Dan &  Carrie of Childs Blueberry Farm welcomes you to experience superbly flavored, pest-free blueberries. Our berries are grown on our 100  acre sustainably farmed, Beyond Organic ranch located on the highest hill in Humphrey in soil never touched by the glaciers @ 2250 feet. Blueberries grow wild on mountain tops like ours and that is one factor  in why these berries taste so good and the bushes grow so well.

So Glad YOU Decided to Visit the Home of the Safest, Pest-Free Fresh and Frozen Childs Blueberries

USA CERTIFIED ORGANIC PRODUCE—99% of corporate mass production organic farms apply Spinosad sprays every 3-5 days by airplane or air blast sprayers and the food should not be eaten for three days after application and it does not wash off easily. They do this because pests did not just go away because they decided to become “organic” and people don’t want a worm in every berry. Washing highly recommended.

IMPORTED CERTIFIED ORGANIC PRODUCE--Certification is often meaningless due to low standards of certification inspection. Most South American labor, where the winter fruit comes from, is exploited and the $3.99 for a 4.4 oz container of winter blueberries translates to $12.49 a pint even though the corporations pay the labor low wages and sometimes exposes these people to unsafe sprays and working conditions.

 CONVENTIONAL or CORPORATE FARMS use herbicides, fungicides and NEONICOTINOIDS insecticides in their mass production of food. These are the machine picked, loss leader box stores dump on the market at different times. The NEONICOTINOIDS enter through the leaf and enter the green berry and as it ripens, protects it from bugs. Harvest, if the rules are followed but are often not, is not allowed for 30 to 42 days after application and residual is high and systemic meaning all the washing in the world may not remove the chemical. No wonder life expectancy is dropping in many parts of the country! NEONICOTINOIDS kill bees and are banned in Europe.

 Frozen “WILD” from Maine sold in box stores labels their berries as wild although they are conventionally farmed sourcing their berries from South America to supplement their supply obtained from Maine. The “wild” moniker makes people think they are organic but they are not. "ALL NATURAL" farm is often a misnomer for "neglected farm". That is a worm in every other berry situation.  This is why so many of the box store frozen organic berries have an off flavor.

Large commercial farms use over the row blueberry harvesters that damage the bush allowing for infection and the need for fungicides--some of which are so toxic, you cannot harvest the fruit for 60 days after application--most often used on products by countries who export their fruit to the USA--sold at a store near you!  

At Childs, "Our pile of prunings is as big as the farmers market end to end each year. We cut the branches and then drag them to the ends of the rows and haul them to a very large bonfire site. This labor on our part ensures a delicious blueberry and minimizes disease in the bushes. This is one of many ways we labor as "hands in the dirt" family farmers to provide you the safest blueberries possible" Dan Childs 

 At Childs Blueberries we use INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) techniques taught by Cornell to minimize the need to spray pesticides. As long as the pheromone traps are clear of pests, we don’t have to spray but if we catch one pest, like preventative medicine, we nip the problem in the bud before it multiplies using the mildest of sprays (derived from chrysanthemum flower) with low residual which washes right off in the rain. The key is to constantly monitor and micromanage the crop and only a small, TRUE family farm can do this. 

The rest of the story--for 52 years we have monitored our field because once you get those little white maggots, it is a bear to get rid of them. It is a time bomb. I get calls every year from people saying, "we picked at so and so farm and when we got home, we found little white worms in them! What should we do? um...pick at our farm next time. Once a farm is infected, the worms hatch into flies and the flies multiple like crazy, then burrow in the soil to emerge next season. The kicker is they have a gestation of 1 to 3 years. That means once a farm is infected, they have to spray after every rainfall and every week for 3 years--4 to be sure to fix the problem. Conglomerate farms spray spinosad (organic certified insecticide) every 5 to 7 days all season. The fruit becomes edible three days after application on the organic food but it is moderate residual, meaning hard to wash off. So, Childs Blueberries has been diligent with our phermone traps, as Cornell University has taught, for 51 years and that is why we are WAY Beyond Organic and far superior to mass produced conventionally farmed fruit. Some organic farms just freeze their berries with the maggots inside--they are certified organic and they are sold in box stores--but, the taste is tainted. I think the way my Dad taught, and Cornell teaches, is much better. We are blueberry specialists. All produce faces this same problem. Support local, small, educated, diligent, family farms--not big business who pretend to care but evidence suggests they care more about one thing...their bottom line! 

