Well, another blueberry harvest is over, and though it was better than last years harvest, the drought conditions in our area last year had an impact on the poundage of fruit again this year. It was less than we had hoped for.... but .... this is farming.
I have been farming wild blueberries since 1999, but my passion for wild blueberries started when I was a kid. Like many young people growing up in Maine, I raked blueberries as my summer job in order to buy school clothes for the coming year and attend the annual Blue Hill Fair. But never in a million years did I think I would passionately grow wild blueberries as an adult. Oh sure, I had worked at other jobs, served a tour in the Coast Guard and had other passions in my life, like raising 5 children, but who in their right mind thinks of growing wild blueberries as a passion! (Although, have you ever tasted a fresh, organic and wild Maine blueberry straight out of the field? What's not to be passionate about that!) Some may find it odd that growing wild blueberries could be a passion, but yet, growing organic and wild blueberries is a passion for me. (YES, there is a difference between wild & organic when it comes to growing Maine blueberries, be in touch if you need additional information of this subject.) I truly love what I get to do here and with whom I get to do it with. Trust me, it isn't always easy. I have come to believe that farming never will be. But my daddy always said, "Honey, anything good in life worth having, will be hard work." Daddy was right, and farming certainly ain't for wimps either, as my farm-girl friend once told me, she was right too. We love what we do though, and we are delighted that we are certified organic & grow Wild Maine Blueberries for our value-added products!
Many of you have been eagerly waiting for this announcement ..... We are finally back to dehydrating blueberries again this week. Soon, our Organic Wild Maine Blueberry Powders, Barque Chips, Sprinkles and Blueberry Tea blends will be restocked. Our Wild Leaf harvest is next. We thank you for your patience as we waited to harvest our crop of blueberry fruit and leaves so that we could return to making our value-added products again for you. It will be a couple of months for us to be fully restocked, but we will slowly add more and more items back online as we make our small batches of our value-added products. They will also be available at our retail stores that carry our products which are listed on our website and we will have all our products available at our Farm Store in Stockton Springs which is open Monday through Saturday, 9am-3pm. Unfortunately, we have suspended going to our Farmers Markets that we participate in for now, so if you live in Maine, come see us.
While I am writing, I'd like to let you in on a little secret. I dream of someday expanding our shop so that we can offer more opportunities for Wild Maine Blueberry growers to sell us their organic fruit & leaves at a fair and livable wage, so that we can continue to offer work, at a livable wage, to the amazing people who work here at the farm, all the while providing our customers with a high quality, real & pure product at a responsible price for the work & quality it is! I believe that we can do things differently in farming and that we can pay a living wage and offer a simple, pure and superior product to all those that are desiring better than average from their food & drink choices. I believe that there are so many amazing people out there that want to support farms, farmers, and farm products, that we all can help each other get (and give) what we want, need & desire! Pipe-dream?? I will keep you posted as the dream unfolds. By the way, the purpose in having a livable wage, is so that we can all live well and it is from this place that we can then all take joy in what we do; who we do it with; where we live, work & shop; and in how we care for those we love around us.
If you get a chance, check out this article written by Joyce Kryszak for Down East magazine, https://downeast.com/blueberry-blues/ about what is going on with the Wild Blueberry industry in Maine and the decline in prices for the wild blueberry growers. We are grateful for the mention of our organic wild Maine blueberry products and hope that what we are doing, will be a light that shines hope for other small organic wild blueberry growers in Maine. I am so grateful for ALL the small organic wild Maine blueberry growers who continue to chart the coarse and lay out the ground work for those coming behind us.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to share with you my "Mission of Commitment", to you our customer, in growing organic & wild Maine blueberries. Here is what I pledge to do on my farm. As an organic grower, I will continue to grow wild blueberries organically, without herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and chemicals even if they are organically approved. I will grow them in this manner in consideration of my neighbors, my community, those that work with me, and the living ecology around the land bearing fruit. I will grow enough fruit without jeopardizing the air, water, land and life around my blueberries and this is a reasonable & responsible practice that can be done. I will grow my wild blueberries in line with the plants ability to produce fruit naturally per acre, without stressing the plants and without stressing the environment that surrounds it. I pledge to always do my very best and treat others the way I would want to be treated.
Thank you for being apart of helping me to achieve this pledge. By supporting the work we are doing on our farm, together, we will continue to be a door of hope that others can walk through.
Sincerely,
Theresa Gaffney, Owner
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