Michigan, and occur infrequently in the northern lower peninsula and the far western counties in the upper peninsula. Bring your friends and travel to a nearby farm to pick fresh blueberries. The upick blueberry season is in full swing here in southwest michigan. Blueberries are a great source of antioxidants that may prevent diseases such as cancer. Michigan blueberries are grown, harvested and processed by 575 family farms. Unfortunately for me i only got one package last season and i think the pack i bought was sitting on. Apr 21, 2020 west central michigan small fruit update april 21, 2020 published on april 21, 2020.
If you want plump, sunripened blueberries, dont miss the peak of their season. Harvested acres and the yield per acre were down 2. Blueberry bushes typically bear fruit in the middle of the growing season. The state of michigan, alone, creates over 100 million pounds of blueberries a year. Aug 12, 2009 as a child i have fond memories of picking wild blueberries, in the up, but alas i was too young to pay much attention to their locals. In the early 1950s joe and donna czaika bought land south of tawas city and west of us23.
Whats in season in february 2020, and other timely information. Their blueberries are the ones used by ann arbor, michigan based zingermans bakehouse in their pies and blueberry buckle. Highbush and lowbush blueberries are native to the eastern united states. July is often bonanza time for finding wild berries in minnesota. Michigans pick your own farms and orchards for fruit, vegetables, pumpkins and more. Jul 30, 2017 blueberries are ripe for picking in michigan, one of the top blueberry producing states. Select upper peninsula streams no longer have increased brook trout daily possession limit. Blueberries, blueberries, blueberries mass great outdoors blog. Michigan blueberry season is ripe august 10, 2015 category.
Jul 24, 2011 wild blueberries vaccinium corymbosum are ripening now. Michigan is the leading producer of cultivated blueberies, harvesting 87. More than 50 percent of michigan blueberries are shipped to the fresh market, with the rest frozen, pureed, concentrated or canned for valueadded products. There is something extraordinary about wild beauty of restoration oaks ranch. Welcome christmas christmas christmas 2015 homepage happy valentines day. It looks like the blueberry season will go for another 12 weeks and blackberries are coming into full swing. They are said to be higher in antioxidants than even a wild blueberry. This page has a table below that tells when each fruit or vegetable is normally ready to be harvested in michigan. Michigan also has two species of lowbush blueberries that only grow a few inches high, while the highbush blueberry grows several feet tall. Jul 15, 2008 we ended up with 20 cups in 5 hours of picking. Michigan blueberry growers produce about 100 million pounds of blueberries every year, making the state a leader in blueberry production.
Bodtke sheds light on the different varieties grown by blueberry farmers, and how the crops differ by timing during the season. The blueberry patch of sawyer, michigan celebrating 41 years 19782019 we are a family owned allready. If playback doesnt begin shortly, try restarting your device. Its a blueberry boom in michigan s upper peninsula. After clearing some of the land by hand during evenings, weekends, and holidays, joe and his son, joe jr. Sep 21, 2017 although southern lower michigan is famous for its blueberry farms, its wild blueberries rival domestic ones for taste. This wild blueberry commerce benefits from vertical integration of growing, processing, frozen storage, marketing and transportation within relatively small regions of the province. Official website for the paradise area chamber of commerce wild blueberry fesitval. Wild blueberry bushes inhabit bogs and swampland, especially near the edge of a lake or stream. As with any wild food, the first time you eat it you should keep an uncooked sample.
Blueberry season means long, hot summer days with icycold lemonade. Upper peninsula of michigans pick your own farms and orchards for fruit, vegetables. Prepare to go wild sunday august 23 at the 6th annual wild blueberry festival at evergreen brick works. Field owners are handsoff throughout most of the growing season, although they often introduce bees to naturally pollinate the bushes. On a side note, the red raspberries are ready, but the black raspberries are a couple weeks away in the nlp. Woodland enterprises west michigan blueberries, upick or.
How new jersey tamed the wild blueberry for global production. Fortunately the blackberry crop this year is looking mighty fine. Michigan blueberry season is ripe michigan farm news. Where to find saskatoon berries in michigan 2015 eat like no. Michigan bulb company offers quality products for every gardener at great value prices, since 1943. I remember that near ki sawyer ab had lots of them on the side of the road but i dont know which road. Because of all the rain this summer, officials say its already turning out to be a strong harvest.
