wild blueberry barrens Archives

As pollination season begins, bees are taking no lunch breaks

The Running of the Bulls (July 7), the return of the Swallows to Central California (March 19), the opening of Copper River Salmon season (May 16), the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau (third Thursday in November). These dates are all celebrated around the country and the world, most with food, all because they have a special significance. Today we can add another lesser known date to our watch list. The third week in May is traditionally when “The Running of the Bees” comes to Maine.

Each year, as many as 80,000 hives of bees are brought to the coastal and Downeast counties of Maine to supplement the over 100 species of native bees from the area, all to help pollinate Maine’s Wild Blueberries. With as many as nine million blueberry flowers per acre, that’s a lot for even these busy workers to do in a short time. The pollination window is typically open from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, or just about five weeks. Working from sun-up to sun down, the bees take no lunch breaks. Some species of bees return to their hives full of pollen and nectar every five minutes, potentially putting hundreds of miles on their tiny wings every day.

Only about 20% of the Wild Blueberry population is self-pollinating. The remainder of the flora needs extra help from some winged fauna. Pollinators such as flies, moths, butterflies and humming birds are not physically effective for the job, leaving all the heavy lifting to the bees. The shape of the flower and position of the pollen containing stamen make it necessary for the flower to be shaken or vibrated to release the pollen. The “High C” resonance of the bumble bee makes this an easy task. A fully loaded bumble bee can deposit as many as 25 grains of pollen onto a receptive stigma in one shot, as compared with only about 3-5 from a honey bee. It seems that bumble bees, being native to the area, are a bit more adept at the practice than the interloping honey bees.

Recently, we were interested to learn that Dr. Frank Drummond, insect ecologist at the University of Maine and the state’s leading expert on honeybees and wild native bees, is cautiously optimistic about the state of Maine’s native bee population. In a recent article in the Bangor Daily News, Drummond stated that the wild native bee community appears to be faring better than wild native bees in other states. “I think it’s a very optimistic story,” he told the newspaper. “In general, it seems that most of our native bees are pretty stable and not really in decline.”

In fact, the Wild Blueberry industry has been working to support Maine’s native pollinators. Some Wild Blueberry growers have planted pollinator reservoirs or gardens to enhance bee numbers by providing flowering plants for bee food when the crop is not in bloom. The Wild Blueberry industry has funded research that has led to knowledge about protecting native bees. And the industry practices a well-documented integrated pest management system that allows for use of pesticides only when pest densities are at a level that is likely to cause economic loss. The strategy is to use the least toxic insecticides, such as organically approved Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), only when an application is necessary.

The story of the bees is a compelling one – especially in this day when consumers demand to know more about where their food is coming from and how it is produced. Being able to tell the story of the bees adds an element of transparency to the process and intrigue to the products. Imagine hordes of bees buzzing around a starting gate waiting for just the right moment. A whistle blows, the gate is lifted, and they’re off. Bees race to the flowers and back to the hives much like Nyquist, American Pharoah, California Chrome, and other thoroughbreds in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May.

With the running of the bees, we get yet another spring rite of passage and the promise of Wild Blueberries in the coming months. We also get an amazing, local, seasonal, story filled product – Wild Blueberry Honey. Gathered on the Wild Blueberry barrens throughout Maine, this honey packs a wallop of earthy, fruity, and sweet terroir that will win the hearts and minds of consumers in farmers’ markets and supermarkets alike.

So, let’s hear it for the bees. They work hard for the honey and produce billions of tasty Wild Blueberries in the process.

This Earth Day, Celebrate Some Encouraging News

If you’re lucky enough to walk onto a Wild Blueberry barren in springtime, the experience will take your breath away. Imagine 38 million tiny pink flowers per acre in bloom; a constant humming of bees, and a beautiful blur of soft honeybees – as many as 300-per minute – coming and going from each beehive.

