Discover Delmarva: Garden of Eden

QUANTICO, Md. – Just outside downtown Salisbury there lies a small family-operated U-Pick blueberry farm. Nestled off a tight country road, you approach the Garden of Eden with its gorgeous blueberry bushes which can be seen as soon as you pull in.

You’re greeted by multiple rows of blueberries and a small farm stand adding to that family feel they’ve kept for over 20 years. Owner, Thomas Calloway says this place has been a staple for his family “I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid, probably twenty-five years ago. I hope that my kids get to bring theirs’ in twenty years.”

Calloway and his wife Cheryl are the new operators of this storied farm, taking over for Mr. Terry Freed and his wife. Calloway says they stepped up to save this local farm “When they decided to retire they trusted us to take it over, and this is our 4th year with it, and we plan to keep doing it for years to come.” As they finish their fourth year there looks to be no end in sight.

Operating this farm is no easy task; making sure this sticks around every summer requires a lot of work. We’re told the Calloway’s are always preparing for the next season to keep The Garden of Eden flourishing, “It’s a long process, starting the day the harvest ends You start preparing for next year,” says Calloway. This requires some long days but he says he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

While there are other limiting factors including extreme heat, frost, or drought they say they’re always on their toes ready for whatever Mother Nature may throw at them. Trimming must occur early since they put their buds on before winter. Calloway explains that trying to trim after the bud is on the plant would lead to no harvest the following year. After visiting, we can assure you no blueberries would be a travesty.

Something WMDT learned about the blueberry growing process is just how unique each berry can be. Calloway provided some insight on it saying, “It just depends on when they’re ripening. We have three different varieties kind of, and the earlier variety always has a little bit bittersweetness to it.” Calloway goes on to explain, “The bigger variety in the middle they’re more sweet juicy what you wanna eat not bake with. It just depends on how much sun or what side of the bush you’re on, if it’s sunshine or shade. They’ll all have a little bit different flavor to them.”

Nothing beats a fresh berry off the bush; The flavor difference is apparent and each one is an adventure. Calloway tells us, they do have some free perks on the farm, “The only thing we don’t charge for is how many you out there, and that is the best part when you get a little kid that comes up with blue all over their lips.”

With the blueberry season ending around the end of July, the owners remind those on Delmarva to get to their farm soon. Their hours are Tuesday-Saturday 8am–5pm and Sunday 8am–12pm weather permitting.

For more information visit their Facebook page.