We use hardwood sawdust to naturally keep acidity at the optimal levels. We send leaf samples to a laboratory who analyzes them to tell us what fertilizers (Iron, Potassium, Nitrogen, Trace Minerals, etc.) we need to retain the perfect soil for a tasty blueberry. We also irrigate the bushes, keep the fields well weeded and prune extensively. Beside "micro-managing" the field maintenance and upkeep, the blueberries we grow are so sweet because our soil is unique. Our hill top at 2250 feet did not have the soil amalgamated by the glaciers and thus it retained the naturally acidic, unique components that are like heaven on earth to blueberry bushes. Some folks in lowlands have decided they want to grow blueberries and forced the issue by chemically adjusting their soil to try to create the unique soil components which Cooper Hill has naturally but nature is tough to replicate and often the taste of the lowland blueberry is lacking. This soil contributes to Childs Blueberries being “nutrient dense” with all those “miracle berry” wonder components at higher levels than pretty much any berry grown anywhere not to mention a taste that is out of this world!

NUTRIENT DENSE BLUEBERRIES--If you like pest free blueberries, I think Childs Blueberries are some of the best. I would put them up against any blueberry on the planet for taste. Studies show that blueberries grown in the right soil with the right climate and the right organic matter, have substantially more nutrients and anti-oxidants than blueberries grown in the wrong soil--they are "nutrient dense".

SMALL FAMILY FARM MEANS QUALITY AND SAFETY--At Childs Blueberries, we micromanage our fields, continuing to follow Cornell Universities teaching since 1984, by checking pheromone traps daily to monitor for pests. If we catch a pest in one of the traps, we spray with the mildest of sprays where the food can be eaten the next day. It is 200% milder than the spray used on most certified organic produce with less residual. As with preventative medicine, by catching the pest incursion early, we cure it quickly and move on--pest free. For this reason, I believe our way is better and "Beyond Organic". Many times we go years with no spray at all. 

UNIQUE SOIL = UNIQUE FLAVOR--The glaciers stopped about 100 feet down the hill from our farm. One mountain range over is Thunder Rocks in Allegany State Park---also left untouched by the glaciers at the top.  This means the  soil on top of Childs Mountain is perfect for growing blueberries, thus they are nutrient dense--if we plant corn, it grows knee high. The  berries grown in flatlands with the wrong soil type can be chemically adjusted so blueberries will grow but the flavor is just not good and the healthy benefits one desires as an added bonus from a nutrient dense Childs Blueberry is not present and for that matter, neither is the flavor and sweetness.

TASTE THE DIFFERENCE--If you see blueberries and corn or potatoes  planted in the same area then you need to try some of our berries because the two should not grow in the same area.

FREEZING BLUEBERRIES:  place the entire carton of blueberries in the freezer until frozen. Pop the side of the carton and pour into the Bisphenol free, double thick Childs Blueberries freezer bags. Rinse when you take out just before using. We offer quantity discounts during peak season when we can harvest the most berries fast so watch for the limited time specials.

 

INCREASING SHELF LIFE: place a paper towel on the bottom of a bowl, pour in a layer of fruit, add a paper towel and repeat layers until done. Now place loose fitting tin foil over the bowl and refrigerate. This method will increase shelf life significantly.

 

Childs Play No Bake Pie: This is quick, easy and delicious!  Combine 1 c. Childs blueberries and 3/4 c. water in medium sauce pan; simmer 3-4 minutes. Combine 3/4-c. sugar and 3 t. corn starch in a small bowl. Add sugar mixture to blueberries in saucepan; cook over medium heat stirring constantly until syrup is clear and thickened. Stir in 1 T. orange juice...Beat 8 oz. cream cheese until fluffy then add 2 T. orange juice mixing until well blended. Spread cream cheese mixture on to the bottom of a 9" graham cracker shell; cover with 3 c. FRESH Childs blueberries. Top with cooked blueberry mixture. Chill thoroughly and then top with whipped cream. Place a few choice berries on top of the whipped cream for decoration.

 

Blueberry Cobbler: Mix 2 c. flour, 1/2 c sugar, 4 tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. melted butter, ½ tsp. salt, 1 c milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, together on low speed until smooth. Place into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Scatter 1-pint fresh or unthawed blueberries over the batter. Sprinkle with ¾ c. sugar. Pour 1 ½ c. boiling hot water covering everything but do not stir or mix. Carefully place in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30’ Bob Childs of Childs Blueberries favorite.