Debbie Snapp
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Kinsey U-Pick Blueberry Farm continues to operate in Jefferson County, even after 40-years of hard work and much success.
Wayne Kinsey works and watches over the blueberries now; two large fields on Kinsey Road, and a smaller one on Highway 90, east on Monticello.
The smaller field isn't picked much anymore, though it was where brothers Wayne and Warren Kinsey began their operation all those years ago.
The brothers began their blueberry endeavors after being invited to attend a presentation offered by representatives of FAMU.
At a small church located off Turkey Scratch Road, in Monticello, the brothers met with FAMU agents who were attempting to inspire a mixture of farming efforts in the area, with a special focus on the raising of blueberries.
FAMU is a college of agriculture and food science, so with a nod from Wayne and Warren, FAMU offered and furnished 300 blueberry plants to begin the operation. Of course, FAMU teachers and students would be involved in studying the growth and care of the delicate and delicious blueberries.
They would come out from time to time to study and help with the operation, take pictures and ask questions. The operation went so well back in the early 1980s, that FAMU used the Kinsey fields for promotional purposes to attract other farms to the program.
Blueberries require a low soil pH acidification level of 4.0-5.5 to thrive. They also require a well-drained and sunny area; making the Kinsey properties perfect for their blueberry farming venture.
Wayne says that he doesn't have to do much with the berries now, as the bushes pretty much take care of themselves. He does a bit of pruning at the beginning of the growing season and occasionally adds fertilizer to the soil every couple of years, but other than that they are on their own.
With good pollination, the berry bushes yield about two to five pounds per bush each year. They should be ready for picking around the third week in May, Wayne says.
Wayne also mentions that he and Warren hand dug all the ponds that surround the berry fields. The fields were all swampland before they started working on their lot of land. Now, they are luscious and green during the berry season.
Wayne and Warren were born and raised just inside the Madison County line. Their father and grandfather were both farmers, so farming just came naturally to the two brothers.
For some time, the Kinsey brothers did build and own the Kwicky Mart, located on Highway 90 at the Highway 257 intersection in Jefferson County; but the brothers sold it a few years back.
Wayne says that there was a time when the blueberries and the local food industry did well, but when the tobacco farmers left the area, the businesses dried up. “We had a good run though,” adds Wayne.
Kinsey U-Pick Blueberry Farm will begin advertising days, times and cost in the Monticello News and Jefferson County Journal as soon as the berries are ready to be picked. Keep a watch and come pick “the best berries in Jefferson County,” says Wayne.
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