“It’s an auditory as well as a visual experience,” proclaims Frank Drummond, insect ecologist at the University of Maine and the state’s leading expert on honeybees. With nearly 30 years of honeybee study under his belt, Dr. Drummond has a scholarly knowledge of bees, but his passion for the little winged insect is downright contagious, too.

Recently, we were heartened to learn that Dr. Drummond is optimistic about the state of Maine’s honey bee population. In a recent article in the Bangor Daily News, Drummond stated that the native Maine honeybee appears to be faring better than other pollinators. “I think it’s a very optimistic story,” he told the newspaper. “In general, it seems that most of our native bees are pretty stable and not really in decline.”

The importance of the earth’s honeybee population cannot be overstated, especially here in Maine, where these tiny winged creatures are responsible for pollinating the state’s largest fruit crop—the Wild Blueberry crop. The annual pollination of the barrens is also one of nature’s great miracles.

Here’s a quick primer on the pollination on the Wild Blueberry barrens, in 8 amazing steps.

Every spring, about mid-May, honeybees arrive on the Wild Blueberry barrens by the millions. Most of the honeybees are now imported from out of state, but there are local pollinators too, and some of the growers like Greg Bridges of Bridges Wild Blueberry Farm, source their honeybees from Swan’s Honey in Albion, Maine. Swan’s has been providing honeybees to Wild Blueberry growers for generations.
These trucks carry between 50,000-60,000 bees onto the barrens and the hives are delicately transferred at night, when the bees are at home in their hives. The next morning at daybreak, if air temperatures are above 50ºF, the honeybees venture out on an orientation flight.
Once oriented, the honeybees go at it, working from sunup to sundown. Each bee will visit tens of thousands of flowers in one day. Almost all them are females.
As these “foragers” visit one flower after another, they drink nectar from the flowers, which they use for their own energy, and travel back to the hive to feed the larvae, which are hatched from the bee eggs laid by a single queen in each hive.
The queen bee lays an astounding 2,000 eggs per day. And each of those larvae, once hatched from the eggs, needs to be fed.
This is when the magic begins for the Wild Blueberry plants. As each busy little honeybee visits a flower, she drinks the nectar, gets some pollen on her face, and moves on to another flower. Then she sticks her head into a second flower and smears some pollen onto the sticky stigma of the second flower. This process ensures pollination of the plants.
Each Wild Blueberry flower holds its own set of precious eggs, about 60 per flower. To ensure pollination, the flower requires 10-12 of its eggs to turn into seeds, and the honeybee is the carrier of the pollen, which allows this magic to happen.
The pollen goes into the plant’s ovary and fertilizes it. Germination occurs within a few short hours. From there, the Wild Blueberry fruit is formed, and is ready to pick about 8 to 10 weeks later, in late July and August.

The process is stunningly symbiotic. “The honeybee is out for herself and feeding her young,” explains Drummond. “The Wild Blueberry offers its flowers and needs the bee for pollination.” It’s a perfect union, with a nutritious and delicious ending.

Shake Up Your Smoothie Routine with 14 New Smoothie Recipes

Right now, the Wild Blueberry Barrens of Maine and Eastern Canada are simply bursting with gazillions of purple-and-blue, anthocyanin-rich, scrumptious Wild Blueberries. These little wonders are fulfilling their biological destiny—ripening to perfection over thousands of acres of remote, wide-open barrens—just as they have been doing for over 10,000 years in only one special place on earth. It’s a marvel to behold, and to taste.

What better way to celebrate the splendor of this unique annual phenomenon than to travel North in August, rake Wild Blueberries for yourself, and engage in a creative competition to test your smoothie-making prowess.

Recently, we did just that. A group of 14 exceptional bloggers, writers, and journalists from around the United States, joined us on a 3-day exploration of the Wild Blueberry Barrens of Maine. A highlight of the trip was a spirited smoothie making competition that brought out a playful competitive spirit and some serious creative genius. If you’ve managed to fall into something of a smoothie rut, have a look at these interesting ingredients. Just a couple new ingredients can really spice up your smoothie and bring in a host of new vitamins and minerals that your body might be craving.

