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If you're picky, this place is for you
By MICHELLE JONES, Times Staff Writer LAND O'LAKES -- This year Brittany Sandlin, 4, wore gloves to pick blackberries. "I got a sticker last year, but I picked it out," the brown-haired, hazel-eyed youngster said. Brittany came with her father, Jack, recently and picked three-fourths of a pound of the dark sweet fruit for $1.50. The fields are open to U-Pick blackberries on Hale Road from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Monday and Friday. Hale Road is north of State Road 54 in Land O'Lakes, east off U.S. 41, or west off Collier Parkway. They will remain open at least until the end of May. Signs direct pickers. Brittany said she was going home to make some blackberry cobbler, pie, gingerbread cookies and blackberry cake. "I'm going to ask my best daddy to help," she said. Betty Franzel, 82, has been opening her 3 acres of blackberries to the public since 1985. "I sold 7,000 pounds last year at $2 a pound," she said. "That was $14,000 gross." The bushes are about a foot apart. Each year the old growth gets cut back by hand, and the new growth bears the berries for the next season. In February she fertilizes with a 4-6-8 mix and in June and October with a 10-10-10. "You got to fertilize in Florida," she said. Her favorite recipe is cobbler: Melt one stick of butter or margarine in a deep casserole dish. Mix one cup sugar, 11/3 cup self-rising flour, and one cup of milk. Pour over the melted butter and add a quart of fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. The last 15 minutes, brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. "Delicious," she says. Franzel believes this year's crop is better than last year's. "They seem to like the dry weather," she said. She suggests pickers bring a hard container to take the berries home in. She supplies the containers for picking and a stick to push some of the branches back to get to some of the hidden berries. She also has cold water to drink and some water and paper towels so pickers can wash their hands. Doris and Stanton Houser of Lutz came to pick a few quarts. "We are pickers from way back," said Doris Houser. "We pick squash, beans and strawberries. But blackberries are a new experience. We saw the sign and here we are." They said they look for the U-Pick ads in the newspapers. "Then we go for it," she said. "Next we are picking corn in Parrish." -- Michelle Jones covers central Pasco community news. She can be reached at (813) 909-4612 or toll free 1-800-333-7505 ext. 4612. Her e-mail address is jones@sptimes.com.
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From the Times |
