Willow Brook Blueberry Farm offers visitors a chance to pick their own fruit all summer long
Story by Liz Dodder
Photography by Jennifer Olson
A 10-mile drive east of Arroyo Grande on Huasna Road leads to a serene field of willow trees, a seasonal bubbling creek and more than a thousand blueberry bushes on 1.5 acres. Welcome to Willow Brook Blueberry Farm, so named after its natural beauty, where visitors can pick their own blueberries all summer long.
Though strawberries are San Luis Obispo County’s prized berry crop, blueberries have been a local commodity since the 1990s when special efforts were made to make the crop viable. Blueberries require soil with a lower pH level than the more alkaline California soil. Another problem farmers had to overcome was the likelihood of drought, which the berry did not tolerate well. After a coordinated effort to make this crop possible, blueberries are now grown on more than 5,000 acres of California land, including that of Willow Brook.
Owners Pam and Wayne Snodgrass met and fell in love at Cal Poly, where they majored in home economics and agricultural business management. From there, the couple began working in San Luis Obispo County while raising their family. They always had a dream to farm something fun, raise their kids in the countryside and create a family business in the process. So, they set out to determine the right crop and find some land on which to farm. The search led them to this property in Huasna Valley, which soon became home to the entire Snodgrass clan.
In 2009, they planted the first blueberry plants with the help of their five children — Kyle, Olivia, Noah, Chloe and Luke — and friendly neighbors. “That first year, we had about 15 or 16 kids helping along with their families. And every year, they all came out to help plant new bushes,” Pam remembers. “The kids also worked every summer, as we picked for local grocery stores and farmers’ markets. Working the blueberry farm was these kids’ first job.”
Over 10 years later, the now adult children and their spouses remain hard at work on the farm.
“By the time our summer season hit in 2020, we were ready to harvest our fruit and cautiously open with spacing guidelines,” says Pam. “There was huge demand for CSA boxes, and we supplied the Talley [Farms] CSA boxes with our blueberries. We also started opening on weekends for you-pick, so families could have something to do outside, and also learn about where food comes from.”
There are now two more sons-in-law, whose integration into the family and help on the property became a true blessing after Wayne unexpectedly passed away in 2021. His death almost pushed Pam to close up shop. “This farm was my husband’s baby; he ran it almost all by himself during the off-season,” she says. “The operations were too much for me.” The long list of responsibilities includes weed control, fertilizing, pruning, plus all the maintenance tasks of any farm.
Thankfully, Pam’s children unanimously agreed they could take over the work, and tasks were divvied up to keep the family farm going. Pam’s eldest daughter and son-in-law run the marketing, another child does all the maintenance and the others help with various tasks. The family history of this project is what Pam still loves. “We’ve watched a lot of Huasna Valley neighborhood kids grow up, and move on,” she says. “And now, we get to watch our customers’ families every summer, as they grow up, picking their own blueberries here on our farm. It brings people together; it’s a real community.”
Willow Brook’s you-pick option is available on weekends in the summer. Groups and picnics are also welcome. Watch for special weekends with wood-fired pizza or bring your own picnic.
Blueberry Pizza
Makes 2 personal pizzas
INGREDIENTS
2 rounds naan
Olive oil, as needed
1 cup fresh blueberries
1½ cups mozzarella cheese, grated
½ cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
Honey, as needed
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
Black pepper, freshly ground
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spread both sides of naan lightly with olive oil. Place on baking sheet. Top with fresh blueberries, mozzarella cheese, Gorgonzola cheese, red onion and a drizzle of honey. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 12−14 minutes. Remove from oven, top with basil and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