Over 40 Great Ingredients

In all, our competitors had over 40 ingredients to work with. The only rule was that each smoothie must include Frozen Wild Blueberries, picked at the peak of ripeness and flash-frozen to lock in their nutrition. Here’s the list.

How many of these ingredients are in your go-to smoothie “pantry”?

Frozen Wild Blueberries	Lemon	Spinach
Bananas	Lime	Protein Powder
Strawberries	Almond Milk	Maple Syrup
Pineapple	Low-fat Milk	Honey
Watermelon	Coconut Water	Medjool Dates
Dragonfruit	Yogurt	Cacoa Powder
Avocado	Cream Cheese	Vanilla Extract
Hemp Seeds	Walnuts	Cardamom
Chia Seeds	Cinnamon	Turmeric
Almond Butter	Fresh Mint	Matcha Powder
Coconut Butter	Fresh Basil	Graham Crackers

The smoothies were judged for taste, texture, and visual presentation by Wild Blueberry nutrition advisor Kit Broihier, MS, MD, LD, and Bar Harbor Inn Executive Chef Louis Kefir. Two first place winners were selected, and the prize was a 900 Pro Series NutriBullet.

14 NEW Inspiring & Healthy Smoothies

Explore the list of out-of-this-world recipes created by our entire team of writers. Each has its own unique character, flavor, and appearance, so try them out (and check out the cool names):

Summer 2016 Wild Your Smoothie Contest.

The Winners!

Drum roll, please. After careful consideration by our two judges, the following two smoothies were selected as contest winners. Spice Market Smoothie by Regina Ragone, Food, Director at Family Circle, was selected for its exceptional taste and the use of cardamom, which adds serious interest and uniqueness. The Wild Blueberry Basil Mojito Smoothie by Marnie Schwartz, Nutrition Editor, SHAPE Magazine, was selected for its fresh flavor, beautiful color, and overall appeal.

557_ReginaBtB — Spice Market Smoothie by Regina Ragone, Food, Director at Family Circle

557_MarnieBtB — Wild Blueberry Basil Mojito Smoothie by Marnie Schwartz, Nutrition Editor, SHAPE Magazine

Bottom Line

Making great smoothies is a healthy way to get a tasty and easy on- the-go meal. Sometimes, we get into a smoothie routine that needs to be shaken up a bit. Try adding some new ingredients now and then. Variety will spice up your life and add new vitamins and minerals too. Who doesn’t want to feel healthy, happy, and spicy?

5 Things You Can Do to Help the Honey Bee

Honey bees are a very important part of the ecosystem of the Wild Blueberry barrens and the global food supply. Their population is also in decline. While the causes are unclear and the debates are endless, there are a few things you can do right now to help the honey bees in your neighborhood keep on buzzing.

We’ve collected five of our favorite simple things anyone can do to help the local honey bee population thrive. Adapting just one of these things into your routine can have a positive impact on your honey bee ‘hood’:

1. Buy local honey from a local beekeeper. Keeping your local beekeeper in business is good for the garden and the economy. There are also a number of new studies that are exploring the positive benefits of local honey on allergies. The taste of local honey is incredible; you will never be able to go back to commercial honey.

2. Plant less lawn and more bee-friendly flowering plants and herbs in your yard and garden. Vary the blooms so the honey bees can stay well fed all year long! Think crocuses in the spring, cosmos in the summer, and zinnias in the fall – explore more. Don’t have a garden? Container gardening can be just as helpful.

3. Water the honey bees. Fact – honey bees get thirsty too! Leave a shallow dish of water with sticks or pebbles so the bees can land safely and drink. Be sure to keep this stocked with fresh water and in the same place so the honey bees will know you’re a reliable hydration station.

