Picking the Season's Blueberries
Plump, juicy and sweet with vibrant colors from red to the deepest purple-black, blueberries are one of nature’s finest treasures. And, here at my Bedford, New York farm, the blueberry bushes are covered with delicious fruits.
We've been picking lots of blueberries this season. I love to use them for jams, jellies, and pies, but they’re also wonderful in pancakes, cobblers and of course, in handfuls on their own. Low in fat, yet packed with vitamin-C and antioxidants, it’s not surprising they’re one of America’s favorite fruits to eat.
Last Friday, before leaving for a busy day at QVC, we picked several boxes of delicious blueberries. Here are some photos of my patch and our bountiful harvest. Enjoy.
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- Blueberries are among the most popular berries for eating. Here in the United States, they are second only to strawberries.
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- Blueberries, cranberries and concord grapes are the only three fruits native to North America.
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- My blueberry bushes are located near my Equipment Barn, next to my grove of quince trees. For most of the year, these healthy bushes are left open under this large pergola.
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- But just before the bushes are laden with fruits, we place a net over the pergola to protect the developing berries from all the birds. Here’s Fernando in mid June as he draped the net and arranged it from the top.
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- The netting covers the blueberry bushes on all sides. I use a durable plastic bird netting, which can be reused every season for several years.
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- These sod staples are used to keep the netting taut and well secured to the ground.
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- Chhiring placed the staples every couple of feet to ensure there are no openings for curious birds. The structure creates a nice, secure enclosure for the blueberry crops.
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- The staples keep the entire net secure, but still easy enough to remove for harvesting.
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- The posts are 18th century Chinese granite uprights. I’ve used them all over the farm including the clematis pergola, my apple espaliers, and to support my raspberry bushes. The entire patch remains covered and protected from June to the end of the blueberry season.
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- Over the last couple weeks, we’ve picked lots of berries – the bushes are so full! I grow many blueberry varieties, including Bluegold, Chandler, Darrow, Jersey, and Patriot.
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- In general, blueberries are about five to 16 millimeters large with a flared crown at the end. They are pale greenish at first, and then reddish purple and finally dark purple-blue when ripe for picking.
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- They are also covered in a protective powdery epicuticular wax known as the “bloom”.
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- There are two types of blueberries, highbush and lowbush. Highbush blueberries are the types you commonly find at grocery stores and farmers markets. Lowbush blueberries are smaller, sweeter blueberries often used for making juices, jams and baked goods.
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- Blueberries are high in fiber, high in vitamin-C, and contain one of the highest amounts of antioxidants among all fruits and vegetables.
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- When harvesting the fruits, select plump, full berries with a light gray-blue color. A berry with a hint of red is not fully ripened.
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- Enma uses these berry boxes to collect the blueberries – she is careful to pick only the bluest of them all, leaving the lighter green ones to mature.
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- Blueberries don’t actually reach their full flavor until a few days after they turn blue, so a tip to know which ones are the best – tickle the bunches lightly and only the true ripe ones will fall into your hand.
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- Once the boxes are filled, Enma can move them into bigger bins, bowls or buckets.
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- In 2003, the United States Department of Agriculture proclaimed July as National Blueberry Month in the USA. It seems fitting since blueberry bushes typically bear fruit in the middle of the growing season in July.
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- After they are picked, store blueberries unwashed for a few days in the refrigerator in layers of paper towels and covered in plastic wrap up to five days.
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- These bushes have done so well here at the farm. I am always so pleased with how prolific they are every year.
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- And look at all the blueberries that will be picked next time!
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- Blueberries also freeze very well and once defrosted, can be used identically to fresh berries in almost any way.
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- I like to freeze them first in single layers on cookie sheets, then move them to plastic bags – this keeps the berries from getting crushed.
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- Here is one tray of boxes brimming with delicious sweet blueberries.
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- Blueberry bushes are resistant to most pests and diseases, and can produce berries for up to 20-years.
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- And here is my longtime housekeeper, Laura, who picked another big batch of juicy raspberries. What berries are you harvesting? Share comments below – I am always so excited to hear from you.
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