Apr 24, 2015 better blueberry weed control for 2015 avoid herbicide resistance and obtain better weed control in blueberries by combining tank mix partners with different modes of action. Wild blueberries have a twoyear crop cycle, so owners prune fields every other year with rotary mowers. Peanuts are not poisonous but many people cannot eat them. Vanlinden said she thinks the season will last to the end of the month. From triedandtrusted to totally unique, shop perennials, bulbs, garden kits and more. It took us two days of picking to get 22 cups last summer. Wild blueberries michigan sportsman online michigan. Southwest michigan fruit regional report august 4, 2015 msu. Theyre pretty easy to find in ontario, but i havent found them here yet. Quick drive from zeeland, holland, allendale, standale, hudsonville, grandville, jenison, west olive. Garden guides michigan wild berry plant identification. Where can i wild blueberries in the upper peninsula of. On average, 80% of quebec wild blueberries are harvested on farms 21 million kg, the remaining 20% being harvested from public forests 5 million kg.
Jul 12, 2014 finding upper michigan s wild blueberries jason asselin. The blueberry patch of sawyer, michigan celebrating 41 years 19782019 we. Michigan bulb company shop flower bulbs, perennials, and shrubs. Tom bodtke, of cornerstone ag enterprises in south haven provides an overview of michigan s 2015 blueberry season. Golden raspberries, wild blackberries, and wild blueberriesberry nice. The small fruit crop season is underway in west central michigan. Jul 30, 2017 wild blueberries tend to be smaller than ones bought at the stores, but blueberry connoisseurs say the wild varieties have a bigger flavor. Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are coming out from the dormant stage but prevailing low temperatures are delaying plant growth and development. Usa today mentions sb blueberries as a great upick destination. Wine grape growers should apply a botrytis fungicide at veraison to reduce lateseason fruit rots. They range from 2 to 6 feet high and produce a forest of greenish or reddish zigzag twigs. These are highbush blueberries, closely related to the commerciallyfarmed berries grown near kalamazoo.
The wild blueberry is one of four fruit crops native to north america. Heres how to forage, find and savor these tiny treats. Blueberries are perennial flowering plants with blue or purplecolored berries. I am trying to find out where are good places to pick wild blueberries. You just basically need get yourself something to put blueberries in and some bug spray is a good thing, pepin said. Jun 11, 2012 while this helped the blueberry industry develop across the united states, the original low bush varieties or wild blueberries are said to have the superior flavor. They grow 100% organic wild blueberries in the high peaks region of western maine. Varieties of blueberries more commonly grown in massachusetts are berkley, bluecrop, coville and earliblue. Because wild blueberries grow on their own, they are a lowmaintenance crop. Aug 03, 2011 i know we produce tons of standard blueberries, but does michigan produce any wild blueberries. This variety is big and bountiful the largest earlyseason blueberry. Can anyone let me know how the wild blueberries are doing up in the up. We also have a page with links to our own simple instructions on canning, freezing and drying many fruits and vegetables, such as how to make jam, apple butter.
Better blueberry weed control for 2015 msu extension. Midsummer, blueberries come into season in michigan in july, and you can. Concord berry size is very large due to all the rains earlier this spring. Maine wild blueberries are frozen and shipped across the country. Its southwest michigan blueberry season castle in the country. There is no other festival as grand or as delicious as the wild blueberry capital of michigan s wild blueberry festival. Located in howell, michigan the farm is strictly upick, offering an exceptional variety of fruits. In the growing season immediately following the pruning, the vegetative and. Blueberry season in southwest michigan castle in the country. Swd is a pest of ripening fruit and numbers increase as wild berries.
Blueberry season also means scarves and steaminghot muffins. Strawberries usually show up by mid to late june, followed by blueberries in early to midjuly, and a. Sundays storm caused little damage in southwest michigan. They are dominated by warm season grasses, herbs, and flowers with no or few trees. Today i found wild blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and black raspberries within a 100 yard stretch in south central michigan, which for some reason, i thought was pretty cool. Our farm produces a wide variety of michigan blueberries, supplying us with the perfect foundation for our fresh baked goods, seasonal fruits, and gourmet michigan blueberry items. Listed below are 18 farms, fields and berry patches where you can pick your own blueberries. Canadian production of wild and cultivated blueberries in 2015 was 166,000.
I will be traveling to marquette in the next few days and would love to pick some wild blueberries prefer over commercial upick them farms. When i say wild, i dont necessarily mean foraged, just the wild lowbush cultivar with the tiny berries. Michigan blueberries crossroads blueberry market grand. Jul 19, 20 july is prime berrypicking season in minnesota. The dnr met up with us earlier this morning to show us how to find wild blueberries. Crossroads blueberry market is a family owned business producing fresh michigan blueberries located in grand haven, michigan. While out hiking in nature we discovered a huge patch of wild blueberries that we had no idea was even here.
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