UNION COUNTY, Pa. — You can find dozens of blueberry bushes at Bridge Avenue Berries near Allenwood. There are plenty of blueberries to pick from, thanks to the warm temperatures this past winter.
"Our season started early," said owner Harry Jones. "We started picking the last week of June. Normally, we don't start picking until the first week of July, but back in February and March, if everybody remembers, we had those 70-, 80-, and even maybe 90-degree days. The blueberry bushes all woke up; everybody decided it was time to grow."
Jones says the summer weather we've had so far is also great for the blueberries.
"The crop looks really good. We've had a lot of sunshine this year. We've had rain at the right time, so the crop's good. The berries, I'm told, are sweet—I like them, anyway, whether they're sweet or tart. But yeah, the crop looks really nice this year."
Jones says he was a little concerned with our warm winter weather this year.
"Sometimes the plants come into bloom too early. You end up with frost damage on the flowers and then, of course, that impacts your crop. But this year, we were very fortunate that didn't happen. Last year, it did."
Since opening at the end of June, workers say many customers have come by early in the morning to pick blueberries to beat the heat.
"We have an announcement on our Facebook page. You can come as early as 7 in the morning if you want to kind of beat the heat. We can't check you out until 8, but come early to try and beat the heat. We've got a lot of older customers that really can't stand these 95-degree days. We're usually very busy early in the morning and then again in the evening," Jones said.
Bridge Avenue Blueberries is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.