The Harvest is Months Away, But Growers Are Thinking Blue
Each year when winter is slowly replaced by high sun and rising temperatures, our thoughts naturally turn to planting. It means spring is on the way, and the time for taking advantage of the earth’s bounties is close at hand.
In Maine, Quebec and Eastern Canada, wild blueberry barrens are stirring. In early spring, plants begin to emerge from snow cover, and before too long, green leaves and white blossoms of fruit will appear. It’s a time when those who farm wild blueberry fields begin planning for late summer when they will finally burst with blue fruit.
Late winter on the wild blueberry barrens in Maine’s Washington County.
Photo courtesy of Geoffrey Leighton.
This year, wild blueberry plants have endured another harsh winter, but that’s part of their wild nature: they are naturally resilient to challenging winters in the Northeast. They have evolved to grow in acidic soil, thrive through wildly changing temperatures, and use their natural UV protection to survive unshielded in summer sun. In fact, these environmental challenges make them uniquely powerful when it comes to the phytonutrients they produce to protect themselves. Scientists believe that resilience may translate into superb disease prevention and aging protection when we eat them – that’s the unique power of wild.
Wild berries naturally have a distinctive taste and variations in color that their larger cultivated counterparts simply can’t match. In fact, winters with abundant snowfall are good for the crop. Snow provides protection to the plant as well as plenty of moisture, which can increase the size of the bud and the potential to have more fruit per plant. More fruit means more healthy, antioxidant-rich berries.
During March and April, growers spend their time assessing crop damage and pests in the field. They may order supplies necessary for the harvest season and to prepare fields that are “fallow” – non-crop bearing fields that are resting as part of their two-year rotation – and continue the mowing and burning of fields that would have begun in the fall. They may also prepare to bring in bees to pollinate the plants when spring is in full swing. Bringing bees to the fields is a necessary part of production, and every year wild blueberry growers import a billion bees to help pollinate their barrens. (You can read about spring bee pollination in this week’s Portland Press Herald). It’s all in service to the millions of pounds of wild blues that will be harvested in the growing areas in July and August.
But while it’s still early, and the fields are quiet and snow-covered, there’s time to reflect on the many things wild blueberries offer the area – not to mention kitchens and freezers all over the country. And it’s a perfect time to tip our hat to the growers who carefully manage and nurture them, right here in harvest country, all year long.
We have nature to thank for the wild blueberry. Wild, lowbush berries are naturally occurring berries that have been growing in Maine, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces for over 10,000 years. They differ from cultivated or planted blueberries – you can identify cultivated by their larger size – that are propagated, planted and harvested in commercial operations throughout the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Wild blueberries spread naturally and slowly here, where they survive in the glacial soils and northern climate, and those natural challenges only makes them special. Here are some of the unique advantages of the smaller, wild berry that is only grown in areas of the Northeast:
Antioxidant capacity. Wild Blueberries are being studied for their powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help protect against diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
Genetic diversity. Wilds consist of hundreds of different naturally occurring varietal clones – a mix that provides the intense, complex flavors that range from sweet to tart.
Smaller size means higher skin-to-pulp ratio. Because of their size, foods that contain wild blueberries have more berries in every bite. That translates to more taste, more nutrition and more antioxidants.
Wild blueberries are a cherished part of Maine and Canada – and their wild nature is why.
See Wild Blueberry Country First Hand! It’s your last chance – there are only a few days left to enter to win Five Days of Food and Fun in the Land of Wild Blueberries.
If your entry is chosen, you’ll receive transportation for two to Québec City, Canada, 4 nights lodging in the historic Château Frontenac, and a $1,000 Wild Taste dining allowance to experience the city’s culinary delights.
Pollination relies on a strong bee population, and it is crucial to providing fruits and vegetables to consumers as well as maintaining local economies. The photo above, courtesy of Geoff Leighton, shows bees hard at work in a wild blueberry field in Down East Maine this spring.
