How to select a great blackberry:
How to pick Muscadine grapes:
- Red berries are sour and will stay sour--they will not ripen after picking. More important than the size of the blackberry is the size of the individual "drupes,"--the little round balls that make up the blackberry. The larger they are, the greater the pulp-to-seed ratio, so the juicier the berry.
- If you feel the need to tug on the berry at all, it is not ripe.If you attempt to break the berry stem over at an approximate 90 degree angle (right angle, L-shape) , a fully ripe one will fall into your hand. When that happens you know you just found a perfect one!
- If you wear sunglasses while picking, you just might end up with a whole bucket of red blackberries. Just peek out from under them in the beginning to discover what color berry you need to pick so you get the ones you want.
- We recommend washing the berries before freezing them.
- Pour the washed berries into a 1 lb. plastic clamshell (the kind like we sell strawberries, blackberries, okra, etc. in, or you may have some from Driscoll's strawberries, etc.). The excess water drains out the bottom holes and you can stack these in your freezer with a pan underneath to catch the last drips.
- After the berries are frozen solid, you can hit the container on the cabinet and the berries will all separate from one another. Then pour the berries into a plastic zip-top bag and return them to your freezer.
How to pick Muscadine grapes:
- We currently are producing two varieties of tame Muscadine Grapes: Black "Supreme" and Bronze "Fry," and both are excellent choices for wine, jelly, and eating fresh. These are not at all like the your Grandma's muscadines that grow wild in this area. These tame varieties have a softer flesh and more tender skin, without the acid bite of the wild muscadines. All of our grapes have seeds.
- Grapes should be picked individually, not in clusters.
- Pick each grape at its optimum color, but they will ripen a bit more and get sweeter after picking.
- We do ask that you not eat the grapes, or any other produce here, before you weigh and pay. We work 9 months of the year to be open for you the other 3 months, and this farm is our livelihood.