JOHN MORROW, owner of Morrow’s Gourmet Blueberries in Battle Ground, likes to spend cool mornings working in the blueberry field.
TWO-YEAR-OLD Jack Ratigan and Addie Schuver, age 11, both of Portland, went blueberry picking for the first time at Morrow’s Gourmet Blueberries in Battle Ground.
IRINA BAYER of Portland came to the United States from her home country of Kyrgyz, also known as Kurdistan, only ten weeks ago. Along with many first experiences, this was her first foray to pick blueberries.
BATTLE GROUND – Clusters of plump indigo globes dangle temptingly from rows of carefully pruned blueberry bushes at Morrow’s Gourmet Blueberries. Berries are ready early this year, and John and Lura Morrow’s farm is now open for its third year of You Pick harvest.
The Morrows grow five varietals of blueberries, chosen to please a variety of tastes. The hybrid Draper berries have a full bodied flavor and consistently rank at the top in blueberry taste tests. Dukes are a standard grower’s berry, popular for its big, flavorful fruit. Another standard, Bluecrop, is an easy to grow plant that resists frost and fungus while producing ample berries with good flavor. Early Blues are usually the first to ripen, though in this odd year they are coinciding with other varieties. And at the back of the lot is the “persnickety” Spartan, a big, sweet berry which likes just the right amount of sunshine and water.
“You have to pamper them a little,” says Morrow.
Operating a blueberry farm isn’t what the Morrows expected to be doing in their retirement.
“I’m not a farmer, I’m a retired film producer,” said John.
In 2007, the Morrows moved to their acre-and-a-half farmette near Battle Ground expecting to stay a couple of years. Held back by falling real estate prices and a poor market, they began searching for a use for the weedy field beside their house.
John invested several years in research and site preparation before the first bush went into the ground. He points proudly to the rain farm, a catchment system utilizing rainwater running off the roof of a small backyard shop building. Only one inch of rain will yield 700 gallons of water, and the Morrows have 3 tanks holding a total of 4500 gallons of water.
A simple section of PVC pipe allows John to add his secret ingredient, black tea, which he claims grows more vigorous plants and tastier berries. In the Pacific Northwest rainwater can be taken for granted, but John retains a frugal approach to water use from his childhood spent in Africa.
Upon arrival, You Pick customers are provided with a picking bucket, lined with a clear bag to easily tote the day’s crop home. A quick step through a shallow bath disinfects shoes to prevent the common fungus pseudomonas from infecting the plants. The Morrows offer ready hospitality to guests, from blueberry samples and picking advice to cool drinks of water on a hot day in the berry patch.
You Pick blueberries are $2 per pound, and a full flat of already picked berries is $26. The “half and half” sale is a popular option and customers return again and again to take part. The picker leaves half of their berries with the farm, and can purchase the remaining fruit at half price.
The Morrow’s have faced several personal challenges this year. John was diagnosed with lymphoma in April, and received his first chemotherapy treatment the week his wife, Lura, underwent a hip replacement surgery. They credit the ongoing help of friends with getting them through those rough weeks, and they are going into their busy blueberry harvest season with more doctor visits and recovery ahead.
In order to care for their own health, some days blueberry picking will be offered as “Honor Days.” Gates will be open and buckets ready for pickers, and a note will ask guests to weigh their berries and leave payment at the table.
Morrow’s Gourmet Blueberries is located at 24201 NE 142nd Avenue, Battle Ground. They are open Wednesday through Saturday 8 a.m.–7p.m., and other times by appointment. To reach the farm by phone, call (360) 798-6300.
