Ripe for the picking: Blueberry farm attracts customers

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — Customers have traveled to the McCann Berry Farm for several decades to pick blueberries.

“Forty years ago next Tuesday we bought this property that is 38 acres with 20-some acres of tillable land,” said Bob McCann, who owns McCann Berry Farm together with his wife, Mary.

“We knew we were going to put in strawberries,” he said at a tour of his farm that was held during the Learning Circle for Women Farmland Owners meeting organized by The Land Conservancy of McHenry County. “We started with one and a half acres of strawberries and that got to be about three acres.”

Bob and Mary were both teachers at that time, so they were available during the summer to manage the pick-your-own berry operation.

“About five years into strawberries, we decided to put in blueberries,” Bob said.

Establishing blueberry plants takes several years.

“Usually the first year you take the blossoms off, so the plants don’t put energy into the fruit crop,” McCann said. “You don’t get many berries until they are 5 to 6 years old and it’s about 10 years before you get a reasonable crop.”

There are six varieties of blueberries growing on three acres of the farm.

“Those plants are 35 years old, in the back the plants are about 25 years old and some of our plants are 10 to 15 years old,” McCann said. “I could easily plant another 10 acres of blueberries and sell them all.”

About five years ago, the McCanns phased out strawberry production.

“Strawberries require a lot of work and the big problem with strawberries here is frost,” he said.

“When there was a threat of frost we would turn the sprinklers on during the night and the flowers would become ice cubes, but as long as the ice is wet, it won’t get colder than 32 degrees.”

“But when it’s all ice, it gets colder than 32 degrees and we loose all the flowers,” he said.

Establishing a berry farm is expensive.

“The blueberry plants are $5 to $8 per plant plus blueberries must have acid soil,” McCann said.

He adds sulfur to the soil to adjust the pH.

“The soil here is about 6.5 pH and blueberries want it to be from 4.5 to 5,” he explained.

“I apply the sulfur to the soil when the leaves are off the plants and it takes six months to two years for it to work,” he said. “I do a pretty detailed soil test about every two years.”

Irrigation is important for blueberry production.

“You don’t have to worry as much about frost with blueberries, so I put in trickle irrigation for the plants,” McCann said. “The tube is buried under the mulch and it drips water about every eight inches.”

This puts the water right at the roots of the plants.

“When they’re making berries, I give them about an inch of water per week,” he said.

Birds are a big problem for blueberry farms.

“We use to put nets over the plants when we had one acre, but I can’t do that with three acres,” McCann said. “So, I spray a product — Avian Control — once a week.”

McCann starts spraying for birds when the plants are in blossom because if the birds eat the blossoms, there will be no blueberries.

“You need to teach the birds that this is not a place they want to be,” he said. “If the birds know there is food, they’ll put up with a lot.”

Another challenge for McCann is the fungal disease — phomopsis.

“Rain spreads the spores around in the spring,” he said. “It will effect the new growth, so we have to cut out the dead branches on a weekly basis.”

Although berry production can be challenging, McCann said, there are also some real rewards.

“I bet every day that we’re open, there are 10 to 15 people come to me and say thank you for having this because they really enjoyed it,” he said.

Blueberry-picking season is from early July until the first week of August. McCann Berry Farm, 18110 Kishwaukee Valley Road, Woodstock, is open Wednesday and Saturday from 8 a.m. until picked out.

For more information about the farm, go to www.mccannberryfarm.com, or call 815-568-8810.