Closed for the season - the frost has hit! The temperature was 22 degrees F at 8:00 pm last night and still dropping. Don't know how low it got, but it was enough to freeze the berries remaining on the bushes and end our 2009 picking season. When I checked this morning the thousands of blueberries left on the bushes were all frozen solid, just like they had been in the freezer. I suppose I shouldn't complain, because having our picking season extend to October 15 is a record for us. But it is sad, nonetheless, to have literally thousands of blueberries still on the bushes and frozen. We'll leave the buckets out on the shed for a while, if anyone wants to come by and pick. Be our guests - picking will be free. Now that the berries have been frozen they will go through a "freeze at night-thaw during the day" cycle which turns them to mush. However, if your goal is to have berries to make jam or jelly, they will be fine. Go for it! This was a very good picking season and it has been a lot of fun. Thank everyone who came by to visit, pick berries, picnic, and share your berry picking experiences with us. We got a late start by two weeks because the wet weather in June and July delayed ripening the berries, and didn't quite make the 4 tons picked we were shooting for. We came close at 3.6 tons, but those two weeks put us behind and we never caught up. Now, even though the berries are still on the bushes, the frost has shut us down and we'll miss the goal. Perhaps next year. Come back to see us next year, and check back to our website. As we get closer to the opening of the 2010 season we'll keep you informed. You are all now allowed to think pumpkins and apples, and soon, we hope, snow!

2009 - Status of Varieties Blue Crop - Picked out Berkeley - Picked out Jersey - Picked out Elliott - Frozen out Little Giant - Picked out Blue Gold - Picked out Colby, the official blueberry greeter dog, romps through the fallen autumn leaves as he awaits his first customer of the day. Surprised two early blueberry pickers one morning on my way out to open up for the day (Sept 26, 2009). They didn't stick around to pick anything though - they could have had all the berries they wanted if they'd have stuck around for folks to see 'em. These are the first moose we've seen in our yard this year so far. The 2009 blueberry picking season continues strong, with the three tons of berries picked so far this season reached by Shirley and Ted Pitas and friend Linda Bisson from North Waterboro, ME on September 10. Here they are shown with Colby the official blueberry greeter dog. (l-r) Ted, Shirley and Linda. Laurie Ettus and her friends, visiting from Framingham, Mass, were the lucky blueberry pickers who brought the total berries picked at Crabtree's Blueberries to two tons so far this season on August 20, 2009! Shown here are (l-r) Steve Luoma, Jennifer Meunier, Laurie Ettus, Corinne Myers, and Jay Lanzafane. Front center is Colby the official blueberry greeter dog. Vackie Kennil and Darby Shea visiting from Minot, Maine were the lucky blueberry pickers who brought the total berries picked at Crabtree's Blueberries to one ton so far this 2009 season! Shown here are Vackie (l), Darby, and Colby the blueberry dog. Cindy Skoolicas (l) and Scott Brubaker from North Baldwin, Maine were the lucky blueberry pickers who brought the total berries picked at Crabtree's Blueberries in 2008 to two tons! Shown here are Cindy, Scott, Colby the official blueberry dog and Allen Crabtree. Taylor Bushnell proposed marriage to Kim Bishop in the blueberry patch on August 21, 2008, and Kim accepted! "We couldn't think of a more romantic location," Bushnell said. Bushnell and Bishop were visiting colleges in Maine from their homes near Portand, Oregon where her father is a blueberry farmer also. A date for the wedding has not yet been set. 2008 was the best year we ever saw for our Blue Crop variety, but 2009 should be better Several groups have brought picnic lunches to make the picking a true summer family outing

Blueberries and Old Books?

We added a new feature to our Crabtree's Collection Old Books website in 2001 and every summer offer Pick-Your-Own Blueberries at our Maine Farmhouse. Stories about of our blueberry operation are linked to this page below. Check out the pictures of our place.

The first varieties of our highbush blueberries ripen around mid-July, and we then open our Pick-Your-Own Blueberry (PYO) operation to the public for the picking season. If you have been following the Maine Farmhouse Journals you know how pleased and proud we are of our old place here (see Bears in the Blueberry Bushes), and the PYO Blueberry operation gives us a chance to share a part of our experience with all of you.

Click on these links to get directions to the farm, our hours of operation and prices, information about the history of blueberries, and tips on picking and storing blueberries as well as links to several blueberry recipe websites. Getting Ready for Blueberry Season tells about some of the work that goes into having big, juicy blueberries for picking. We also have pictures showing what the blueberry patch looks like during the Quiet Seasons of autumn and winter.

Large, juicy blueberries hang in big bunches for easy picking

When we purchased the Farmhouse in August 1998, one of the bonus features was the extensive mature plantings of highbush blueberries in the side field. The former owner, Dot, had planted and nurtured hundreds of highbush blueberry bushes. They are now 25 years old, and bear sweet, juicy blueberries the size of your thumb. The head-high bushes literally bend over under the weight of clusters of berries.

Since 1998 we have doubled the size of the berry patch with new plantings and usually add new bushes every year. We have also installed a drip irrigation system and pamper the bushes with annual pruning, fertilizer twice a year, and regular weeding and mowing. We don't use any pesticides on our bushes and encourage people to each the berries right from the bushes to add to their experience.

We opened the berry patch as a Pick-your-own operation in 2001 and it has become a wonderful experience for hundreds of families every summer. The picking is easy, and the berries are wonderful. There are several different varieties that ripen at different times during the summer, so there are blueberries to pick from mid-July until September most years. We look forward to seeing you during the summer picking season - watch this page to see when the different varieties of highbush blueberries are ripe and ready to pick!

Please call us if you have any questions or suggestions, and we hope to see you at Crabtree's PYO Highbush Blueberries.

We are listed with the State of Maine "Get Real Maine" for PYO Blueberries in Cumberland County.

We are also listed on under Regional Attractions - "Maine Lakes and Mountains Region".

[Blueberry Home Page] [Directions] [Hours and Prices] [About Blueberries] [Blueberry Recipes] [Getting Ready for Blueberry Season] [Colby's Letter to Camp Laurel] [ PYO Blueberries] [Water for the Blueberries] [The Quiet Seasons] [E-mail ] [Crabtree's Collection Home Page]

Maine Blueberry banner and Sebago Map created by Allen F. Crabtree IV

This page was last updated October 15, 2009.

Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Allen Crabtree