NESCOPECK TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- There weren't many complaints at Stemmrich Blueberry Farm in Nescopeck Township Wednesday afternoon, just that folks wished they brought more buckets to store the blueberries, and that there were more hours in the day to pick them.
Stemmrich Blueberry Farm in Luzerne County is officially open for blueberry picking season.
Charlie Stemrich expects it to be a great season and that's good news for pickers craving fresh, homegrown blueberries.
"Come down this weekend, Saturday, if you can get a parking place," Stemrich said.
"I have a delicious blueberry pie recipe, and I need fresh berries," Jackie Lohenitz said.
"During the summer, we always pick fruit. We pick blueberries, strawberries. We picked cherries yesterday. We really like to pick them and freeze them for the whole summer. Then we have smoothies whenever we want," said Isabella Greer.
These two 18 year olds admit it's not too common for teenagers to pick fresh fruit, but they see it becoming more and more popular among their friends to shop local.
"We just met a guy who was telling us tips on how he likes to make his smoothies. They're so plump here, and they're so numerous. It just seems like the best place in the area," Greer said.
Stemrich just put in 1,000 more bushes last spring. You can pick over a dozen varieties of berries from nearly 4,000 bushes.
"Every night at 7 p.m. I update the message then they know if I'm opening the following day. There's times I have to shut down for ripening. It gets picked out. We're very busy here," said Stemrich.
Stemrich says he doesn't want to see the berries dry out, so more rain soon would be a big help, but he says overall, this year's crop is great.
"Rain is definitely good for them. It's not good for other farmers, but it's good for us."
Blueberry season at Stemmrich Blueberry Farm will go until about August. Soon after, peach season begins.