Joise Gbadamosi’s Blueberry Patch also produced the muscadines grapes she is holding in her hands.
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Above left: A customer picking blueberries — Above right: A sample of the beautiful blueberries harvested at Josie’s farm Bottom: A family shows their blueberry bounty
BLUEBERRY
lmost everybody in Tuskegee calls her the “Blueberry Lady” and for good reason. Josie Gbadamosi grows chemical free blueberries on two and a half acres of her 46-acre farm. While it is primarily a U-pick operation, she also sells pre-picked berries on site, to farmers markets and to local grocery stores. A few years ago Josie herself was picking blueberries as a visitor to this farm. She noticed it needed a little TLC and sought the owner to offer her help in cleaning it up. When she discovered the farm was for sale — she bought it. A California native and retired white-collar professional, Josie is now a manual laborer who loves the land, lifestyle and legacy she is preserving. The farm was developed in the 1980’s as a demonstration site under the direction of Dr. Booker Whatley, Horticulture professor at Tuskegee University and champion of the small farmer. He planned to demonstrate that 25 acres of land with crop diversity, good planning, good management and direct sale to customer could yield $100,000 in annual income. Josie honors the original vision and thinks of her efforts as a restorative project. True to Dr. Whatley’s marketing model, selling directly to
the customer through–U-pick is my primary marketing strategy. “ To ensure the customer has an enjoyable safe experience, emphasis is put on safety and safe handling practices. Rows and bushes are kept cleaned, I supply customers with plastic bag lined picking buckets, make sure they use hand sanitizers before going into the field, have on closed-in shoes, and have on insect repellant. I also encourage use of sun-screen and remind customers not to eat or place berries in their buckets from the ground.” Josie says, “I use the old fashioned bartering concept to help whip the blueberry patch into shape and to maintain it. I am so grateful to family, friends, Tuskegee University staff and students and other volunteers for the help they provide. Without them I would not have been able to make such progress. And of course, for the fruits of their labor they all received lots of blueberries as well as blueberry plants.” Josie is an agrarian entrepreneur. Her goal is to grow her farm into a profitable business and she is steadily moving in that direction. She is also an educator and advocate for healthy eating. She wants to accelerate the organic food movement by persuading people to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into their food regimen. (Continued on next page)
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