Blueberries for juice are put into containers at Echo Springs Blueberry Farm in Brownsboro Friday June 24, 2016. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

AUGUSTA ROBINSON

augustarobinson@tylerpaper.com

 

BROWNSBORO – Arriving early on a Friday morning to the Echo Springs Blueberry Farm in Brownsboro, Mary Lynne Jones, of Flint, was joined by family and a friend as they continued an activity that over the last few years has become a tradition for them.

The group strolled through rows and rows of organic blueberries, carrying large white buckets and picking only the ripest and bluest.

“It’s a fun family outing. We love their blueberries,” Ms. Jones said. “Probably this whole bucket will be eaten plain in less than a couple of weeks.”

The family is among the thousands who are expected to visit the farm – which has about 57 acres of blueberries and 8 acres of blackberries – and pick berries until the season ends July 31.

Ivan and Phyllis Vaseleniuck started Echo Springs Blueberry Farm in 1999. They originally thought purchasing the farm, which was then much smaller, would be a quiet and simple way for them settle down and spend their retirement years.

But the farm’s size and success has grown beyond what they imagined.

“This was a midlife career change,” Mrs. Vaseleniuck said. “We bought the farm thinking it would be a nice quiet way to retire, (but) my husband has a type A personality, so it just had to be better and better.”

The business started out as a purely wholesale operation, but in 2005, the Vaseleniucks opened a retail store named “The Best Little Blueberry Store In Texas” and began offering visitors the chance to pick blueberries.

“I thought it would be really neat to have people come and be able to pick their own berries,” Mrs. Vaseleniuck said. “There is very little to do in this part of East Texas, and it’s like a family outing and adventure for the day.”

Last year, Mrs. Vaseleniuck said around 6,000 visitors came to the farm to shop at the store and pick blueberries.

This year, the farm has offered tours, giving visitors the chance to see a new, state of the art mechanical picker at work in the field.

Visitors also have the chance to see the processing line and learn how only the best blueberries are selected to be placed in cartons and shipped to retailers.

“It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible,” Vaseleniuck said. “The key is you really have to have people who know what they are doing on the line.”

Lots of steps are taken to insure the blueberries are at their peak condition before they are shipped, and much care is taken to ensure the berries are handled perfectly for the individual products they’ll be used in.

Measuring the temperature of the blueberries is also vital in making sure the blueberries are at their best when they arrive to retailers.

“If I let the berry get too warm, then I lose the shelf life by a day,” Vaseleniuck said. “If I do that, retailers will say “‘your berries are soft. Your berries are no good.’”

According to Mrs. Vaseleniuck, one of the farm’s most popular attractions has been the gift shop, which carries a variety of different blueberry foods and offers fresh baked goods, such as scones, muffins, cheesecake and other treats that are made using blueberries and are gluten free and contain no artificial sweeteners.

It also carries a few items that are sold by companies that sell products throughout the world that use blueberries from the farm, such as a lemonade and tea made by Texas Tea Co.

While the Vaseleniucks appreciate the success that Echo Springs Blueberry Farm has enjoyed, they also credit the hard work of the company’s employees. Since 2005, they have provided scholarships for students who work at the farm and meet certain requirements.

They also appreciate their customers and hope all who come are able to have a great experience.

“We hope that they come to pick the blueberries, as well as to have a good time and experience in East Texas,” Mrs. Vaseleniuck said. “A lot of people that come, especially from the mid part of Texas and Dallas, don’t really know the beauty of East Texas.”

“We are hoping that we give them an experience,” she added.

 

IF YOU GO

Echo Springs Blueberry Farm

Where: 7235 FM 607 Brownsboro, Texas 75778

When: 7 a.m.-4 p.m. daily through July 31

Bring: Coolers, hats and sun protection

Don’t Bring: Pets

Information: Visit www.echospringsblueberryfarm.com or call 903-852-5277

 

OTHER NEARBY BLUEBERRY FARMS

Echo Springs Blueberry Farm isn’t the only location in East Texas where people can go and pick their own blueberries. Here are a few other options of places people can go:

 

Blueberry Hill Farms

Where: 10268 FM 314, Edom

When: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through July 31

Bring: Coolers, hats and sun protection

Don’t Bring: Pets

Information: Visit www.blueberryhillfarms.com  or call 903-852-6175

 

Tyler Blueberry Farm

Where: 9628 Plantation Pines Drive, CR 429

When: 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday through July 31

Bring: Coolers, hats and sun protection

Don’t Bring: Pets

Information: Visit www.tylerblueberry.com or call 903-526-4440