Picking Fresh Blueberries at My Farm
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 with cereal, in pancakes and 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.
Yesterday, we picked several boxes of delicious blueberries. Enjoy these photos.
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- During this shelter-at-home time, I’ve enjoyed many delicious breakfasts including this bowl of cereal topped with flavorful sweet blueberries picked right here at the farm. Remember this from my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48? Every year, we pick as many berries as possible, eat some fresh, and then freeze the rest for use throughout the seasons.
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- My blueberries are all from these bushes located near my flower garden and large Equipment Barn, next to my grove of quince trees. The posts 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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- For most of the year, these healthy bushes are left open under this large pergola. 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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- Here is a closer look at the netting we use. The holes are flexible enough so if a bird does manage to get in, it can also get out.
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- These sod staples are used to keep the netting taut and well-secured, but still easy enough to remove for harvesting. They are placed every couple of feet to ensure there are no openings for curious ground critters.
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- The netting is pulled taut to the ground and then secured.
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- The staples are great because they also allow for easy access to the bushes when it is time to harvest.
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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. 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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- They are also covered in a protective powdery epicuticular wax known as the “bloom”. These berries are just right for picking. 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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- The day was very warm and humid, but there was considerable cloud cover in the morning, so Enma set out to pick as many blueberries as she could before the temperatures soared into the upper 80s.
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- We like to pick berries using these small boxes. After they are picked, store blueberries unwashed for a few days in the refrigerator for up to five days.
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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 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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- Enma is careful to pick only the bluest of them all, leaving the light green ones and reddish ones to mature.
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- 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. 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 there are still lots of blueberries that will be picked next time!
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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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- 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 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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