"Know your farmer, know your food." - Anthony DiMeo, Sr.

DiMeo Blueberry Farms is a premier grower of the finest blueberry plants. Our farming family has been producing superior quality blueberry plants for over 100 years and sell direct to both the home gardener and commercial grower. All combined, the DiMeo family owns and operates several of the largest blueberry farms in the world, that all combined total over 1000 acres of blueberry farms in "the blueberry capital of the world" Hammonton, New Jersey.

The original DiMeo family farm was first established around 1895 by Michael DiMeo, the father of Anthony DiMeo, Sr., who immigrated from Sulmona, Italy with nothing more than change in his pocket. His sons, including Frank DiMeo, Anthony DiMeo, Sr., Michael DiMeo, Jr., and William DiMeo went on to builld the various DiMeo Blueberry Farms:

"The purpose of agriculture is not the production of food, but the perfection of human beings." -MF

DiMeo Blueberry Farms - Humble Beginnings

He liked the small town of Hammonton and it's central location to New York, Philadelphia and Atlantic City, but most of all, he was liked the quality of soil and the community.

Michael DiMeo then purchased approximately 35 acres of farmland in Hammonton. He started the family farming operation with only a small blueberry field behind his house and worked out of a little self-made barn. The original DiMeo farm raised blueberries, raspberries, sweet potatoes, and blackberries. Mr. DiMeo eventually evolved it into a much larger family farm as the DiMeo's purchased more farmland during the depths of The Great Depression. Photoed below are Anthony DiMeo, Sr. (far right) and his helpers planting old fashioned yams in hotbeds back in the 1950s. They were making more plants out of secondary potatoes:

"Our heritage is our future." - Michael DiMeo

Michael DiMeo eventually passed the family farm over to his sons, Anthony DiMeo, Sr., Michael DiMeo, Jr., and William DiMeo, who slowly changed the farms operations to exclusively produce blueberries, premium blueberry plants, and large hardy blueberry bushes.

Anthony DiMeo, Sr. began planting hundreds of acres of premium blueberry plants back in the early 1940s. He started out with only about 500 blueberry plants. Over the many decades, Anthony DiMeo, Sr. and his hard working brothers, including Frank DiMeo and Michael DiMeo, Jr. built a strong network of successful blueberry farms that today farms millions of hardy premium blueberry plants and encompasses over 1000 acres of blueberries in the Southern New Jersey Pinelands Region.

Anthony DiMeo, Sr.  "A Blueberry Farming Legend"



Anthony DiMeo, Sr. retired when he was 86 years-old but worked hard on the family farm until almost 90 years-old. He dedicated his entire life to passionately working the family fruit farm as a proud American farmer. His entire life was the farm. He traveled very little but accomplished so much as he grew the family farm with every day of hard work and daily sacrifice. He depended on the farm to provide for the entire family, and it always did, and still does. His idea of farming was quite simple: grow only the finest blueberries and premium blueberry plants and sell at a fair price. Here is a photo of old fashioned blueberry packing line with the antique wooden crates shown and high school girls packing during their summer breaks:

Mr. DiMeo was active in local charity auctions, and he gave to the less fortunate. Back in the 60s, when the DiMeo's grew a couple fields of  "pick your own" strawberries, Mr. DiMeo (second from left), along with another farmer auctioned off his strawberry production for charity:

       

Mr. DiMeo, Sr. ran one of the DiMeo family farms for over 60 years. He is also past president of the Cooperative Fruit Auction Association. He and his wife of 62 years, Mildred Monzo DiMeo, have three children and many grandchildren. The DiMeo farming family has quite an impressive longevity, as DiMeo Sr's mother Nancy DiMeo lived until she was 98 years old. His great-aunt Concetta lived until she was 101 years old. His older brother Joseph DiMeo is currently almost 99 years old. The DiMeo's trust their longevity to healthy living on the family farm to eating only fresh self-grown fruits & vegetables that are safe and pesticide free.
 

DiMeo Farms Family - The Future of Farming

The grandchildren of Mr. & Mrs. Anthony DiMeo, Sr., including Anthony DiMeo III, make up the fourth-generation of the DiMeo blueberry farming family in "the blueberry capital of the world" Hammonton, New Jersey. 

Several intend to continue their grandfathers, and great-grandfathers passion for farming in America and production of high-quality, premium blueberry plants, blueberry bushes and natural blueberry nursery. The blueberry farming legacy in the DiMeo family has passed down from generation to generation. The fourth-generation patriarchs of the DiMeo family, "America's first family of blueberries", that continue both the family farming tradition and legacy. Look at the quality and size of DiMeo (IBF) fresly picked blueberries from one of the farms:

Sometimes when customers come to pick-up blueberry plants at DiMeo Blueberry Farms, they take a tour of the DiMeo family blueberry packing houses. Here are two of our customers (mother & daugher) that drove down to buy over 50 hardy blueberry plants for their own blueberry patch in upstate New York:

"We hope to help you discover sustainable blueberry farming and blueberry growing tips, nostalgic farm antique crafts, safe home-grown farming techniques and other inspiring ways to celebrate the farm spirit."  - Anthony DiMeo, Sr.

"Farming blueberries and growing premium blueberry plants with my grandfather is something that I grew up with and I always loved doing the work."  - Anthony DiMeo III

 

Lessons from the Farm Article by 4th Generation Blueberry Farmer Anthony DiMeo III of DiMeo Farms:

"We will always cultivate exceptional blueberry plants, long-term relationships and innovative solutions to optimize customer success in the field, home, or garden." -DiMeo Blueberry Farms