Boise, ID

Growing up in Western Oregon, summertime meant berry picking time. No sooner had my sister and I finished school and planned to enjoy sleeping in on lazy summer mornings than my mom would rouse us out of our comfy beds, pile us into the car along with a stack of berry boxes, and haul us out to pick strawberries. As much as we might have liked to complain about this free labor endeavor, the fact is that strawberry picking, followed by blueberry, raspberry and blackberry picking and their accompanying adventures, make up some of our fondest childhood summer memories. And as far as free labor, that isn’t entirely accurate since Mom often bribed us with a small monetary compensation for the efforts that landed up in the boxes or buckets, rather than in our tummies. The berry scene is a little different here in Idaho and I had never ventured to check it out. This year, with my kids being just barely old enough to possibly be intrigued by the process, and my mom now living down the street from me, she and I decided to see what The Berry Ranch on Hwy 20/26 in Nampa had to offer.

Arriving just a few minutes before opening time at 10:00, we joined several cars waiting at the gate. Once inside, the man in charge proceeded to issue instructions. The first order of business was the purchase of pre-picked raspberries. Apparently there were only a limited number available so you had to be there first thing if you wanted to buy, and then were limited to one crate until they made sure there were enough to go around. The next instructions were for those of us there for u-pick berries. There is an entrance fee into the field for each person, based on age. This fee is applied toward the price of whatever berries you have picked when you are finished. The price for the berries is determined by how many pounds you pick—the first so many pounds are one price and then the price goes down for the next number of pounds, etc. If this sounds confusing, it kind of is, but there is a chart with a breakdown at the website (www.theberryranch.com).

Finally we were all signed in and ready to hit the field of what are called “Rocky Mountain Blueberries.” These are wild berries, and as we soon found out, are somewhat different from your typical blueberry. They are smaller, more of a reddish-purplish color, and in our opinion, not nearly as good to eat fresh. Inside each berry is one tiny but hard seed, and the berries aren’t terribly sweet. However, we were there to pick so that is what we did for a couple of hours. It was pretty slow going, due to the small size of the berries and the fact that although there were tons of berries on the bushes, many of them were not quite ripe.
As we picked, employees of the ranch walked up and down the rows shaking tin cans containing rocks. They wore long sleeves and we wondered about such a hot, boring job which was presumably to scare the birds away. In the end, however, we concluded that while definitely hot and boring, it was a necessary occupation. The birds wasted no time in swarming down on the bushes and feasting on berries wherever there was no one to scare them off.

As the sun got hotter and the kids got less and less interested in this adventure, we finally decided we had enough to at least pay for the cost of getting into the field. We did, barely, so we finished the transaction and loaded up for a nice air-conditioned ride home. Fortunately, our presumption that the berries would taste fine in muffins and other baked goods proved to be correct, and I now have a nice supply of blueberries packaged and frozen for the winter.

Now I cannot say what strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry picking are like at The Berry Ranch, because my experience is limited to blueberries only. I can tell you that at any given time of year you can call their number and listen to a recording of what is currently available, times, prices, etc. And in case you’re thinking that berry season is over so there’s no point in checking out this place until next year, there are plenty of fall activities that take place there as well, including fall produce, hayrides to the pumpkin fields, etc. They also sell local honey and “homegrown” meat (lamb, pork, beef, and chicken.) Fieldtrips and various festivals are part of The Berry Ranch offerings as well. Again, the website is www.theberryranch.com and the phone number is 466-3860. The Berry Ranch is located on the corner of Hwy 20/26 (which becomes Chinden in Boise) and Franklin in Nampa.