4. Bee-friendly. Honey bees aren’t out to sting you. Their buzzing and flying around can make us nervous, especially those of us allergic to their sting. If you see a honey bee, just take a step back and let ‘em do their job. Wasps, hornets and yellow jackets don’t play as nicely, however, so beware!

1280px-European_honey_bee_extracts_nectar

5. Let your plants go to seed. If you have a vegetable garden at home – let your veggies go to seed after harvest. This helps honey bees stock up before the winter. Real bees hibernate over the winter and these late season blooms are essential for their long-term success.

The Bliss of Summer Comes in the Taste of a Tiny Wild Berry

Walk into any New England restaurant during the month of August and you are bound to see one very particular food featured. A sweet delicacy like no other, it simply shouts, “Summer is here!” This is New England, so you might think we’re talking about lobsters, but no, we’re talking about Wild Blueberries, which are available year round in the frozen section of supermarkets across America. But once a year – in late July and August – this sweet little magnificent berry is available fresh!

Whatever you do, if you are in New England, DO NOT MISS OUT on the experience of tasting a mouthful of fresh Wild Blueberries. They are simply delectable, delicious, nutritious, and if you picked them yourself, like our friend Sal, from Robert McCloskey’s timeless book, Blueberries for Sal, the memory will last a lifetime.

Starting around July 20th and for six cherished weeks of the summer, you can purchase Wild Blueberries at a variety of farm stands, farmers markets, restaurants, and grocery stores (Hannaford, Shaw’s, Whole Foods) across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. You can also forage them for yourself on the mountaintops and fields of these same states and even into Quebec and Eastern Canada.

Wild Blueberries are distinct and easy to recognize because unlike the big cultivated berries, these berries are complex in flavor; they range in color from dark to light blue; and they are small – so small in fact that I am told you can fit 1,000 Wild Blueberries into a single pint.

“Our culture has grown accustomed to eating fresh foods anytime of the year, like watermelon in January,” said Lynn Thurston, owner of Blue Sky Produce in Phillips, Maine. “The fact that our fresh Wild Blueberries are available just a few weeks of the year makes them really, truly special.”

Thurston, who helps growers sell their fresh berries to markets across New England, says the phenomenon is akin to ice cream stands, which are open only for a few precious months of summer and mustn’t be missed. Of course, like ice cream, Wild Blueberries are available year round in the freezer section. But once a year, and only once a year, they can and should be enjoyed fresh!

Farm to Table Movement

There was a time when finding local fresh Wild Blueberries in New England was actually quite difficult, Thurston explains. Before the local food movement took off, she remembers visiting local Maine grocery stores during the summer and the only fresh blueberries available were the cultivated ones. “I remember being really disappointed and thinking this was an opportunity that could be seized by local growers,” she says. So Thurston and other intrepid souls set off to develop markets for six weeks of fresh Wild Blueberries.

Today, with a strong farm-to-table movement and a higher consciousness around eating local, the fresh Wild Blueberry has a place at the table each year and is part of a sequence of delicious seasonal foods that begins in the spring with fiddleheads, asparagus, and greens, moves through cucumbers, green beans, kohlrabi, and tomatoes, and culminates in the fall with apples, parsnips, potatoes, and squash.

“When August comes around, it’s my favorite food season,” laughs Thurston. “It’s when we can get fresh Wild Blueberries, cheap lobster, and local corn on the cob!”

Thurston explains that in her experience and through her travels, she has encountered a lot of people who are simply not aware of the magic of Wild Blueberries: how they have grown wild on the barrens of eastern Maine and Canada for thousand of years; they have never been genetically modified or altered by man in any way; they are the only native berry that is commercially harvested (native cranberries have been hybridized); and with twice the antioxidants of regular blueberries they provide skyrocketing nutritional value. “They are truly a gift of nature,” she proclaims.

Keeping it Small and Local

Thurston explains that it took time and lot of effort on the part of growers to develop a market for fresh Wild Blueberries. The local food movement with the resurgence of farmers markets and farm stands helped a lot, but there were still challenges. The weather had to cooperate and the little fresh berries had to be treated with utmost care.