Imagine looking down at a plate of food in a world without a bee.
For many of us, that plate would be very different, and that’s especially true for those who strive to fill theirs with healthy servings of fruits and vegetables.
Why is there such a buzz about the bee? Because we rely on honey bees to help pollinate about one-third of our food supply. That includes, to a large extent, the fruits and vegetables that provide us with our most concentrated source of nutrition.
In Maine and areas of Canada where wild blueberry harvests supply the nation, bees are held in high esteem: diets and economies depend on them. The hum we hear as we lean an ear toward a fruit-bearing field in the spring is music to the ears of farmers, and should be to consumers as well.
Bees & Blueberries
According to Virginia Knight, author of The Wild Blueberry Book, Maine’s wild blueberry crop has quadrupled over the past 25 years, and the bee is the reason why. The simple act of sucking nectar from the blossom and delivering it to the hive not only results in glorious honey, but provides us with food that ranges from berries grown in Maine to the almonds in California.
By renting honeybees from beekeepers every May during pollination season – usually two or more colonies per acre – growers can significantly increase their crop yields. Imported hives in the Down East area, where wild blueberries are grown, can number over 60,000, with up to 60,000 bees per hive. The more visits a bee makes to the blueberry, the more seed it contains, which in turn stimulates the size of the fruit. Most farmers strive to maximize return on their acreage by bringing honey bees to their fields, and different owners use different strategies with regard to how many times the bees are sent for pollination.
In Maine and Canada, bees pollinate the blueberries during a period of 3-4 weeks – unusually long, due to the variety of berries that blossom at different times. (You may recall that wild blueberry fields produce many different lowbush blueberry clones, which account for the unique variations in color and size.) While most commercial beekeepers are not in the honey-making business, Knight mentions beekeeper Lincoln Sennett of Swan’s Honey as an exception in her book. Sennett not only rents out bees but benefits from the honey for his own products.
Native wild bees also play an important role in pollination of blueberries, though they are less prevalent than in the past. While native populations fluctuate and are less dependable, they are used to pollinate many smaller, off-barrens fields. Native bees are exceptional pollinators and wild blueberries growers take care to preserve wild bees through conservation practices.
Above, Geoff Leighton navigates barrens in Cherryfield, Maine this spring, protected from the hives’ active bees. Land owners in the Down East area import over 60,000 hives to pollinate their wild blueberry crops. Photo by Anita Clearfield.
Greg Bridges, blueberry farmer and owner of Bridges Wild Blueberry Company, told Wild About Health about the New Brunswick area’s “Blueberry Bee” — a solitary bee that can work in colder conditions and still pollinate. Bridges said that wild blueberry farms must compete for attention with other more plentiful crops that attract native pollinators, and while a huge crop every year is no guarantee when only the native bee pollination is used, it’s a characteristic that makes smaller barrens unique.
Finding Answers for Collapse Concerns
In recent years, the shortage of bees to pollinate crops has resulted in what growers and scientists have considered a crisis. The crisis, termed CCD, which stands for Colony Collapse Disorder, is characterized by bees abandoning their hives. The resulting shortage of bees has a economic impact as well as a dietary one.
Some local farmers have said they have not been affected by a bee shortage, while others report a significant impact. Bridges credits dedicated bee keepers who keep their colonies strong as the key to preserving the population. While some blame commercial beekeepers who work their bees from location to location, some, like Sennett, attribute the wide and varied diet of crops to stronger, healthier bees. And, while culprits ranging from cell phones to pesticides have been blamed for CCD, a recent story from the Bangor Daily News reports that a virus might be responsible.
Companies like Wyman’s who have reportedly been affected by CCD have contributed funds toward research that will hopefully uncover the cause. At the University of Maine, Frank Drummond is currently testing bees as part of research into the cause of CCD. You can read about his interesting research methods.
