You-pick blackberries so abundant, Elderslie Farm accepting walk-ins the rest of the week
Elderslie Farm’s owners never know what Mother Nature has planned for their you-pick blackberry brambles each year.
Often — like last year — she’s pretty stingy, and getting a you-pick appointment is next-to impossible. Then, sometimes, she’s in a good mood.
The blackberry brambles at Elderslie Farm, an idyllic farm, dining destination and blackberry bramble at 3501 E. 101st St. owned by George and Katharine Elder, are beyond abundant this year, Katharine said Wednesday.
They’re so abundant, in fact, that instead of people having to fight for you-pick spots, the farm will open up to walk-ins for the rest of this week. That’s something they’ve rarely done since opening the bramble for picking in 2012.
Though people can still reserve you-pick appointments online, they can show up at the farm between 7:30 a.m. and noon Thursday through Sunday unannounced and pick blackberries. The farm is even offering evening picking by appointment this Thursday evening, when it serves a casual meal and drinks on its patio.
Plus, the farm will be accepting pickers on July 4 this year, though those slots might be a bit harder to get, Katharine said. Reservation slots for July 4 will open up online at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning.
“We have a bumper crop this year,” she said. “The berries are beautiful and sweet. The weather has cooperated perfectly, and the brambles are loaded up.”
Katharine said that the farm is in the height of picking on its main bramble, and next week it will start opening the new bramble it added last year. She’s not sure if walk-ins will continue into next week, but it’s possible. Berries will definitely still be available, though.
Pickers pay $25 and get a pail they can fill with the blackberries they pick themselves from the massive bramble. The price of the pail includes one free ride on the farm’s “berry ferry,” an open-air trailer that transports people from the farm to the brambles. Extra berry ferry riders are $3 a person.
After people finish picking, they can visit the farm’s shady outdoor cafe, called Bramble Cafe, which operates from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and serves breakfast items like scones, muffins, pancakes and biscuits and gravy as well as lunch items, including pulled pork tacos, a chicken salad wrap and more.
“The cafe is hopping and adding more blackberry-centric things to the menu,” Katharine said. “We’re just really enjoying the summer.”
Those who want to reserve spots for the rest of this week or for Thursday evening should visit eldersliefarm.com/blackberries and hit the eventbrite link. Reservations for next week’s picks, including on the Fourth of July, will open at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning.
Also, those who want blackberries but don’t want to pick them can buy them already picked at the farm’s market.
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