Thurston persevered. “I’m a great supporter of the Wild Blueberry industry in Maine; 99 percent of the Wild Blueberry crop is frozen at harvest and shipped to markets around the world,” she says, “and our growers in Maine depend on the success of the industry as a whole.” But Thurston emphasizes the importance of those fleeting weeks of summer.

People often have their first taste of Wild as a fresh berry—either while hiking, canoeing or traveling through New England during the summer. “The experience creates a memory that holds dear to their hearts,” says Thurston. Frozen Wild Blueberries are wildly popular for the remainder of the year, she theorizes, because they give us a chance to recall – and taste – the bliss of summer.

Putting A Wild Blueberry Barren to Bed for Winter

For Jesse and Stella Field, the end of the season is a quiet time of year…

On a clear, windswept day from Fields Fields Wild Blueberry Barren you can see the green Camden Hills to the East and the snowcapped Presidential Range the West. Fields Fields, a family owned and operated Wild Blueberry Barren, sits at a modest elevation of 438 feet but it has the distinction of being the highest point in Lincoln County, Maine, so it enjoys breathtaking views in all directions.

Jesse Field and his 7-year-old daughter, Stella, are second and third generation Wild Blueberry growers who tend the 50 acre farm. Jesse’s parents bought the farm in 1974 and established a homestead there so they could live in keeping with their values. They grew apple and pear trees, grapes, lots of vegetables, and raised chickens and small farm animals.

“In the early years, it was more of a homestead and the blueberries were a nice bonus,” says Jesse. Today, the Wild Blueberries are a fundamental part of the farm, and a good source of income too. Last summer, the Fields harvested close to 20,000 pounds of organic Wild Blueberries from their land, which they delivered to Merrill Blueberry Farm in Ellsworth, where they were quickly frozen, boxed and made ready for market.

Once the harvest is completed and the crop sold, the Fields transition from high intensity production to a slower pace of life. We spent a day visiting Fields Fields to walk the land and speak with Jesse and Stella about putting their barrens to bed for the season.

What’s it like this time of year on the barrens?

It is quiet now on the barrens. We completed the mowing last month and took time to pull weeds – especially the baby birch trees that like to come up in the fields. Getting the weeds’ root structures out of the ground is important. We do it in the fall and again in the spring when the frost is coming out of the ground.

What are some of the activities involved with closing down for the season?

After the harvest, we spend a good amount of time cleaning equipment and putting it away so it’s ready for next year. In the fall, we spend time mowing the fields. Depending on the weather and the conditions, we may mow and burn. We follow a two-year crop management cycle, which means we mow or burn half of our acreage each year and leave the other half alone.

What are the advantages of burning?

The Native Americans burned the Wild Blueberry fields because it was easy and the fire did the work. Burning is really the most elegant way to manage the fields, especially if the conditions are right. The Native Americans didn’t have mowers and clippers like we have today. Burning kills insects and it helps control fungus and other pests that can lay dormant in the field.

When does the burning take place?
Burning is done anytime between now and April. If we get a decent spring, with some dry weather and not a lot of wind, we usually do a burn with whatever tinder materials are available on the field. In years past we spread straw as a way to encourage a good burn, but at $4 a bale, hay is an expensive way to burn a field, so we look for other natural materials. We touch it off with a propane flame and let the fire creep slowly across the ground. The conditions have to be just right though – dry weather with no wind.

What’s the most important thing you can do to ensure a good crop next year?

First of all checking the soil health and the pH levels of the soil. Blueberries thrive in lower pH (high acidity) soils. Keeping the pH levels right helps us mange competing plant species and also creates conditions that favor the Wild Blueberries, letting them be the healthiest they can be. Then it’s the weeding. The berries pretty much do their own thing, particularly at his time of year. They are a pretty hardy and amazing crop.

How long has your family owned the farm?

