Clarksburg has the blues all summer
Earth Friendly farm offers u-pick berries from now until Sept.
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer
The only blues that can rival the sky's hue are about to burst into the summer scene.

JEFF GRANIT staff Millstone farmer Michael Diehl explains how last year's pruning efforts have yielded an abundance of blueberries on each of the 1,500 bushes at Earth Friendly Organic Farm on Old Noah Hunt Road.

The 1,500 bushes at Earth Friendly Organic Farm in the Clarksburg section of Millstone are loaded with blueberries this year, thanks to the warm and dry weather conducive to their pollination and careful attention favorable to their overall health.

Roz Ressner and her partner, Michael Diehl, tend to the 2 acres of bushes themselves, pruning, weeding and mulching from November to March, so people from near and far can pick berries all summer long amid a scenic vista.

Ressner purchased the farm in 2004 from Jim Schmidt, who built the solar passive house and planted 750 blueberry bushes there. The tai chi chuan and yoga teacher, who is also certified in reflexology, said she wasn't particularly looking for a farm and knew little about blueberries when she decided to move out of Lakewood.

Top: A large fishpond is one of the attractions that lure people to Earth Friendly Organic Farm on Old Noah Hunt Road in the Clarksburg section of Millstone. Below: Master gardener and master composter Michael Diehl looks for blooming buds on one of the persimmon trees at the farm.

"I knew nothing about blueberries, except how to eat them," Ressner said. "I did pick huckleberries with my grandmother as a kid."

Diehl had some farming experience, having grown up on a truck farm in Farmingdale where he helped raise cows and vegetables. However, he shelved that part of himself to operate and own the Freehold Music Center in Freehold. Knowing how big the endeavor of running a farm would be, but having fallen in love with the 8-acre property on Old Noah Hunt Road, Ressner took the plunge and purchased the parcel.

The couple quickly learned all of the idiosyncrasies of Dukes, Earliblues, Bluerays, Bluecrops, Herberts and Darrows and everything else they never knew about blueberries from Bill Sciarappa, a Rutgers University extension agent. Sciarappa provided them with documents and books and hands-on lessons for pruning and caring for the bushes.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff

"The plants are rejuvenating," Diehl said "When we first moved here there wasn't any kind of new growth coming up."

Ressner added, "There were 750 when we moved here and now we have 1,500 bushes."

The couple had their first successful upick season in 2005 and later that year planted 750 more bushes, which will reach maturity in one to two more years.

Diehl really reconnected with his farming roots and also became a certified master gardener and master composter. Today, the couple also grows raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and an abundance of vegetables on the farm.

The property is nestled next to a chrysanthemum farm and is lush with peach, apricot, pear, quince, apple, persimmon, paw paw and chestnut trees, a bamboo forest, and a large pond with carp, sunfish, bass, frogs, snapping turtles and a resident muskrat.

Clarabelle and Shadow, two fastlegged and high-pitched guinea hens, and a peep of free-range chickens headed by Jondalar the rooster share the homestead with Ressner and Diehl, who added whimsical touches to the landscape such as a hammock inside of a grotto of grape and kiwi vines, handmade birdhouses along the vegetable garden lined with elephant ears and canna lilies, a trail in the woods, rocking benches near the water and a shady picnic area near the berry bushes.

JEFF GRANIT staff Michael Diehl talks about putting up the hammock in the grotto of grape and kiwi vines.

Despite all of their unique touches, the best part of the farm, Ressner said, is the organic blueberries.

"We do not spray our berries," she said. "We do everything by pruning and want to be as organic as possible and don't use pesticides or herbicides."

Although she sees millions of the little fruits each growing season, Ressner said she still loves blueberries.

"I have a freezer full at the end of each summer and we eat them all year," she said. "Fresh blueberries can't be beat."

Ressner said blueberries are good for providing antioxidants and helping with heart and brain function.

The evidence is mounting as to the health benefits of blueberries. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers rank blueberries among the top antioxidant rich foods. Antioxidants help protect the body against the damaging effects of free radicals as well as cancer and other chronic diseases associated with the aging process. According to the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center, blueberries also slow agerelated loss in mental capacity. The compound that appears responsible for the neuron protection, anthocyanin, gives blueberries their color and might be the key component of the blueberry's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, according to the USDA.

Researchers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick have also identified compounds in blueberries called proanthocyanidins, which promote urinary tract health and reduce the risk of infection by preventing bacteria from adhering to the cells that line the walls of the urinary tract.

Blueberries are also a source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, phenolics and flavonoids and are very low in fat and sodium, according to the USDA.

The health benefits and the simple deliciousness of the berries as well as the natural beauty and fresh air in the area are what keep people coming back to the farm each summer, according to Ressner.

The couple said they enjoy people enjoying their property.

'"I wish everyone could have the same kind of surroundings," Ressner said.

The farm also offers a bed and breakfast, which Schmidt built into a hill on the property in 1984. The contemporary home, which utilizes the temperatures from the greenhouses to heat the premises in the winter, has a solarium and patio overlooking the grounds and light and airy guest rooms with private baths. The couple hosts visitors from across the United States and as far away as Australia who wish to de-stress, energize and renew in their relaxing atmosphere.

The farm also offers jam sessions, where small groups pick berries and learn how to create jams and vinaigrettes from instructor Karen Breuel of Howell, farming lessons for nursery school classes and plein air painting locations.

"I fell in love with Earth Friendly because it was quiet and peaceful, and I hope that everyone who visits will be able to slow down, enjoy each moment and feel enriched when they leave," Ressner said.