Picking Lots of Blueberries
It's berry season and here at my Bedford, New York farm, the blueberries are ripe for the picking!
Plump, juicy and sweet, with vibrant colors from red to the deepest purple-black, blueberries are one of nature’s finest treasures. 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.
Here are some photos of my blueberry patch, and this year’s first big harvest. And don't forget our July/August 2019 issue of "Living" - it's got a great recipe for making No-Churn Raspberry Frozen Yogurt you can top with fresh blueberries just before serving. Happy National Blueberry Month!
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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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- My blueberry bushes are located near my large Equipment Barn, next to my grove of quince trees. For most of the year, these healthy bushes are left open under this large pergola. And remember these posts? They are the same 18th-century Chinese granite uprights I use for the clematis pergola, my apple espaliers, and to support my raspberry bushes.
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- And just before these blueberry bushes are laden with fruits, we place a net over the pergola to protect the developing berries from all the birds.
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- The netting covers the blueberry bushes on all sides and on the top. 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, but still easy enough to remove for harvesting. They are placed every couple of feet to ensure there are no openings for curious critters.
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- And inside – all these prolific blueberry bushes. These bushes are so full! I grow many blueberry varieties, including ‘Bluegold’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Darrow’, ‘Jersey’, and ‘Patriot’.
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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- Carlos is careful to pick only the bluest of them all, leaving the light green ones and reddish ones to mature.
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- There are full bushes everywhere one turns. Standard blueberry bushes grow about six to 10-feet tall. New shoots grow from the crown under the soil. At the base, blueberry shrubs have multiple canes growing directly out of the soil in clumps. The canes or branches are smooth and thornless.
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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 truly ripe ones will fall into your hand.
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- Here is just one box Carlos filled with sweet, ripe blueberries. We like to pick berries using these small boxes. After they are picked, store blueberries unwashed for a few days in the refrigerator up to five days. 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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- 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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- Here is a section of perfectly plump blue fruits ready for picking. The greener ones will be picked another day.
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- Many blueberries also fall to the ground. All those picked are carefully inspected – only the best are saved.
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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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- 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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- Blueberry bushes have glossy leaves that are green or bluish green from spring through summer. The leaves are ovate, in an irregular oval or slightly egg shape that is wider at the bottom than the top. Blueberry leaves can also be harvested and dried for teas.
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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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- Here is one tray of boxes brimming with delicious sweet blueberries. I can’t wait to share them with my grandchildren, Jude and Truman – they love blueberries.
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- And here are more in my Flower Room. Blueberries produce from early summer through late fall – we will pick lots and lots of berries before the end of the season. How do you like to enjoy blueberries? Let me know in the comments!
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