Announcing the closure of our U-pick blueberry business

6/19/2020

After much deliberation and with heavy hearts, we are announcing that we are closing the Blue Bee Farm u-pick blueberry business.

We first want to thank all of you for three wonderful years. It has truly been an honor to meet many of you and to be part of your family traditions. However, with the current economic conditions, some staffing challenges, and the growth of our honey bee business, our choice was clear.

When we bought BlueBee Farm in 2017, we knew we had found the perfect place to continue our honey bee business with raising queen bees. With the blueberry plants already here, we had decided to continue the u-pick blueberry operation while we built our honeybee operations. In fact, our bees have been very happy here. This spring they have become extremely prolific and have needed more of our attention than ever before. Because of this, we had to make the hard decision to focus on our original business, the honey bees.
From our family to yours, we wish you all the best in these uncertain times.

Vic, Denise, Kirsten, and Julia
----------------------------------------------
P.s. We know many of you are disappointed. Please keep in mind that Sauvie Island offers several other wonderful blueberry picking opportunities. We hope you will continue to support our fellow farmers here. We recommend that you try:
-Columbia Farms,
-The Pumpkin Patch
-Sauvie Island Farms
-Topaz Farms (formerly Kruger’s)
-Anne Jones also known as Sauvie Island Blueberry Farm.
-Bella Organic Farm

5 Comments

michelle duguma

6/30/2020 06:57:42 am

So sad to see you no longer are open for blueberries. Our family loved coming out to your farm. Could you please tell me what variety was the crop just behind your house? They were so wonderful. Thank you
Michelle

Rachel Lindsey

6/30/2020 11:02:07 am

So bummed to hear. We’ve tried several other farms and decided to keep coming back to Bluebee! your blueberries specifically the variety in the far lower patch by the side of the house. I can’t recall the name but the sweetest ones we’ve found! Would love to know what you’ll do will the blueberries! Would you offer private picking, sell any plants or if your crop will be available for purchase somewhere? I would love to further support your local farm. Thank you, Rachel

Alisa

7/1/2020 09:50:12 am

Congrats on expanding your honey bee adventures. You will be missed!

Ekatrina

7/1/2020 05:05:46 pm

I am sad to see the blueberry side of your business close as well. Please contact me if you are at all interested in selling any of your Legacy blueberry bushes. They are the best! And, I believe the variety the other commenters were asking about -- the ones in the lower field behind the house that fruited a little later in the season. Our family has picked berries on your property for almost 10 years, with my mom making a special trip from Alaska every summer especially for those Legacy berries. We will miss that tradition, but wish you the best.

Things you need to Grow Blueberries link

2/26/2023 08:11:03 am

Now that you know blueberries keep you as healthy as horses, let’s move on to its growing details. The Americans love to enjoy this fruit because it’s a wild fruit, but sometimes it is hard to farm them. What do you actually need?

Location: It is essential to choose a site in your home garden or your garden plot that receives plenty of sunlight for blueberry farming. Blueberry plants don’t love shades. They grow and give fruits only in the bright sun.
Soil pH: The luscious, fierce purple berries love to grow in acidic soil. pH 4-5 is okay for the blueberries. If the soil pH is more than 5, you have to add nitrogen or ammonium sulfate to lower the pH means increasing the acidity and the soil is good to grow. Remember to add the sulfur amendment with soil compost at least six months prior to your blueberry farming. It will help to reduce the pH slowly and effectively.
Soil type: Like other fruits and veggies, blueberries love to grow in loamy soil. These fruits love an organic-rich medium, and the soil should be moist enough but not soggy. However, if your soil is rich with organic residue/ compost, you don’t need to worry for fertilizer. The plant uptakes the nutrients from that compost.
Mulching: Blueberry farming can go right if you mulch the bushes regularly. Remember, the blueberries have a shallow root system. So, make sure they don’t have to compete with the weeds. Try to weed once in a while but not harsh that will harm the berry roots. Mulching can help to hold the moisture of your garden bed, so add 1-4 inches of mulching around your blueberry plant’s root.
Choosing the correct variety: As mentioned earlier, there are three varieties that you can choose for blueberry farming. Hence, these varieties don’t grow everywhere. So, while preparing your garden bed, you can quickly research which blueberry thrives in your zone. To make it easier for you, look at the list down below:

Announcing the closure of our U-pick blueberry business

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