Despite concerns, this season’s wild blueberry crop seems destined for success. The National Agricultural Statistics Survey report indicates that in New England wild blueberries were assessed at good to excellent development. Good thing – the blues will be responsible for thousands of pies, hundreds of buckles, and even a few martinis, if not a dog treat or two.
You have only to look to the Maine Wild Blueberry Queen to understand the berry’s ubiquity and the necessity of the bee. (She welcomes her successor this year at the Union Fair and Blueberry Festival taking place on August 20-27.) Clearly, the responsibilities of a royal go beyond just looking good in blue – ask any queen bee.
A panoramic view of wild blueberry barrens near Meddybemps in Maine’s Washington County, taken today, March 24th. Over 60,000 acres of blueberry farmland stretch across Maine, providing an average 70 million pounds of berries each year. Photos courtesy of Geoffrey Leighton.
Spring is officially here, and for fields being prepared for the wild blueberry harvest, that means the first show of growth which evolves into the astonishing blue blooms that cover the land in late summer.
Maine and Eastern Canada is exclusive territory for wild blueberries. Over 60,000 acres of blueberry farmland stretch across Maine alone, providing an average 70 million pounds of berries each year. Native to these weather-challenged regions, wild blueberries are naturally resilient. They have evolved to grow in acidic soil, thrive through wildly changing temperatures, and use their natural UV protection to survive unshielded in summer sun.
Each wild blueberry crop is the result of a two-year cycle of variable and unpredictable conditions. Crop development is dependent upon the first season’s spring and summer, the extent of potentially injurious frost, the amount of winter snow that provides protection, as well as the next year’s spring and summer weather. Abundant snow is an advantage for wild blueberry production, and this year was a windfall. Snow, in addition to providing protection to the plant, provides plenty of moisture which can increase the size of the bud and the potential to have more fruit per plant.
The plant’s heartiness is all part of the mystique of this fabulous fruit: the result is a naturally healthy antioxidant-rich berry with a distinctive taste and variations in color that can’t quite compare to its cultivated counterparts in other parts of the world.
Snowy winters are beneficial to the crop and can mean bigger bud sizes and more fruit per plant. The spring season brings green leaves and white blossoms of fruit before late summer turns the fields blue.
These fields would not have seen much activity over the winter months. Growers usually spend little time on the barrens during the winter unless they are engaged in expanding fields or posting farm land to ensure protection from snowmobiles. Families that farm wild blueberry fields would have been doing seasonal winter work or working in other businesses. Some would likely have been engaged in off-season education in an effort to maintain knowledge of farming techniques and regulations, or traveling to farm shows in search of equipment and supplies or to purchase bees.
While these “first looks” at the spring barrens show them sporting some winter baggage, they will soon come to life and present green leaves and delicate white-pink blossoms. Those blossoms will gradually turn their eponymous blue in late July and early August before turning to a crimson red in the fall.
Here’s to a strong season for wild blueberry harvesters!
Ah, summer. If only we could extend the colorful, fresh bounty of the season all winter long. But wait a minute – it seems we can. There are millions of pounds of wild blueberries currently being captured and quick frozen at their very peak of flavor and nutrition. We can use them at our discretion any time of year.
August is harvest season, and that means efforts to provide us with an endless summer, at least when it comes to berries, are going on right now. Thank goodness! Enjoying flavorful blues from the freezer for breakfast, desserts, entrees, and salads is one of the best ways to integrate potent nutrients into your diet, get your required daily servings of fruits and veggies, and bask in a little taste of summer gone by.
If you’ve ever wondered what goes into harvesting this antioxidant and anti-aging hero, here’s a little bit of blueberry back-story just in time for harvest season.
Barrens in Bloom
Maine averages 70 million pounds of blueberries per year.
