Apple picking is great during the fall, but what about summer? Blueberries! Some might ask, “Why would I want to pick my own blueberries when I can just head to the grocery store and buy some there?” Well, the answer is easy. They won’t be nearly as fresh and sweet if they’ve been sitting in the produce section, waiting to be taken home and eaten. If you have the option, I recommend heading to a farm and picking them yourself! Not only will you be taking home top notch and fresh produce that you worked “hard” to pick yourself, but you’ll also have a great time doing it!
Santa Barbara Blueberries sits on a 1,000 acre Cattle Ranch in between Gaviota and Buellton, and about 38 miles from Santa Barbara. Their pesticide-free blueberry plants are easy to spot when driving down the 101, but if you’re driving too fast, you’ll miss the turn-off.
When my sister and I visited, we were greeted by a family member who owns the property. He explained the process of picking the blueberries — only pick the really blue ones, not the purple ones, and not the green ones, just the blue ones! You’re given a small metal bucket that holds about 2.5lb of berries if you fill it to the top, which happens a lot quicker than you’d expect. Although blueberry plants sit low to the ground, it’s easy to get caught up and lost in your mission while picking the berries. It’s actually quite therapeutic if you enjoy a focused task with an outcome that includes some type of reward. It’s also quite adorable to watch kids trying to pick the berries, too!
Originally, I told my sister that I wanted to pick fresh blueberries in order to try a new recipe that I found for lemon blueberry bread. The recipe only called for 1 cup of blueberries, so I froze the remaining 2.25lb and will be making smoothies with them during our hot summer days ahead of us. Scroll down to find the recipe and see how my lemon blueberry bread turned out!
Don’t just take my word for it! USA Today chose a few Pick Your Own Farms from around the country to talk about it in their USA Today Travel Experience Weekend section back in March 2015 and named Santa Barbara Blueberries as one of the best. Experience it for yourself!
