Feeling Blue and Happy
When a vendor at the Dixie Classic Farmers Market told me a couple of weeks ago that she had blueberries from North Carolina, I didn’t quite believe her at first. It was way too early in the Piedmont for blueberries, which usually ripen just in time for July Fourth.
But then she told me she got them from Elizabeth City, in the far eastern part of the state.
Everything ripens in warmer Eastern North Carolina. And I later confirmed that indeed, the blueberry harvest had begun in the warmest parts of the state.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences predicts that 30 million pounds of the berries will be harvested this year. That’s a far cry from last year, when a devastating freeze damaged half of the state’s blueberry crop, not to mention many apple and peach orchards, vineyards and more.
I have a good feeling about this being a good summer for produce. It’s just a hunch, maybe wishful thinking, but my garden really looks great. I also think that this cool and decently moist spring will help plants get a good start for what may be some grueling heat in the months ahead.
The N.C. harvest began May 10. Most N.C. blueberries come from the southeastern part of the state, around Bladen County.
The Piedmont has its share, though. I even planted a few bushes myself this year. Here’s one of them, small and young, but nice and healthy.
My bushes won’t produce much of anything for a while, but I’m anxiously awaiting the day when I can walk out in the yard and eat a few right off the bush.
