In the moments before sunrise, vast rows of blueberry bushes, heavy with fruit, are glazed with dew. Giant hardwood trees, which grow around the edges of the fields, envelop the farm in a peaceful cocoon. As the sun peeks over the treetops, birds sing. Crickets chirp. Frogs croak. The farm’s owners, Dr. Tom Reed and his wife Evangeline, observe this tranquility at The Sanctuary Blueberry Farm every day. “Our goal is for this to be a place that would help people have peace, to take a deep breath and relax,” Evangeline says.
In 2011, Tom (a double-board-certified foot and ankle surgeon) and Evangeline (a homeschooling mom) purchased 70 acres of gently rolling countryside south of Montgomery. They envisioned a Christian retreat, and planned to call it The Sanctuary Retreat Center. At the time, however, Tom and Evangeline lived in The Woodlands, and they found it demanding and time-consuming to manage the retreat center remotely. So, they rethought their plan, walking through their acreage and thinking, “What else can we do with this?”
While walking through the fields, the Reeds reminisced about the days when they took their five young children to pick-your-own blueberry farms. “It was a very special time of the year for us to go out together as a family and pick buckets of delicious blueberries,” Evangeline says. “So,” Tom says, “we decided to start a blueberry farm, but grow the plants differently by making it all organic.” The name, The Sanctuary, seemed appropriate, so it stuck, and the acreage became The Sanctuary Blueberry Farm.
In 2013, the Reeds moved from The Woodlands to their Montgomery property; that fall, they planted 1,000 blueberry bushes, concentrating on heat-tolerant, hybrid varieties such as Premier, Tifblue and Climax. “Tom especially was a big gardener, but this was a much bigger and more complicated effort and took some long-range planning,” Evangeline says. “We didn’t kill them the first year, so we thought, ‘hey, we’re good to go’ and the next year we planted another 3,000.” More followed until finally, the farm had more than 7,000 blueberry bushes growing on approximately 11 acres. As they matured, the bushes began to produce more fresh, sweet, large berries— “unlike anything found at the grocery stores,” Evangeline says.
During the picking seasons of 2016 and 2017, Tom and Evangeline invited friends to help them harvest blueberries, but soon there were more berries than friends and family could pick. In 2018, the couple opened their gates to the public, and local residents began flocking to the farm. With dozens of rows of blueberries spanning 11 acres, visitors can spread out and pick berries while enjoying the rural quiet of the farm. “You are by yourself,” Evangeline says, “even if the parking area is full.”
Evangeline is quick to point out that the farm never uses synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. “We don’t always follow traditional farming advice,” she says. Instead, they use organic fertilizers, such as molasses and fish emulsion, and apply essential oils as needed for pest control. The couple has plans to start a worm farm, which will create richly-fertilized soil for the blueberry plants, and Hive Bee Farm keeps hives on the property to encourage bees to pollinate the many blueberry bushes. “It is financially unfeasible for small farms to go to the expense of becoming certified as organic farms, but The Sanctuary does adhere to organic, bio-dynamic standards. That means ‘in harmony with nature,’” Evangeline explains.
It’s not surprising that Tom and Evangeline are so passionate about organic farming methods. In his medical practice, Tom advocates natural solutions to health problems rather than resorting to medications. In 2019, he published Your Health has been Hijacked, a book that “challenges everything that is out there on health-related topics,” he says. It became a number one best seller in Amazon’s toxicology division just three weeks after its release. “People are searching for the truth,” Tom says, but because it’s hard for readers to know what to believe, his book cites more than 500 references to give credibility to his challenging ideas. Evangeline believes Tom makes things easy to digest. “He can take a complicated subject and make it something you can understand,” she says.
Tom and Evangeline often advocate the power of nature’s own essential plant oils, and are affiliated with Young Living Essential Oils, a 30-year-old company that produces high-quality essential oils and other essential oil-infused nutritional, personal care and household products. “These are not oils that you will find in most stores,” Evangeline says. “They’re pure and highly researched.” The Reeds also host health-related home gatherings to mentor others on how to use essential oils, as well as other healthy lifestyle options for families, pets, gardening, and even pest control.
In addition, the couple is in demand nationwide at seminars, both in person and via Zoom, to teach about natural health, homesteading, healthy lifestyle choices and other pertinent topics. The Reeds’ passion for healthy living is now in its second generation: their son Joshua Reed is the owner of Montgomery Farmers Market, which brings naturally-oriented farmers, ranchers and food manufacturers to Montgomery every Saturday morning. (For more information, visit montgomeryfarmersmarket.com.)
Depending on several variables, blueberries at the farm begin ripening at the end of May or early June, and picking season lasts for five to six weeks. The Sanctuary Blueberry Farm is usually open two or three days during the week for picking, depending on weather, plus Saturdays and Sundays with limited hours. Picking hours during the week are typically 7 a.m. until noon, or 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.; there are additional evening hours on Saturday and often Sunday. Evangeline encourages pickers to check The Sanctuary’s website or Facebook page frequently, as picking days and hours sometimes change. (Google Maps doesn’t always reflect accurate hours.)
Families can park right by the blueberry fields or, during the week, by the barn, which is just a short walk to the fields. Pickers can purchase buckets from the farm—or bring their own—and get right to picking. While children are welcome, Evangeline suggests bringing strollers or wagons for children who may tire of picking before their parents do.
During the 2022 picking season, local residents picked thousands of pounds of blueberries, enough to create countless pies, muffins, pancakes, shakes and dessert toppings; however, Tom and Evangeline promise that the organically-raised berries are temptingly sweet all by themselves.
It brings Tom and Evangeline great joy to observe the pickers’ excitement each year. “You see the smiles on people’s faces,” Tom says. “They know the berries are going to be better than anything they can buy at the store.” Pickers also tell the Reeds that they enjoy visiting the farm because it brings calm to their otherwise busy lives. “Many people have told us that this property does that for them,” Evangeline says. “They just feel more peaceful.”
For more information, visit sanctuaryblueberryfarm.com or facebook.com/TheSanctuaryBlueberryFarm.
Postcards Magazine
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