THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 11, 1995 TAG: 9508090181
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANELLE LA BOUVE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Although the blueberry season is usually over by the end of July, Charles and Sharon Patterson expect to have berries through most of August this year.
By this time last summer, Hickory Blueberry Farm was closed for the season.
``The flock birds came in, swooped down and ate the berries. In an hour they wiped us out,'' Charles Patterson said. ``This year we have berries brimming on our bushes.''
After last year's disaster, the Pattersons took drastic measures to protect their crop.
After investing $2,000 in materials, Charles Patterson spent the better part of the year stringing up lightweight netting over their three acres of blueberry bushes.
Putting up 9-foot wooden supports and stringing the netting didn't end their problems, however.
``We've had to put up the netting three times,'' Patterson said. ``The first time, we didn't install it right. The second time, a storm got it. The latter part of June, a major storm took it down. It took out nine posts and snapped them in two and took the netting and shoved it back to the middle of the field. It was the most sickening feeling I've ever had.''
He has learned to weave strips of bamboo through the edges of the fabric to make the netting more secure. Even with the netting in place, the Pattersons won't become complacent because they know the threat of disaster is still close at hand.
``It's not the 30 or 40 birds who live under the net which pose the threat. Yesterday, about 200 birds were in the soybean field trying to get in,'' he said, pointing to the field adjacent to his berry bushes. ``Some birds know where the holes are. We say, more power to them if they're that smart.''
When the season ends, they'll take the netting down and store it.
``It wouldn't stand up during the winter storms,'' he said. ``Sometimes, I get the feeling we're sitting out here on an air strip.''
Patterson said two pairs of thrashers raised families of baby birds under the netting.
In addition to its practical function, the netting has a certain beauty, too.
``Early in the morning, the netting traps the dew,'' he said. ``It takes on almost a cathedral-like beauty as the sun creates a glint on the water.''
For the past seven years, the Pattersons have beat the heat for their 1,800 blueberry bushes with a drip irrigation system.
``The 1,700 emitters meter out a gallon of water per minute,'' he said. ``We water just about every day. Irrigating gives us a 60-day picking window.''
The Pattersons are still talking about the 1- to 1 1/2-pound elephant garlic and large blackberries they grew earlier in the summer.
``Connoisseurs tell us our blackberries are the best they've ever had,'' he said. MEMO: Hickory Blueberry Farm is located at 929 Head of River Road and is open
seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Picking buckets and take-home
bags are supplied. Blueberries cost $1.20 per pound.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Sharon Patterson checks the blueberries at Hickory Blueberry Farm.
by CNB