Prime Time for Blackberry Picking & Peaches

   Happy 4th of July, everyone!  Many customers came to pick thornless blackberries over the past few days and this morning, and many of our berries are going into cobblers for today's celebrations.  We're open our usual summer hours (see sidebar at left) this evening, tomorrow and every other day, and there are plenty more thornless blackberries to pick.

Lauren Schmelzer (front), Jacob Daniel (middle) and Mandee Schmelzer (rear) picked 'Natchez' thornless blackberries on Wed. evening July 3, to make a cobbler for July 4th.  Lauren's sister Lindi is one of our workers, who helped prune these blackberry plants a few weeks ago, and helps pick our peaches now.

   'Natchez' thornless blackberries are still very plentiful, and more 'Natchez' will ripen over the next  2 weeks or so.  Many 'Ouachita' thornless blackberries are ripe now also, and 'Apache' berries are starting to ripen.  We'll have lots of blackberries to pick all during July and the first week in Aug.
   All our thornless blackberries cost $2.78 per quart + sales tax, pick-your-own, and are sold pick-your-own only.  We provide containers, and just ask that you return the containers to us for reuse on your next trip to Brenda's Berries.  Please also bring back any peach boxes or other containers you previously got from us.  Chetopa Foods saves cardboard trays for us, which we greatly appreciate.
   We also appreciate it if customers bring us cardboard trays to place their quarts of blackberries on, to bring them home.  Some customers bring plastic or metal trays to place their blackberry quarts on to bring them home, which also helps.  Do NOT bring bowls to dump the berries into, as that damages them, and we want the berries to stay in the quarts you picked them into until you get them home.
   Our workers are now harvesting the last of the 'Surecrop' peaches, and we'll still have these for sale for the next few days.  This early peach variety has wonderful flavor, and it's my favorite early peach for fresh eating.  We finished picking the 'Early Redhaven' trees on Tues. morning July 2, and the last  'Early Redhaven' peaches sold on Wed. morning July 3.
   Next week our workers will start picking 'Blazingstar' peaches, and we'll have those for sale for about 2 weeks.  After that we harvest another 14 different peach varieties, each in its season, that provide a succession of ripening over 2 months.  Each variety ripens over a 10-day to 2-week period.

Next week our workers will start picking these 'Blazingstar' peaches, and we'll have those for sale for about 2 weeks.

   Small amounts of harvested peaches cost $1.30 per pound + tax.  We pick directly into 20-lb. boxes, which I then weigh to exactly 20.0 lbs., so you save $1.00 if you buy a 20-lb. box of peaches for $25.00 + tax.  We also usually have some nice 2nds peaches with rain cracks, limb rubs or other surface damage, which sell for just $0.88 per pound + tax.
   We have harvested peaches for sale in mid-late mornings.  If we don't sell out of harvested peaches in the morning, we have them for sale again during our evening open hours.  So far we've had plenty of peaches for the number of customers coming who want them.
   Please arrive at a time that allows you enough time to finish picking and check out by our closing time.  Thanks.  For payment, we accept cash or checks; NO debit cards or credit cards.  Please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover what you'll buy.
   Our parking areas can fit 3 vehicles between each pair of oak trees (which provide nice shade for your vehicle).  So please pull in straight, fairly close to a tree, or into the middle spot if 2 other vehicles are already parked next to the 2 trees.  That way we'll have enough parking spots for everyone who's coming to get fruit.  Thanks.
   Have your vehicle cleaned out so there's room to put trays of berries and peach boxes or bags.  These fruits travel best in open trays, where they receive air conditioning from the vehicle, not in a car trunk or in an ice chest, so don't take up room in the vehicle with an ice chest.  We keep our cooler at 50 F, ideal for peaches, as they can get chilling injury at temperatures below 50 F or if put directly on ice.  Once you get them home, both blackberries and peaches keep well for 10 days in a refrigerator.