All things berry
Summer’s the time for something Berrylicious
Larissa Adams has always loved blackberries—blackberry jam, blackberry cobbler, anything blackberries. So living in an old farmhouse—on land that her father-in-law leased years ago to farm—it was natural for Larissa, who teaches math at Franklin-Simpson High School in Simpson County, to grow several blackberry bushes for her family. She used what she could and sold her extras.
The farm, around 230 acres in Woodburn south of Bowling Green, is mostly leased out now. But they wanted their children to truly experience farm living, so when her husband, Brian, who works in law enforcement, started doing research on a possible farm-centered family enterprise, he told Larissa, “I think the money’s in blueberries.” That’s when 10 bushes of blackberries turned into 6 acres of blueberries. “He’s just one of those people,” Larissa says about her husband, “go big or go home.”
That was eight years ago, and those berry bushes, with the addition of more blackberries and raspberries, have become the foundation of Berrylicious Orchard where you can pick your own or buy picked berries that ripen from May through July.
In addition, seasonal berries are made into Berrylicious pops: popsicles made in flavors of strawberry basil, blueberry lemonade, blueberry fudge, watermelon splash, and blackberry lime sold from a cart at a variety of farmers markets and outdoor events.
“We love it,” Larissa says of berry farming. “It’s been an experience for the kids. Sometimes we wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning” to get work done in the orchard. Son Luke, 13, specializes in mowing. Faith, 12, tends the nursery and sells the popsicles. Grace, 4, just loves the berries.
Find Berrylicious Orchard at 531 Clay Starks Road, Woodburn; reach them at (270) 392-0211 and on Facebook at Berrylicious Orchard. Berries are sold by the pint and gallon. The orchard is open for picking from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 12–6 p.m. Sunday.