Remember that wilds are different from cultivated berries: they are smaller, they showcase an array of color variations and flavor that ranges from sweet to tart, and their high skin-to-pulp ratio means they are super-concentrated with powerful antioxidants. Also called “low-bush blueberries,” wilds are exclusive to the regions of Maine and Eastern Canada where large stretches of barrens produce this indigenous fruit – over 60,000 acres of blueberry farmland stretch across Maine alone, providing an average 70 million pounds of berries each year. Canadian provinces including Nova Scotia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland also boast robust wild blueberries crops. It’s here that they have naturally evolved to thrive in the challenging acidic soils and under the environmental stresses of changing temperature that the four diverse seasons provide. The result is the distinctive color, plant height, taste, and fruit size of the wild blueberry.
To take best advantage of the flourishing fruit, beginning at the end of August, farmers throughout Maine and Canada engage in a commercial harvesting process which originated back in 1874.
Talk of the Town
Many blossoms herald a promising crop.
August is the culmination of a two-year growing cycle; growers rotate their crop by harvesting half of their acreage each year. For local growers, the process incorporates a unique dedication to agricultural practices that ensure healthy crops for generations to come. But the crop’s success is dependent on many factors both in and out of a blueberry farmer’s control. High yield depends on moisture, winter snow coverage, a lack of damaging frosts, and bee pollination. Farmers hope for high numbers of fruit per plant to indicate a productive season – blossoms average five or six per bud but can top 15 if conditions are good.
During harvest season, towns that are home to large wild blueberry farms are focused on the season’s take. The crop is clearly a source of pride: discussions in local shops in areas like Machias revolve around the health and abundance of the year’s crop, and dessert in local restaurants is always blueberry pie. Fair and festival preparations are in full swing, and the towns buzz with activity as populations swell with those involved and employed with the harvest.
Tradition & Technology
While stories of migrant workers traveling to Down East Maine to engage in dawn-till-dusk labor to clear the barrens of their fruit do still paint an accurate picture, today, capturing wild blueberries at the height of taste and nutrition requires a mixture of traditional and high-tech methods.
Tradition & technology combine during the harvest.
Hand raking is a tradition that has held since the onset of commercial harvesting, but roughly half of modern operations use mechanized harvesting. While some may mourn the lost art of raking by hand, mechanizing means growers can mow the grounds, a practice that is more environmentally sound than traditional burning. It also lessens their dependence on hard-to-find hand labor. Cleaning processes in factories also use state-of-the-art computer controlled equipment, ensuring only ripe tasty blueberries end up in the carton, tub, bag or pouch, at the other end of the process.
Picked at Peak
While fresh cartons of berries are a welcome sight in late summer, in fact, 99% of the wild blueberry crop is frozen, using the individually quick freezing method (IQF) which allows for the fast preservation of taste, nutrition, and antioxidant power. IQF blueberries can remain frozen for over two years without losing their flavor or nutritional value. While the fresh-pack industry is very small, it has garnered growing interest from farmers because of the added value that comes with eliminating processing. Some farmers even freight fresh berries out-of-state to places as far flung as Texas, so buyers can enjoy the taste of the indigenous wild fruit straight from the field.
It’s the dedication of growers and their efforts during the harvest season that has made this unique fruit with its taste, nutritional attributes, and overall mystique the health icon it is today. So take some time to celebrate this delicious gift that gives all year long!
Wild Blueberries: The Pick of the Season
This season, industry reports indicate a banner year for the lauded berry. While farmers are busy in the fields, you can get a taste of the harvest, too. Many farms offer u-pick opportunities – it’s a perfect summer family activity, and even better, one that culminates in a cake, cobbler or pie.
If you can’t get out to the field yourself, don’t worry. August is the month where wild blueberries practically come to you. You’re guaranteed to find quarts at gas stations, convenience stores, farm stands and on the roadside.
See Wild Blueberry Country First Hand! It’s your last chance – there are only a few days left to enter to win Five Days of Food and Fun in the Land of Wild Blueberries.
