Potluck Blueberry Farm: Sweet berries and even sweeter memories

Published 7:00 am Friday, July 8, 2022

Perhaps the only thing sweeter than the fruit at Potluck Blueberry Farm is the memories that have been made there through the years. 

Just ask Loretta La Manna, who has run the operation alongside her husband, Robert, for more than 25 years.

“People, they’re wonderful,” she said. “I swear there’s a different breed of people that come to pick blueberries.”

Case in point, La Manna recently watched a blueberry-picking bunch made up of four generations who visited the farm. As a grandfather and his young granddaughter made their way through the five acres of berries, La Manna noticed how the two listened to music, sang and talked to one another.

“And it sounded like they were trying to solve the world’s problems,” La Manna said. “That’s fantastic that a grandfather and his granddaughter could have a conversation. You don’t hear that anymore.”

On another day, a family of 13 showed up to pick together, all dressed in matching T-shirts for the occasion. And through the years, she has watched as kids who once visited in strollers have grown into adults, each year coming back with their family. 

“It’s been fabulous…,” she said. “They’ve been coming back for years now. It’s like family.”

The story behind the blueberry farm dates back to when Robert was transferred to Milledgeville with his company, Northrup Grumman. The couple made the move with their four children, and after living in town for a short time, they eventually found their way to the house they have now called home for 40 years.

“We felt that eventually we would retire here and we wanted something to utilize the land that we had to keep us going in our retirement,” La Manna said.

They originally began a landscape nursery and quickly learned that it was a labor-intensive business, and so they began looking for a different avenue. After reaching out to the local extension office for advice on growing blueberries, they learned that they were fairly low maintenance and would grow well in the soil they had to offer. After trying out some for themselves, they were left with an abundance. 

“We had so many, we thought, why don’t we share?”

And that’s what they’ve been doing ever since.

Through the years, Potluck Blueberry Farm has expanded to include five varieties of U-pick blueberries.

The plants are big and thriving, La Manna said, but she explained that this year the crop was hit with a late frost, causing their early variety to be thin throughout. That’s why La Manna said she didn’t advertise this year with the signs she normally puts out because she knew the crop may be a little “iffy.”

“I didn’t want people coming a long way and then being disappointed, so I have had at least one customer every day and I have not advertised anything,” she said.

And it turns out that the berries have been plentiful enough for all who have visited.

“It’s been enough for everybody that’s shown up here to at least go out of here with some berries in their buckets,” she said. 

While Potluck is typically open by June 15 each year, La Manna said it’s truly up to Mother Nature when blueberry season begins and how long it lasts. It can go as far as the second week of August, but she said that won’t happen this year.

While July is National Blueberry Month, berries stay on the La Mannas’ minds year-round. Though they are a low-maintenance fruit overall, the area they call home must be mowed and kept clear for walkers, and bushes must be pruned occasionally since they are 15 feet high or more. They are fertilized occasionally with an organic fertilizer.

Potluck Blueberry Farm is open seven days a week as long as there are berries from 8 a.m. until sunset. Berries are $8 a gallon, which equates to $1 a pint for those who pick their own berries. For those who order ahead for pick up, the cost is $16 a gallon.

While supermarkets may sell for less, La Manna said there’s something that sets her blueberries apart. 

“Even in the supermarket, they can’t compare to my berries,” she said. “There’s no chemicals on them, and they’re nature’s growth. Everything that happens with them, Mother Nature has control over and I don’t. At some of the big blueberry farms, they pick them with a machine and they can use different chemicals on them to ripen when they want them to ripen, and there’s other things that they do, but, no, I’m not doing that.”

Instead, the five acres behind the La Manna’s home have become a place where their family shares the fruits of their labor with other families. Originally Potluck Nursery, even its name is rooted deeply in that idea.

“When I was growing up, we had a big family,” La Manna said. “There were eight of us, and there was always somebody else hanging out in the house. Mom would be cooking supper, and she’d say, ‘Well, you’re welcome to stay for potluck. Whatever’s in the pot, you’re welcome to share with us,’ and that kind of stuck in my head, and it’s funny because my husband had the same idea, and so it was Potluck, you never know what you’ll find in the pot here. It’s true.”

But it’s always available for sharing with others.

Potluck Blueberry Farm is located just off Ga. Highway 22 at 282 Cox Woodland Road. Those interested should stop by or call ahead at 478-932-5390.