FRIDAY 5th 10am – 4pm & SATURDAY 6th 8am – 4pm
Location: 710 Glen Huon Rd, Glen Huon. Find it on Google Maps here (don’t be looking for the blackcurrants near the main road, as Google Maps still has them pictured – we grubbed them out years ago).
Once you get to the driveway, follow this:
You can reach me on 0427 536 462
Over 80% of people asked for these days. Sorry to anyone who preferred Sun/Mon but to tell the truth I can do with a couple of days off (I’ve made a 100km round trip twice in the last two days and managed to completely forget the list of things to do that I took with me, both times… Noting that, I suggest you check this page regularly as I’ll probably keep adding things as I remember them…) If you’re dead keen to get your hands on currants but can’t make it on Friday or Saturday, 16kg boxes of frozen currants are still available here and it’ll be a lot easier than picking your own – and being like frozen peas you don’t need to use 16kg all at once.
This is a working farm, and it’s likely that hay-making machinery will be operating nearby. We also run cattle and use electric fences (they’ll be turned off where possible, but it’s always wise to assume they’re on until proven otherwise!), and the farm is bordered by the Huon River. Multiple snakes have been spotted on the property this summer. So, please be mindful and supervise any children.
I suggest bringing:
- stout shoes
- dark clothes (unless you want to wear cooler clothes in the heat, and put up with the purple stains)
- hat
- sunscreen
- sunglasses – not just for the sun, but also to prevent poking yourself in the eye with the currant canes
- some kind of container (like an ice-cream container) threaded with something like shoelaces so you can tie it around your midriff and use both hands for picking (also see below for more ‘fast’ picking tips)
- plenty of water to drink and a cloth to clean your hands with afterwards
You’ll have the use of the outhouse loo on the homestead (it’s a classic old dunny so don’t expect any luxury!) if needed – I’ll be onsite and can direct you as required. This is my parents’ place and they’re fairly private people so while they’re happy for it to be used, do please respect that it’s not an open day on the house and grounds. In future I hope to have purpose-built facilities.
The berries are shriveling but there are plenty left that are in good nick. The main ‘pick your own’ patch is rather riddled with blackberries – I have to recommend that you DON’T eat them as those blackberries have been treated with herbicide in the past (not recently, but still…) Here are some pics:
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This is the pick your own block
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This is fairly representative shot of the mix of good and bad fruit.
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Blackberries – and they are NOT thornless!
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There’s still plenty of good fruit to be found too.
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My mum picked this sample today. She got a kilo in half an hour (she is a rather experienced picker, though!)
It’s highly likely that this patch will be mowed to the ground this year, so you don’t need to respect the bushes. Options for fast harvest include:
- literally stripping the fruit by running your hands up the canes (only the ends have any fruit this anyway, so just focus on the ends)
- bring a tarp/sheet of plastic/plywood/large tray and a short length of poly pipe/garden hose/dowel/whatever – and lay the tarp on the ground underneath the canes, lay a cane over it, and bash it with the pipe.
Both of these methods will obviously give you dry berries as well as good ones, but if you’re just using them for juice this wouldn’t be too bad. The really dry ones have a mealy and/or bitter taste but this is typically overpowered/outweighed by the juicier ones. If you’re planning on using them in something that requires the whole fruit, you’ll need to be more discerning.
If I can get things organised well enough in time, I’ll have bottles of BJ available for purchase too.