By KAREN BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

COBDEN, Ill. — The last strawberry picking ended last weekend in southern Illinois, but red raspberries are ready early, thanks to the recent heat.
Blueberry Hill Farm, on U.S. 51 in Cobden, Ill., is bouncing back from last year’s devastating berry season, when nearly all the berry blooms were destroyed by unseasonable freezing temperatures. Last Friday though, picking crews filled 96 flats with strawberries and then started on red raspberries.
“We’re really loaded this year,” said Gilbert West of the you-pick operation.
The berry season at this Union County, Ill., farm owned by David Stadelbacher lost about 2-3 weeks of strawberry picking because of the long, cold spring delaying fruit development. Then June brought hot temperatures in the low 90s, boosting berry maturation by several days. West figures the region’s growing calendar is nearly back to normal.
What this means is blackberries, blueberries and black raspberries are tracking to be ready around Tuesday, June 24, though West hopes the onset of less hot temperatures might delay picking closer until the June 28 weekend.
“These berries don’t wait on you,” West said. “When they are ready, you have to be ready.”
While Blueberry Hill’s red raspberries are good now, some of the early blackberries could be picked, but he’s saving those as an opportunity for any children coming out the farm over the weekend. The farm’s policy is to allow children to eat as many berries as they can for free while their folks pick some to take home.
“We don’t sell berries here, we sell taste,” West said. “And if you don’t like the way they taste, we’ll give another flat to try.”
Certainly a majority of the Blueberry Hill’s business is for you-pick, but they do take orders from grocers with enough notice to picking crews.
Stadelbacher keeps a giant cooler set 33 degrees F. to stash berries for those who prefer not to pick. This temperature tends to stunt any further ripening. Also for sale are what are called wine berries, those fruits which are just a tad too ripe for retail sale to the public but tend to meet home winemakers’ standards for their use.
There’s much more work at the farm than picking berries for several months of the year. For the Blueberry Hill staff, there is mowing, spreading straw around the canes and shrubs to keep down weeds in summer and insulate in the winter, pruning old growth in the winter and planting in the spring.
A planter cannot be used for all berries. The raspberries, for example, must be hand-planted to ensure they are upright.
“It’s an interesting life here. We enjoy meeting new people and we like to see our regular customers come back each year,” West said.
Blueberry Hill Farms can be reached at 618-893-2397.