Reviews for: Cedar Grove "Blueberry Hill" Farm

I grew up harvesting blueberries for my grandfather in upstate NY. I missed it so much, but I didn't realize that there was a replica up in Hillsborough!

These are mature, prolific bushes with the occasional blackberry plant sneaking in, just like I remember it. The owners do a good job of keeping the surrounding grass mowed, and there's even a bit of a play area for the kiddies. Bring a hat and water if you're going out in mid-day.

I've been coming here for years now, through all the name/owner changes, and it's like going home every time. A treasure in Orange County.

The blueberry plants at Cedar Grove (formerly Philoxenia) are enormous and mature -- some are 8 feet tall and 30 years old. At the height of the season, all you need to do is stake out one bush and you can pick from it all day long. That's how much fruit they produce. The blueberries are enormous, and if you get to a plant that hasn't been touched in a while, you'll be able to pull whole handfuls of ripe, plump ones down. This is where you need to go if you want a lot of blueberries. There are some plants in the sun and some that get more shade, so they will become ripe at different times -- take a walk around and see where the best area is before you start picking.

One thing to know about this farm is that there is another farm directly next to it, so on occasion I've wandered into the other farm while picking. When I went on 7/31/2010, there was a rope divider in some places to keep you on one farm. I've picked at the other farm (name is something like "nice berries") and I don't really have a preference. In past years when I've come at odd times, sometimes one farm will have fruit and the other won't, which is no big deal because they both have an honor system payment booth, and over the last 3 years I've been going, they have charged the same price ($2/pound).

I went to Philoxenia Farm twice last year. Both times were at the end of the season, after weekends, and I feared all the blueberries (or at least all the big sweet ones) would be gone. And both times, after trying a few bushes (which are tree-sized), I found a bush that was still loaded. I made cobblers for weeks, and I filled half my freezer with blueberries, which I used in muffins and pancakes all winter.

Philoxenia Farm is wonderful. It's like a sprawling orchard of blueberry trees. Even with screaming children nearby, it was peaceful for us non-parent types. And the owners were super nice.

Just be careful of the scale. They set it to "zero" the buckets they provide, but inevitably some well-meaning customer re-zeros it with nothing on it, and then you might end up paying for the weight of your bucket if you are not paying attention.