My parents started farming here 40 years ago. It was 1974. They bought the farm and built the house, and raised two kids here.

What’s it like to teach a young daughter about farming?

Well, I really enjoyed growing up here as a kid and it has been awesome to watch my daughter get to know this land. It’s really important for me to let her learn about where food comes from, how it’s grown, and what it takes to care for land and cultivate things. She now has an understanding of the value, responsibility and stewardship aspects of farming. Those are really important values that seem to be lost on the greater population today.

Does Stella like the farm?

She loves the farm. During the harvest, she gets all-you-can-eat Wild Blueberries. During the other seasons she walks the land, looks at fossils in the rocks, takes tractor rides, and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Why Do Wild Blueberry Barrens Turn Red in Fall?

The answer is surprisingly good for you!

The fall season in Down East Maine is more than a little dramatic. The seas turn dark and stormy, the skies turn crisp and blue, and thousands of acres of Wild Blueberry barrens turn fiery red! Why all that red? We turned to resident Wild Blueberry expert Dr. David Yarborough for answers. David is the Wild Blueberry Specialist with the Cooperative Extension and professor of horticulture at the University of Maine, where he has worked for 34 years. We just call him “Mr. Wild Blueberry.”

Why are the barrens so red at this time of year?

It’s all of the anthocyanins in the leaves that turns them that beautiful shade of red. With the Wild Blueberry harvest now complete, this is the time when the plants prepare to go dormant for the winter. And like our New England hardwood forests, the Wild Blueberries give us this annual burst of color that is a result of pigments being synthesized by the plants just before the leaves fall.

Why red and not yellow or orange?

Wild Blueberries turn bright red as opposed to the oranges, purples and yellows we also see in the surrounding plant life at this time of year. The deep shades of red are the result of significant amounts of anthocyanin and the retention of carotenoids — or pigments. The brownish colors we see at this time of year are the result of anthocyanin and chlorophyll. In some plants, like Wild Blueberries, the colors are quite uniformly red. In other plants, such as sugar maples and red maples, the colors can vary considerably from red to yellow to orange.

What are anthocyanins?

Anthocyanins belong to a class of molecules called flavonoids. Not only do they get the credit for our beautiful fall colors, but when we eat the fruit of plants high in anthocyanins we get the powerful health benefits associated with this class of foods. {Tweet this} Anthocyanins act as powerful antioxidants and there is significant research being conducted about the health benefits of an anthocyanin-rich diet.

Where can you get these anthocyanins?

Plants rich in anthocyanins are part of the Vaccinium species, which includes, cranberry, bilberry and of course Wild Blueberries. {Tweet this} But other great sources of anthocyanin include black raspberry, red raspberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, cherry, Concord grape and red cabbage.

We know you can eat Wild Blueberries, but what about the leaves?

Yes, the whole blueberry plant is good for you! The berries are available year-round in the freezer section, where their freshness is frozen at the peak of flavor and antioxidant power. The leaves are also available year-round and can be used for high-antioxidant tea! A delicious tea is available from Highland Organics.

David E. Yarborough is the wild blueberry specialist with Cooperative Extension and professor of horticulture in the School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine, where he has worked for the past 35 years. He attended the University of Maine where he received a B.S. degree in wildlife management in 1975 and an M.S. degree in resource utilization 1978. He received his Ph.D. degree in Plant and Soil Science in 1991 from the University of Massachusetts. His research subject dealt with weed-crop competition and shifts in species distributions in Maine’s wild blueberry fields with the use of herbicides. He now does research on developing chemical and cultural strategies for controlling weeds, and works with wild blueberry growers in Maine and Canada to educate them on best management practices that will enable them to increase their efficiency of production and their profitability, so that this industry may continue to remain competitive in the world marketplace. He has published well over 200 research and Extension publications dealing with wild blueberries and with weeds. He was recognized by the IR-4 program when he received the Meritorious Service Award in 2006 and 35 year service award from the University of Maine in 2014.