Ritchie Blackberry Farm, 100 N. Mt. Vernon Rd. Yale, Oklahoma.


Ritchie Blackberry Farm offers fresh BLACKBERRIES during June and July through Oklahoma Farmers' Markets, you pick operations, special orders and wholesale fruit.

2010 Blackberry season is now in full swing!!!

We are open for you-pick on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings. The field is ABSOLUTELY LOADED with beautiful berries!!!

There are more berries now than ever! It is our goal to let more and more people know about our farm and the great berries we have. We want to someday sell all of our crop out of the field to people who come to pick for themselves. No berry is ever better than the one you pick for yourself. When you come for you-pick you get exactly the choicest, freshest fruit you can ever have. There is plenty of shade to sit in if you get tired, and you get to meet lots of other You-Pick enthusiasts.

Many of our paid pickers have returned from last year and we are very thankful for them. Many new people have seen our signs and have come to pick.THANKS to all of you for coming. We are again paying $1.00/ quart to pickers. See the PICKER RULES below to see if it is something you would like to do for some extra money this summer.


The biggest event of this year was building a Blackberry processing house and commercial kitchen. It isn't completed yet, but it is up and has the walkin refrigerator, and a freezer inside. It was great to have a good, cool place to sort and package berries. We now have lots of frozen blackberries to make wine with. Jonathan is working on getting a winery license.



We have decided to extend our 4th of July special. Since it rained alot over the 4th of July weekend, we are going to extend our special price for at least a few more days. We will be selling 1 Gallon of blackberries for $13.00. The field is really loaded so we will be extending the price as long as we can. This is the best price we can give anyone and we hope lots of You-Pickers will take advantage of it. There is no minimum required to get that price. That means if you only want to pick a quart it will be $3.25. If you cannot pick yourself, you can buy prepicked berries at the field for $17.00 a gallon. You will never see that kind of price on blackberries in a grocery store.


Pickers Earn $$$ You Pick Rules

Our History

In the spring of 2006, our sons, David and Jonathan Ritchie decided they wanted to start a vineyard. They wanted to raise grapes, but the old folks have a soft spot for blackberries. Also we were coming out of a couple of very bad drought years, and blackberries are more hardy than grapes, and late Oklahoma freezes don't affect blackberries as badly as grapes. In the spring of 2006 we burned the field and started planting. We sometimes think we have done everything wrong at least once, but we must be learning, because God blessed us with a beautiful field and we had a bountiful harvest in 2008. Now in 2009 we had about 9000 lbs of blackberries this summer even with the hot weather in June. Fortunately we irrigated. After farmers' market sales, and you pick, we still have enough left to produce about 1200 bottles of wine. Come and pick your own and enjoy the peace of the field,(blackberries are never better than right off the vine!), or come and see us at one of the Oklahoma Farmers' Markets listed below.

We have a brochure with an order form included. If you would like to receive one please give us a call or e-mail .

Click on the small pictures on the left to see enlargements. Click the BACK arrow on your browser to return to this page.


Right Hand full of berries. Stick your right hand in and this is what you get. This was taken June 28, 2008. This and the next picture show you just a little of what you can pick standing in one spot.
Left hand full Stick you left hand in and this is what you get.
Blackberry patch in spring 2008 This is a close-up of the Triple Crown Blackberries blooming. We have 3 different varieties of thornless blackberrie, Apache, Ouachita, and Triple Crown. The Apache variety is more up right and produces big long berries. The Ouachita and Triple Crowns are similiar, but the Ouachita plants are more up right, and produce a little earlier than the Triple Crowns. The Triple Crowns are more trailing but HEAVY producers. They all produce an abundance of excellent juicy fruit during June and July.
Blackberry patch in spring 2008 This is a picture looking across the trellises. You can literally see the head of the Ritchie family just visible above the last row.
Triple Crown Blackberries still green in early June 2008. This shows the Triple Crown Blackberries still green in early June 2008, but they were heavy with ripe fruit by July. There are lots of all three varities.
Apache Blackberries turning red June 2008 This shows the apache blackberries turning red. They should be ripe by the 2nd or 3rd week of June.
Green, Red and Black Blackberries on same plant This is a close-up of the Triple Crown Blackberries showing the 3 stages of ripening on the same plant.
Berries on checkered table cloth. A few blackberries on a checkered table cloth to show the size.
Compare size to native blackberries One of our thornless blackberries laying on one of our brochures, along with 8 native thorny blackberries picked nearby.
DeEtta picking berries DeEtta came to pick and pick and pick!
Lucille picking in June 2008 Lucille and DeEtta came together to pick. Lucille says she froze her berries on a cookie sheet and she takes a few out, thaws them and they are just as good as fresh picked.
 Blackberries packaged for sale We package our berries in pints and quarts for resale in stores and at farmers' markets.
July 4 2009 pickers There were several people who braved the rain and came to pick 4 gallons for $40 on the 4th of July. The rain was pretty steady all morning, but there was no lightening and it was cool.
 Bonfire and fireworks on July 4, 2009 In the evening on July 4, 2009 we had a bonfire and fireworks. Seven of the grandkids were there and they loved it.
Just a pan full of berries A pan full of berries taken out on the deck table.
A picker turns in their quarts One of our pickers was counting up their quarts picked.
After the wine tasting party After the wine party the family relaxed under the tent. It was nice weather, and the guest liked the open field.
Just a teaser of things to come in a few years This is a teaser of things to come in a few years. These are cherries picked from one of our Cherry trees. We have transplanted 10 of these cherry trees to the farm and have planted 30 other cherry trees in 2008. We hope to have you pick cherries, both pie cherries and dark red cherries in 3 or 4 years. We have also planted 16 pear trees and 12 plum trees.


