Peach and Blackerry Picking @ Great Country Farms

The family and I went to Bluemont, VA to go peach and blackberry picking. Blackberries are one of my favorite fruits and at Great Country Farm they grow their blackberries without any pesticides. It was a hot and sunny day. I had never seen so many peaches in my whole life! After taking a wagon ride out to the peach trees, we were told that yellow peaches were in row 3 and white peaches were in rows 5 & 6. You'd be surprised how many people went into aisles that were not ready to be harvested. Great Country Farm should label the rows, give a warning about the incredible amount of bees and remind children not to climb the trees.

After picking through our stash of peaches, we chose the best eight to take home. Some were firm, others were softer. They all tasted delicious! But before heading home to eat our peaches I had to stop and get some blackberries. I never knew that blackberries were red until ripe.

I walked down three picked-over rows of blackberries. I was melting in the sun and getting more disappointed every few feet I walked. I couldn't find any blackberries. Someone had mentioned that there was another blackberry field somewhere on the other side of the pond. I had no idea where it was, so I picked what I could and walked back to find my hot and dehydrated family.


After returning to the little country store to pay for my U-Picks, some people came up behind my with a whole flat of beautiful, ripe, huge blackberries! I was jealous and had to ask them where they picked them, as I showed them my under-ripe half-full pint container. "On the other side of the pond", they replied. What?! Where was this hidden gem of a field? They told me it was quite a hike and offered to let me top off my container with their over abundance of berries. I was so happy and touched by their kindness. Next year, I'll hike to the "other field", if I can find it!