If you want to create a stir at the Farmers Market in Lawrence, just walk around holding a 1 pound bag of fresh blueberries grown by Charles Edmonds, popping them one or two at a time into your mouth.

Other customers at the market will eye you jealously, wondering where they can get their own supply of the succulent blue beauties that you’re so obviously enjoying.

Then they’ll scan the crowded marketplace, looking for the source of the berries. And, eventually, they’ll make a beeline for the stall that Edmonds sets up out of the back of his truck, with a sign that says C&D Berries.

Trade is always brisk, and the quality of Edmonds’ dark blue, tart-sweet fruit speaks for itself.

“Business is real good. We charge $4.50 a pound for them at the Farmers Market. We’ve sold out completely the last two Saturdays,” says Edmonds, whose farm is 18 miles north of Midland Junction on Wellman Road.

Edmonds, who has lived near Winchester all his life, cultivates about 11/4 acres of blueberries and gooseberries.

Gooseberry picking is over for the year — the season for them ended three or four weeks ago — but this is prime time for picking blueberries.

The harvest generally runs from late June through July, according to Edmonds.

Even though he spends so much time toiling in the berry fields, he still enjoys the fruits of his labor.

Blackberries are about the same size as a peach on Elden and Jan Bailey's farm, which is northeast of Lawrence. The Baileys sell their produce at the Farmers Market in Lawrence. The blackberries are sold for per pint.

“You never get tired of blueberries. We stand there at the market and eat them by the handful. I make my own blueberry syrup to use on pancakes. It’s fantastic,” he says.

Tastes good naturally

Edmonds is one of several growers in the area who bring a variety of fresh berries to sell at the Farmers Market, in the 1000 block of Vermont Street.

They’ll tell you there’s nothing like the taste of locally grown fruit, picked that morning or the day before.

That’s why customers at the market flock each year to buy pounds of gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

Jan Bailey, rural Lawrence, fills a bucket with blackberries from her farm. She picked the blackberries June 30 and said they likely would be available until late August.

Elden and Jan Bailey of Jan’s Produce, eight miles northeast of Lawrence, cultivate 10 acres of fruits and vegetables, including one type of domesticated, thornless blackberry.

They pick them three times a week, harvesting about 200 pints per picking.

“Yep, it’s a bunch. I take them into the Overland Park market, and Jan takes them to the Lawrence market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,” Elden says.

Blackberries grown by Jan’s Produce are sold for $3 per pint. They’ll likely be available until late August.

“I think they’re super good, especially in cobblers, pies, jams and jellies. They’re as big as your thumb,” he says.

Jan Bailey, rural Lawrence, picks some blackberries on her farm. Bailey said she and her husband, Elden, pick the berries about three times a week, harvesting about 200 pints per picking. They sell their produce at the Farmers Market in Lawrence.

Mark Lumpe, owner of Wakarusa Valley Farm, has about an eighth of an acre of strawberries and roughly the same amount of blackberries under cultivation.

Berries are a tough crop.

“The hard part of growing berries in Kansas is you just don’t need those 100 degree days. You need to be vigilant in watering them,” says Lumpe, whose farm is located three miles south of Clinton Lake. “There are people around here who have grown acres and acres (of berries). But a lot of them have closed down.”

Lumpe has sold strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and gooseberries at the Farmers Market in Lawrence. He practices organic farming techniques, which he believes is a factor leading to better-quality produce.

“The soil has a lot to do with the taste. If the soil’s healthier, I think it makes a difference. People that are putting a lot of compost in their soil, it’s got to taste better,” Lumpe says.

Another key to the freshness and ripeness of locally grown berries is that they only have to travel a short distance to market, saving the fruit the distress of lengthy transport.

“If I’m going to pick blueberries and ship them (to another state), you have to pick them green. Then they don’t have the sugar content or the taste,” Edmonds says.

“I have had numerous people tell me they go to the grocery store and buy blueberries, and they don’t even taste like mine. They just do not have all the natural sugars.”

Health benefits

An important selling point of berries, especially those grown locally, is how good they are for you.

Berries are rich in substances called phytochemicals — which lend the fruit their colors — and antioxidants, both of which have health benefits. The phytochemicals found in berries that are blue and purple appear to lower the risk of some cancers, as well as promote a healthy urinary tract.

“All kinds of berries are excellent sources of vitamin C, dietary fiber and manganese. They’re low in calories, there’s no fat and they’re a good source of carbohydrates in the form of simple sugars,” says Susan Krumm, extension agent in family and consumer science with K-State Research and Extension-Douglas County.

Berries are great in salads, desserts, quick breads and muffins, but they’re just as good on their own, too.

“I hope that people are just choosing to eat them fresh on cereals or as a side dish to the main meal, and we don’t always have to add them to other food items that might be higher in calories, fat and sodium,” Krumm says.

“Eat them fresh, and enjoy the flavor of the berries by themselves.”