Maine Blueberries

Crabtree's Pick-Your-Own Highbush Blueberries

703 Bridgton Road (Route 107)

Sebago, ME 04029-3344

Phone (207) 787-2730

Fax (207) 787-2531

E-Mail crabtree@crabcoll.com

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

2013 Picking Season Ending Early

This has never happened to us before in 12 years of picking, but we are going to close our 2013 picking season early this year. Our last regular day of picking will be Sunday, September 8. The weather the last couple of weeks has not been our friend - several days in a row of hot, humid weather brought the berries to full ripeness on the bushes and then three heavy rain storms and thunderstorms knocked a huge number of these ripened berries to the ground. There are still some Elliott late varieties on the bushes, but it is extremely hard picking.

Normally our season runs well into September and we often have berries for picking until the first hard frost that comes in early October. Not this year, however. I went down this afternoon to pick berries to fill orders for ready-picked berries and had a slow, hard time of it. That means that our customers will be having just as hard a time filling their buckets, so it is time to close things down.

As we always do, we'll leave the berry picking buckets on the side of the shed for a couple of weeks and people are welcome to come and glean the bushes for whatever they can find. There is no charge for this, but you'll need to bring your own containers to take the berries home with you. If you'd like any of the blueberry jams we have at the stand, give us a call and we'll ring some up for you (207-787-2730).

Thank you all for a wonderful season. Not the best in terms of berries picked, but the people and the joy they have picking our blueberries make it wonderful. See you all next year.

Allen and Penny Crabtree

2013 - Status of Varieties

Elliott - Only a few berries left
Jersey - Picked Out
Berkeley - Picked out
Blue Crop - Picked out
Blue Gold - Picked out
Little Giant - Picked out

Martha Blue Davis from Denmark, ME, brought the total berries
picked this season to Two Tons, on August 18, 2013.
She is shown here on the right,
along with Colby the official Blueberry Greeter Dog
and her friend Heidi Lewis.

We reached our first mile-stone of the 2013
Picking Season when notable local author Caroline Grimm
from North Bridgton ME, brought the total berries picked
at Crabtree's Blueberries to one ton so far this season!
We reached this on August 3, 2013 on the ninth day
of picking this year. Shown here with Caroline
is Colby the official blueberry greeter dog
and some pickers who applauded her effort.

What a season this has been! On Sunday,
August 26, 2012 Robin Gosbee brought
the total blueberries picked this season
to four tons! She and her daughters come
regularly to pick at the blueberry farm
and live in Sebago. Robin is shown here
with her 4-ton certificate and Colby the
official blueberry greeter dog.

Blueberry picking continues strong with
three tons of berries picked so far
this 2012 season at Crabtree’s Blueberries
in Sebago. Picking is expected to
continue well into September as the late
variety Elliotts continue to ripen. The
lucky pickers who helped us reach this
benchmark on Saturday, August 11, were
Malcolm and Debbie Barnes of the
Top-of-the-Hill-Grill in Casco. They
are shown here with Colby the official
blueberry greeter dog

On August 2, 2012, Wendy Gaulrapp and her daughter Evi
were the lucky pickers who brought the total berries
picked at Crabtree’s Blueberries in Sebago to two tons
so far this season! She is shown here with Colby the
official blueberry greeter dog.

Al Curns from Bridgton ME, was the lucky blueberry picker
on July 26, 2012 who brought the total berries picked
at Crabtree's Blueberries to one ton so far this season!
It has been a great year for blueberries and the
picking is easy. The first ton benchmark was reached
after only 5 days of picking, with many more predicted
this season. Shown here with Al is Colby the official
blueberry greeter dog

Corin Meehan and Mary Whitworth picked the bucket
that brought our 2011 season
total to three tons of berries picked.
They are shown here with Colby the
official blueberry greeter dog.

Marianne and John Scott picked the bucket
who brought our 2011 season
total to two tons of berries picked.
They are shown here with Colby the
official blueberry greeter dog.

Mimi and Eben Lang were the lucky pickers
who brought our 2011 season
total to one ton of berries picked.
They are shown here with Colby the
official blueberry greeter dog.

Blueberry picking continued strong during the 2010 season. The lucky
pickers who helped us reach the three-ton benchmark on August 28
were Peter and Karen Cutrone from Denmark. Presenting
them with their 3-ton certificate is Stella
Fillmore-Patrick (r) and Colby the official blueberry
greeter dog.

Beth Chagrasulis, a regular blueberry picker
at Crabtree’s Blueberries from Standish
was the lucky picker who brought the total
berries picked to two tons so far this season
on August 3, 2010. She is shown here with
Colby the official blueberry greeter dog.

Grace and Bob Davis from Limington, ME, were the lucky
blueberry pickers on July 25, 2010 who brought the
total berries picked at Crabtree's Blueberries to
one ton so far this season! It has been a great year
for blueberries and the picking is easy. The first ton
benchmark was reached after only 7 days of picking,
with many more tons predicted this season. Shown here
with Grace and Bob is Colby the official blueberry greeter dog

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.

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.

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 about 600 highbush blueberry bushes. They are now more than 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 more than doubled the size of the berry patch with 900 new plantings. 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 eat 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 the end of September most years. It is not unusual to have good blueberry picking into early October, until the first hard frost comes and ends the picking season. 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".

Allen and Penny Crabtree
(207) 787-2730

[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 Sept 6, 2013.