PRAIRIE GROVE -- Berries Unlimited farm located on the western edge of Prairie Grove is expected to have a record crop of blackberries and blueberries this summer.
"We're going to have a huge berry crop this year," said Hare Stuart, chief financial and marketing director for the farm. His wife, Lidia Delafield, is owner.
Stuart said the 20-acre farm located just past Muddy Fork bridge on U.S. 62B has 5,000 blueberry plants and 3,000 blackberry plants that will be ready later this summer.
The blueberries should be ready in three-four weeks and blackberries the middle of June. The farm also has other berries for customers, including honeyberries and strawberries.
Each blueberry or blackberry plant should yield 200-300 berries or five to eight pounds of berries. The plants are developed from tissue culture by Delafield in a closed lab in Prairie Grove and are organically grown without any insecticides or pesticides.
Born in Russia, Delafield worked with the Russian Academy of Sciences before coming to the United States. She has grown honeyberries for more than 40 years. Stuart has grown blueberries since he was a child and the couple put their expertise together for their farm in Prairie Grove.
Berries will be for sale on the farm or customers can pick their own.
Seven years ago, the 20-acre plot west of Prairie Grove was an empty field, with grass seven to eight feet tall.
The Stuarts started Berries Unlimited in 2013 with 30,000 blueberry plants and 45 varieties of berries. The plants were three years old at the time and will reach their maturity in another three years.
Along with the 20-acre farm, Berries Unlimited has another 14 acres nearby and a garden center at 307 E. Graham St., in Prairie Grove. The garden center has flowers, berry plants, vegetables, hanging flower baskets and house plants for sale.
When the farm is 100 percent full, Stuart said it will have 6,000 blueberry plants and 4,000 blackberry plants in production. With 10,000 plants, he said the farm will be producing 50,000 pounds of berries a year that are shipped all across the country and other parts of the world.
Along with the farm, Stuart said the company is starting work on a new project, a walking trail to educate customers and visitors about the Trail of Tears, which followed along the highway going past their farm.
He plans a memorial garden using berry plants named after Indian tribes. Guides will give a history of the tribe as part of a "Trail of Tears" that will go around the perimeter of the farm.
Stuart said when the project is finished, he plans to open it up to classes as another educational tool for schools and preschool programs.
Berries Unlimited ships its berry plants and produce all over the world. It has 24,000 customers in the United States and ships to 600 commercial growers. Growers in countries such as Germany, Scotland, Switzerland and Poland use plants that come from the Prairie Grove farm.
The farm's business grew 126 percent last year in wholesales, Stuart said, though weather has played havoc with the company. The colder, wetter spring means plants are producing later than usual and the farm lost many plants during the flooding last spring.
For more information, go to the website, berriesunlimited.com.
General News on 05/02/2018