Blueberries? (Wayne, Etna: house, camping, store)

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by bringselpup

I saw a sign tonight on the door of the local store advertising PYO and no spray I think for a farm in Liberty. I'll look closer when I go again, I'll be needing fuel for all the power equipment for sure after all this rain.

Thanks!

[mainebrokerman]

i was in cherryfield yesterday and a couple fella's said it could be a record crop yield this summer for blueberries.
the average yr yields 80 million lbs, the university of maine is projecting a 100 million lb yr

it,s mindboggling to think of how many blueberries it takes to weigh 100 million pounds..
its more weight than the annual catch of maine lobsters, even in a banner yr (in 2006 72 million lbs of lobsters were harvested, double ,,the amount of prior years)

[moughie]

Mmmm, blueberries. How tasty, succulent and dainty!

How I miss those wild Maine blueberries. For a while you could buy frozen Wyman blueberries here in Costco. I stocked up on 5 lb bags and wallowed in nostalgia

We used to live on Blueberry Lane in Gray. Good times and memories.

[Maineah]

DW, myself and another couple went blueberry picking this morning. Between the four of us we got about 5 gallons of them! I have never seen so many on the high bushes as this season. Each cluster on the branch had about a 1/2 cup of berries in one bunch. It was so easy to pick a gallon! Literally no effort or bending down. You could easily pick a half gallon from ONE BUSH! There were tons of low ones as well. I must have eaten about a quart of them. It is a banner year! We have all we can use for the rest of the summer and through the winter. We'll have about 40 one cup packages frozen by tomorrow evening.
The secret is out on this location as there were probably six cars there when we arrived at about 10:00 am. Even with a bunch of people picking them they haven't really put much of a dent in the huge pile of berries in this place.
That was easy! DW is making a blueberry cake as I write this! Yum!

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by moughie

Mmmm, blueberries. How tasty, succulent and dainty!

How I miss those wild Maine blueberries. For a while you could buy frozen Wyman blueberries here in Costco. I stocked up on 5 lb bags and wallowed in nostalgia

We used to live on Blueberry Lane in Gray. Good times and memories.

I know where that is!

[moughie]

Originally Posted by Maineah

I know where that is!

Small world!!

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

i was in cherryfield yesterday and a couple fella's said it could be a record crop yield this summer for blueberries.
the average yr yields 80 million lbs, the university of maine is projecting a 100 million lb yr

it,s mindboggling to think of how many blueberries it takes to weigh 100 million pounds..
its more weight than the annual catch of maine lobsters, even in a banner yr (in 2006 72 million lbs of lobsters were harvested, double ,,the amount of prior years)

Part of the expected increase is a result of more barrens having irrigation. Did you notice barrens with fresh dirt strips or patches? Their using a machine that clears rocks and smooths the soil. Those barrens will eventually move over to 100% mechanical harvesting, eliminating the need for rakers.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by moughie

Small world!!

Wasn't there an antique dealer in an old barn across the street (rte 26) from the end of Blueberry lane?

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

If they're wild blueberries they probably are from Maine. Washington county produces 95% of the world's wild blueberries. How cool is that!

Guess, I will be having lots of blueberries in my retirement years, YUM!!!

[rockky]

Hello, to the Maine blueberry connection! We are in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and have several wild bushes in our back yard. We moved here in the spring of 2007.

Our bushes are loaded this year!!! As a matter of fact, I sorta have the willies of pickin' 'em. I can't believe I said that though. I pass up those little containers in the grocery store because of the cost. Yeah. I need to go pick.

Does anyone have any idea why this has been such a good year for blueberries? I thought it was because I tied foil cake pans with faces drawn on them to the bushes so the birds and squirrels didn't clean them out. Duh! Well, I do think they may have helped some.

Is there a picking technique that would make the job go faster? The bushes are in a scrubby area, outside of the landscaping, between us and the lake...not the most fun place to stand for long periods of time.

Do you freeze them on trays after washing, and then put them into bags? Or do you just put them into the bags and freeze them?

Any blueberry tips would be appreciated! Thanks!