Big berry almost breaks the record

Speaking of blueberries, an Ulster County youth has the bragging rights to growing the largest blueberry in the United States.

That's Zachary Wightman, 12, of Kerhonkson, pictured, right, holding the humongous berry, which you can see is bigger than a quarter. The berry weighs in at 6.8 grams, just two-tenths of a gram shy of making the Guinness Book of World Records. The blueberry was weighed on a certified Mettler Balance Scientific Scale at the Cornell Cooperative Hudson Valley Fruit Laboratory.

Zachary should be proud!

You can see the big berry yourself (if it's still there) at the Ulster County Fair this week.

The horticulture exhibits are my favorite to peruse at the fair — I love seeing what people have grown in their gardens — the tallest sunflower, the biggest pumpkin, beautiful peppers, eggplants and tomatoes — and now, a giant berry!

Zachary, whose family owns Wightman Fruit Farm on Cherrytown Mountain in Kerhonkson, said he is looking forward to next year's crop and hopes to shatter the record for the largest blueberry, which was grown in the United Kingdom, weighing in at 7 grams.

In addition to the various exhibits, there are also many informative sessions at the fair. If you're an avid gardener, like me, you can learn more about local crops at the fair, which is going on this week through Sunday at the fairgrounds on Libertyville Road in New Paltz.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County's Master Gardeners will host Garden Talks in the Horticulture Building at the Ulster County Fair each day at 1:30 p.m.

In addition to the Garden Talks, Master Gardeners will provide fair-goers with state-of-the-art gardening knowledge and information regarding the Master Gardener Program at the Ask the Master Gardener table, also in the Horticulture Building.

If you're looking for something fun to do with the family this weekend, head on over to New Paltz and check out the fair.

It's homegrown fun at its best.

And you just might run into Zachary and his giant blueberry!