Pricing

Farmer's Market price is $4.00 / pint and $7.00 / quart, $26.00/ 1 Gallon, $48.00/ 2 Gallons, $22.00/ each additional gallon.

You Pick price is $3.00 / pint and $5.00 / quart, $16.00/1 Gallon, $30.00/ 2 Gallons, $15/ each additional gallon.

Pre-picked price at the farm is $3.50 / pint and $6.00 / quart, $20.00/1 Gallon, $38.00/ 2 Gallons, $19/ each additional gallon.

Wholesale pricing will be determined by the quantity sold. Call for more information.



YOU PICK schedule.

Customers are allowed to come and pick their own fruit at the farm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday,and Saturday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and noon. Other times can be arranged if you will contact us first. We try to avoid the heat of the day for picking. The field is mowed, and there are no thorns, chiggers or snakes. The plants are trellised so there is very little bending. If for some reason we cannot have a scheduled picking the farm gates will be closed. Please respect the signs and do not enter when no one is available to assist you. Thank you for your cooperation.



Directions to the Farm.

We are located between Yale and Stillwater North of highway 51 on Mt. Vernon Road. Mt. Vernon is 3 miles west of the highway 51 and highway 18 intersection and approximately 13 miles east of Stillwater. There is a Mt. Vernon Street sign on the south side of 51 but you turn North and there is no street sign on the North. The farm is 1/2 mile north of 51 on the west side of Mt. Vernon Rd. There is a sign near the farm gate. There are 2 highway signs, green on the front and silver on the back, one on either side of highway 51, that make Mt. Vernon Rd. easy to find. They are directly across 51 from each other and can be seen from quite a distance. When headed west the green sign on your right says Leaving Pawnee Nation. Turn NORTH on Mt. Vernon just BEFORE the sign. When headed east the green highway sign on your right says Entering Pawnee Nation. Mt. Vernon is the next immediate road going north. Be sure to turn north just EAST of the 2 signs.

If you are coming from Tulsa, you can take the Cimarron expressway, i.e. 412 through Sand Springs, go west to the Keystone Dam exit, after crossing the dam, go west on Highway 51.

If you are coming from Stillwater take 6th street east and you will be on highway 51.

If you are coming from the north or south take highway 18 to the intersection of 18 and 51 and turn west. Mt. Vernon Road is 3 miles west of the intersection.



Oklahoma Farmers' Markets Where You can find Us.

Monday 4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Pearl Farmers' Market, 6th and Peoria Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tuesday 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Downtown Tulsa Farmers' Market, 3rd and Boston Williams Green Tulsa, Oklahoma

Thursday 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Perhaps the Cushing Farmers' Market, Cleveland and Broadway, Cushing, Oklahoma

Saturday 8:00 a.m. - noon Perhaps the Tahlequah Farmers' Market 2111 Mahaney Ave Lutheran Church Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Saturday 8:00 a/m. - noon Bartlesville, Oklahoma Frank Phillips Park, Keeler at FPB


Blackberry Wine.

Jonathan Ritchie experimented making blackberry wine during the late summer and fall of 2008. He used several different recipes, including blackberry champagne type effervescent wine. The family sampled the various recipes and liked several of them. It is no secret that our family doesn't normally drink alcohol, so it is hard for us to tell what is good and what isn't. We have given away several samples to friends and family, and they all seem to like it. All have said they would buy it. Grandpa and Grandma like it best mixed with a little grapefruit juice--- gives it a tangy taste. It also was good to hear that red wine helps ward off Alzheimers disease. At our age we need all the help we can get. We will probably be getting a winery license this fall. If you are interested in trying our wine, send us an email or call one of the numbers below.


Frozen Blackberries.

We are currently building a commercial kitchen where we will have a walk-in refrigerator and walk-in freezer. We are planning on selling frozen berries as long as the crop holds out. We have frozen lots of berries, and if you take out a few at a time and let them thaw, they taste just like fresh berries. They don't go mushy like strawberries.


You may call or fax our land line at 918-358-5363, call our cell phones at 918-605-6226 or 918-636-7214, or e-mail .


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