Lester and Walter's Blueberries

Lester was my friend Walter's father. Everyone who knew him thought of him as a good man because he was a good man. Lester grew up farming in Connecticut during the Depression. While working another job, he bought a plot of land, cleared the woods, and planted. Little by little, an orchard took shape, with apple, peach, pear and plum trees. Grape arbors and beehives defined the margins of the orchard. Everyone in town, including the clerks at the Town Hall, could count on a gift of tomatoes or squash from Lester's vegetable garden. Lester was a member of the local Grange, and his wife, Emily, earned a reputation for fancy decorated cakes and handmade Teddy Bears at the Grange fairs held every summer in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Every part of the farm was tended with loving care, but Lester's true passion was for blueberries. Over a period of almost 40 years, Lester planted blueberries on the hillside beneath the orchard. His blueberry patch grew to over an acre in size. Last weekend, I went to visit Walter and his wife, Kathy. We ended up at Lester's farm.



As a recent college graduate, Walter started his own blueberry business in another town. He believes it was one of the first "Pick Your Own" operations in Connecticut. About the same time, Walter found out about an innovation in pest-control: netting. The net covers the entire berry patch. It takes a huge group of people to put up and take down, but no one seems to mind, since they all get blueberries as a reward for their labors.

Walter explained to me that blueberries as we know them are cultivars, that is, they were adapted from wild blueberries by a man named Covill sometime in the 1920's. Wild blueberries grow close to the ground, while cultivated blueberries grow on tall bushes.

I can't tell you much about the varieties, but there are many. Some of the berries ripen earlier than others, but the bushes keep bearing fruit from early July into September.

Apparently insects don't much care for blueberries, so, besides the net to keep out the birds and the electric fence to keep out the raccoons they don't need a lot of care, aside from pruning in the winter.

In the barn, Walter pointed out Lester's old orchard sprayer. According to Walter, the expression "hit and miss" comes from the way the old engines on these sprayers run, slow down, and spark, with at chunk-a-chunk-a rhythm Walter says he can still "hear" from the old days when he was a kid and his Dad used to run the sprayer.



The label on the sprayer reads: "Stover's Good Engine" and "Freeport, ILL."
I'm guessing that Lester labelled the sprayer when he exhibited it at one of the Grange Fairs. It may have a new home in a museum soon, according to Walter.

It was a beautiful day for picking blueberries. And the blueberries were beautiful.

In case any of you have dreams of a blueberry patch, I asked Walter how long it would take to establish a berry patch for a family. He said that the bushes produce berries in four years, and that if you planted 12 bushes, within seven years, you would "be in high clover." I asked Walter where he got that expression, "in high clover." From Lester, of course.

Josephine wrote:It was a beautiful day for picking blueberries. And the blueberries were beautiful.

In case any of you have dreams of a blueberry patch, I asked Walter how long it would take to establish a berry patch for a family. He said that the bushes produce berries in four years, and that if you planted 12 bushes, within seven years, you would "be in high clover." I asked Walter where he got that expression, "in high clover." From Lester, of course.

A beautiful post, too.

Growing blueberries in the Chicago area will likely require soil additives to lower the pH.

Great post, great story. Thanks!

Gorgeous. I remember picking wild blueberries (which were later put in pancakes and onto shortcakes) with my cousins in Bedford, MA - you do it on all fours, the bushes are so low. I was surprised to find the bushes over my head at a local U-Pick in Michigan - I'd never seen the farmed version.

Josephine wrote:Lester was a member of the local Grange, and his wife, Emily, earned a reputation for fancy decorated cakes and handmade Teddy Bears at the Grange fairs held every summer in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Josephine-

What town is Lester's farm located in? Is it in Litchfield County?

Since Lester's farm is a private family farm, I guess I'd better not identify the town--roving bands of blueberry thieves might be trolling the internet! But for those who live in Connecticut, Walter told me about Rose's Berry Farm in South Glastonbury, CT, where there is a pick-your-own operation. Here is the website: http://www.rosesberryfarm.com/index.htm.

Because Connecticut's land was never well-suited to large-scale commodity agriculture, the tradition of smaller, more sustainable farms is deeply rooted here. Working the Land is a documentary on Connecticut Agriculture that I've been hearing about on CT Public Radio since it came out. I have just purchased a copy, but have not yet seen it.

Another resource is the Connecticut Farm Map maintained by the University of Connecticut. The site has a search function to help you locate farms, nurseries, greenhouses, farmers' markets and so forth.

Josephine wrote:Since Lester's farm is a private family farm, I guess I'd better not identify the town--roving bands of blueberry thieves might be trolling the internet! But for those who live in Connecticut, Walter told me about Rose's Berry Farm in South Glastonbury, CT, where there is a pick-your-own operation. Here is the website: http://www.rosesberryfarm.com/index.htm.

Oh okay - I didn't get from your post that it wasn't a U-pick operation. I just thought it looked familiar (apparently not, as I don't know Lester) and thought I might have been there. Sorry for any confusion!