In 2004, an acre of blueberries was planted on the southeast facing side of windmill hill at Solana Farms.  Emerald and Jewell were the two varieties that were added to the Solana Farms menagerie of crops.  We had looked forward to large yields of fresh blueberries at the end of May and first of June each year.  We felt that these berries could be used for wine making as well as retail selling.  Soil conditions and weather were not kind to our initial production (at least that was our thought) as it failed to produce in quantities that would serve our personal needs let alone for sale to others. What we did learn from this was that we were not the only ones that looked forward to fresh blueberries in the spring and early summer.  While walking the farm one sunny Sunday and being excited about the prospects that the blueberries were within days of becoming ripe and ready to pick, we noticed a vast gathering of birds that darkened the sky and settled on the acre of berries. Within hours the remaining berries left on that one acre would partially fill a cereal bowl.

     After several failed attempts to thwart the local avian population's efforts to enjoy the fruits of our labor, we finally found the right combination of netting and timing that allowed for the protection from "birds of prey" as well as shelter the plants from the late summer sun.

     We now offer that one acre in late spring for U-Pick-em activity that spans a couple of weekends.  Please follow this website for blueberry ripeness reports and announcements for weekend harvests and picking.

Please contact Joe at 866.406.0956 for the details.