Squawk boxes are placed
strategically around the
farm to prevent birds
from pecking at the
berries. They sporadically
produce loud predator
bird calls to bring in
hawks, which scare
off the crows and
other birds.
An Organic Future
New this year, pending organic certification, Jerod added
some organic blueberry containers. There are several rows
of one gallon plants growing in pine bark in the center of
the farm.
The plan is for the farm to be completely organic in three
years. It takes that long to get conventionally farmed land
transitioned into certified organic production. Down South
Blues should have eight acres of organic blueberries by the
2019 harvest.
"We set a start date of when we stopped putting in
conventional products and started using biological inputs,"
said Jerod. "During the process, we take soil samples and
leaf samples and monitor what the plants are doing, and
after three years we can get certified as organic."
Mother Nature’s Surprises
Besides protecting the plants from predators, there is
another unexpected factor that can produce surprises - the
weather.
Hurricane Irma wiped out a good amount of the crop
last September, and most of the farm was flooded.
"We had to stake a bunch of plants and we lost several,"
Jerod said. "In this business, we put a lot of faith in the Lord,
because we can't control the weather ... we just have to be
thankful each year for what we get."
Down South Blues is located at 1291 NE Hansel Ave. in
Arcadia.
This second generation family of farmers pride themselves
on the care and love of their land, their community and quality
blueberries.
For more information visit downsouthbluescorp.com.
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/downsouthbluescorp.com