Pungo is like a foreign country or a magical land:  you have to commit to travel there.

Over-picked bushes are full of unripe blueberries.

The first time I went blueberry and blackberry picking, I drove there with my ten month old daughter, Loki. Pungo Blueberries is only about twenty miles from my house, but the narrow roads bend slowly through dense woods, wide spreads of horse pastures and vegetable farms, and old houses separated by large yards and lush gardens. It took nearly an hour for us to arrive.

It was early in the morning, so there were only about ten other pickers combing the bushes. Because it was my first time, I had to taste the blueberries to know which bushes had the goods. Blueberry picking has been going on for several weeks now, so many of the bushes were well picked.

Blueberries are native to this continent. They were used for culinary and medicinal purposes by Native Americans, and because of their high levels of antioxidants and other parts of their composition, they have several health benefits including improving eyesight, reducing brain-aging,prevention of urinary tract infection, and possible prevention of diseases like cancer and high cholesterol.

In Pungo, it was one of those yummy summer days when the temperature hit 100 degrees by 10AM, and at 10AM, Loki and I crouched under the shade of a blueberry bush. My daughter dug into the dark ground while I pushed back leaves to find clusters of berries. In an hour and a half, we picked four pounds.

About 8 lbs. of blueberries.

After we bagged our blueberries, one of the ladies from the blueberry counter drove us in a little cart across fields of tomatoes and squash (which, along with a few other crops, are also for sale, pre-picked) to her favorite row of blackberry bushes.

Blackberries have been eaten by humans for thousands of years, and while some species are native to this continent, many of the modern blackberries are hybrids of native and foreign species. Like blueberries, blackberries have been used medicinally for centuries. The berries are high in Vitamin C, and they have been used to treat gastrointestinal issues and mouth sores. The leaves can be dried and used as a tea or added to bath water for a therapeutic effects on the skin.

Picking the blackberries went faster; it’s easier to tell which berries taste good. The ripest berries are fat and dark, and if you touch them gently, they fall into your hand. The bushes are set up differently, so there is no room to hide a baby in the shade. I moved quickly, and in about forty-five minutes, I had four pounds of blackberries. Because I was alone, I listened to other pickers’ conversations.

Blackberries have been eaten and used medicinally since ancient Greece.

“Are the red ones raspberries?”

“No, the red ones are poisonous. Or they can make you sick. I watched this whole Christian thing about it. God said not to eat the red blackberries, but the kids ate them anyway.”

“Mom, a bee attacked me!”

“That’s not a bee it’s a dragonfly.”

“I’m bleeding!”

“It’s blackberry juice.”

Fresh berries are the signature of a Virginia summer. Rinsed and piled in a bowl on my counter, they are the romance of this humid climate.

These last weeks, everything we’ve cooked has had something berry in it. Here are three of my grandmother’s recipes, slightly modified to incorporate more local ingredients. Following the recipes, I’ve included a shopping list of where you can purchase many of the ingredients from a local market.

• Mamaw’s Blueberry Biscuits (Vegan Option)
• Baked Salmon or Tofu with Blackberry BBQ Sauce (Vegan Option)
• Blackberry Heart Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting

Pungo Produce is located at:

1585 N. Muddy Creek Rd.

Virginia Beach, VA 23456

757-426-3276

Available picking hours are 7AM-7PM on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Blueberries and blackberries are $1.79 per pound. Pungo Blueberries supplies buckets for picking and paper bags or cardboard flats to transport the berries home, or, you can bring your own containers. They have been offering “You Pick” berries for almost thirty years, and the picking season usually starts on the 4^th of July weekend and runs through the end of August. Pesticides are not sprayed on the berries or the growing bushes.