Wilmot Orchards, Blueberries
Wilmot Orchards, an Ontario 'Pick your own Blueberry Farm' is family owned and operated in Newcastle, Ontario by Charles and Judi Stevens. The farm, bordering on Wilmot Creek, provides a healthy outing during the August picking season. So mark your calendars for next summer and be sure to plan a family picking experience at the farm.
While you are there enjoy Appleberries Cafe and the luscious treats available.
Also available on on the Wilmot Orchard's website are some delicious Blueberry Recipes.
Astoria Magazine visited the blueberry patch in spring this year to see what the blueberry blossoms look like. We had heard they are a delicacy for bees. So off we went in to see if we could capture some pictures of the bees enjoying this treat.
It was quite wonderful to watch the honey bees that Wilmot Orchard brings in each year via a local beekkeeper in order to pollinate the crop. The honey bees are true to the name of busy bee! They can be seen eagerly and methodically gathering the nectar. Now the bumblebees, who also find blueberries a particular delicacy go about things differently. They will buzz around a bush and without landing fly off to another one, they are quite choosey or maybe there are so many they just can't choose!
Now wanting to get just the right picture of these little creatures was not as easy as it looks. But I managed to be patient and finally captured the illusive bumblebees.
Charles and Judi Stevens, work hard to make their farm a success and provide the best naturally cultivated highbush large blueberries available in the area. More about the highbush blueberry.
Charles told us about how they have recently discovered that the pollination actually occurs back in the hive, where bees pick up the pollen from other bees and then carry it out to pollinate differernt plants. Nature's ways are so fascinating!
I asked Judi, how they keep the birds from eating all the blueberries? And she replied that they hire a falconer from Golden Creek Bird Farm in Barrie, who comes and lets his birds fly around the blueberry patch for about a day at a time. Other birds apparently send out scouts looking for new fields to eat in and when they find birds of prey in the area, they keep away. "It is fun to watch," she says, "And the falconer's birds are so well trained, they come when he calls after their days work is done."
Of course after seeing all of those blossoms, I just had to go back and pick some blueberries for myself. See the photograph above, actual proof that there were lots of berries. It took no time at all to fill a bucket. After picking, I decided to treat myself to a piece of that wonderful looking cheesecake at Appleberries Cafe, it was scruptuous, especially with the Blueberry Green tea I chose to have with it.
If you missed picking season this year, plan an outing early in August next summer.
See the Wilmot Orchards, Seasonal News Page for details of when they are open and directions.
See more in Ontario Rural Routes.
Article and Photographs by Trina Astor-Stewart
Wilmot Orchards
Appleberries Cafe & Pick your own Blueberries
'in season'.
