pick

$2.50 per lb
About

The wild blueberry U-pick is owned by Big Belle Farms. Around 8 years ago we purchased 130 acres of land on Mount Young which included 3 blueberry fields. This year we will be harvesting blueberries from the largest field which was previously a farmstead owned by Walter Smith. Old farmsteads have often been converted into wild blueberry fields. Clarence Calder bought old homesteads on Mount Young and was a pioneer in the Nova Scotia blueberry industry. Clarance established 3 large wild blueberry growing areas on Mount Young, one of which was on our parcel of land. We are testing out the idea of hosting a u-pick at Blueberry Hill (Walter Smith's old farmstead) because we won't be able to pick the full crop ourselves and would hate to see great crop go to waste. We have not applied any sprays or chemicals to the land since we purchased it so the berries can be considered "organic". Donny Campbell was the only person who lived on Melrose Hill Road and said the view atop Blueberry Hill was his favorite. We hope that you not only enjoy the blueberries on Blueberry Hill but also the view.

Where the U-Pick is located

The image below identifies all the different roads leading to the Blueberry Hill field. The section of Melrose Hill Road that is highlighted in blue is the recommended route to get there (note the Enter and Exit labels) as it is the shortest distance from a main road (2.7 km) and the quality of this section of Melrose Hill Road is the best and is suitable for trucks and higher clearance vehicles like an SUV. You can enter Melrose Hill Road from the Stoney River Bridge in Hillsborough but that section of Melrose Hill Road to the Blueberry Hill field is only passable by ATV/UTV or truck. The same is true for other roads leading to the Blueberry Hill U-Pick.

Navigating the U-Pick Field

We have mowed paths and parking areas in the Blueberry Hill field. The blueberries do not grow on the lower flat areas of the field, they grow towards the higher parts of the field. When you arrive in the field, there is a mowed parking area at the entrance. You can choose to park here and walk in with your containers and other supplies. You can also drive along our two mowed paths and park your vehicle closer to where the blueberries grow.

If you want to park closer to where the blueberries grow, can drive your vehicle along a mowed path that is 1) straight ahead from the entrance, or 2) to the right of the entrance.

The straight ahead path leads to the top of the Blueberry Hill field. At the base of an incline leading to the top of the field there is a mowed parking area where you can park your vehicle if you don't want to tackle the inclined part. You may need a 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive vehicle to follow the inclined path to the top of Blueberry Hill field. At the very end of the "straight ahead" path is a parking area beside a forest where you can also park your vehicle. Blueberries can be picked on either side of the mowed path starting around a fourth of the way up the inclined part of the hill.

The path to your right stays on lower ground and it is less challenging to drive a vehicle to where blueberries grow. Along this path there is a mowed parking area where you can park your vehicle. The mowed path continues past the parking area to the right most part of the blueberry field and you can pick berries between this road and the forested area above.

Bring your own containers and weighing the berries

We encourage you to bring your own containers for blueberries but use our containers to measure how many blueberries you picked. We will leave some 38 fl oz containers near the entrance that you can use to guage how much you are picking will cost. If you fill the 38 oz container to overflowing it will be around $4.50 per container. If you fill the container to level with the top then it will be around $4.00 per container of blueberries. You can just let us know how many containers you picked and how much you filled them to arive at cost. Note: We want our containers back :-)

We will also have a scale on hand to measure the weight of what you picked. An accurate measurement requires subtracting the weight of your container from the combined weight of the container and berries. This is bit more work but is not a big deal if necessary.

If I'm not there to greet you

When you arrive I may not be there to greet you. I may be harvesting myself or working on other parts of the property. You do not have to wait to greet me in order to start picking. I will be checking in regularly on the blueberry field and will touch base before you leave to collect payment, preferably in cash. You can predict what you might harvest and pay in advance of picking the berries (e.g., 5 filled but not heaping 38 oz containers for $20).

Harvesting larger amounts of blueberries

If you want to harvest a larger amount of blueberries, say 30 lbs or more to make some blueberry wine, then I can supply you with a harvesting rake or manual walk-behind harvester to speed up harvesting. I can also start up my field clearner to help clean your berries. It doesn't do a perfect cleaning job, but it does a good enough job for making wine (also recommend a bit of quick hand picking of grass/leaves/insects/unripe blueberries before and after the berries are field cleaned and dumped into your cooler(s) for transport). If you are interested in harvesting a larger amount of blueberries contact me at the email below before you come so I can set you up on arrival.

Make it a Nature Outing

Blueberry Hill offers a panorama of great views from Lake Ainsley to the Atlantic Ocean. Maybe you want to combine blueberry picking with a picnic, walking the nearby roads, or exploring the area with an atv/utv/truck. Blueberry Hill is at the convergence of Mount Young Road, Miller Road, and Melrose Hill Road. We also have a significant forest road through our 130 acre property. This makes Blueberry Hill a unique launch pad to explore a variety of wilderness areas far from the maddening crowd.

A note on location names

When I grew up, Mount Young was the name we gave to the area where our blueberry fields are located. Google Maps seems to prefer the name Melrose Hill, perhaps because the road leading to it is called Melrose Hill Road. Mount Young Road is an exit off Melrose Hill Road leading towards Blackstone and I suspect Google is more likely to say Mount Young is the area that resides next to the road between Melrose Hill Road and Blackstone Road. Instagram and Facebook don't recognize Mount Young as a place name in Nova Scotia, so when I label the location of the U-Pick in their apps my only option is to select Melrose Hill. Melrose Hill makes some sense but for those who grew up in the area, Mount Young is likely the preferred label for the area where the upick resides.

Questions?

https://www.facebook.com/bigbellefarm