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07/21/08, 04:46 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 5,425
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Yeah, The blueberries are coming in.
Yeah, The blueberries are coming in.
The berries are doing great this year. We finally got a high bush blueberry rake this year. So I can gather a gallon or two in less than an hour. So this year it looks like we will have a huge abundance. We freeze, dry, and make jam. Even so I think we may just sell some at our little stand. This would be the first time. 
Here is a pick of the berries prior to final sorting.
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07/21/08, 05:12 PM
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This is my life
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: SC
Posts: 3,736
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Congratulations, ours are in as well and since the rain on July 4th we are getting some nice ones.
so how is that rack working for you? I have a good friend with 20 acres of high bush and I was looking into getting one, but $40 was a bit high with no experience with one.
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07/21/08, 05:29 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 5,425
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kmac15
Congratulations, ours are in as well and since the rain on July 4th we are getting some nice ones.
so how is that rack working for you? I have a good friend with 20 acres of high bush and I was looking into getting one, but $40 was a bit high with no experience with one.
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Well, First you will pick more faster than ever before. It also is pretty easy.
But... Their is always a but. It kinda doesn't work well if the branches are bushy or are really leafy. You also pick the green with the blue. It also catches the leaves too, but not real bad. Some of the berries also miss the basket and fall. The berries are also a little "wet" when you pick due to the mild squeezing of some of them.
So if you want quantity and are picking for yourself. Most certainly get one. If you want maximum yield and quality you have to pick them by hand. But don't take the crushed berry to hard. They are good looking just not perfect like hand picking does.
P.S. To clean out the leaves and other junk. You just float the berries in a bucket of water and the good ones sink and the junk floats. So it's even easy to clean them up. I can pick and clean 2 1/2 gallons in less than two hours working slowly. That doesn't happen by hand.
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07/21/08, 06:09 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 491
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Since my blueberry bushes don't produce much yet, I went to a upick place on Saturday. The price was the same as last year - $1.25 pound for blueberries, marionberries (I have ALL that I need at home!), and raspberries.
I was able to pick about 11.5 pounds in one hour and then processed most of them on Sunday with one bag going into the freezer. Those will be part of the black and blue jam (half Marionberries/half blueberries made with liquid pectin).
Some, of course, went into the Sunday morning homemade pancakes. Yumm!
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07/21/08, 06:40 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: LP Michigan
Posts: 18
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Ours are not ripe yet in this area. I have been checking though for opening day at the upick place.
How do you freeze them. Do you have to individually freeze them first? Can you just put them in a freezer bag and freeze them?
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07/21/08, 06:50 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 3,891
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Stan, could you tell us how you dry them? I've read about "checking" the berries in boiling water before drying but I've never tried it. Do they come out kind of soft, like a raisin? I want them to be like the ones I get at the health food store. Our U-pick is $1.10 per pound for organic.
__________________
I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.
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07/21/08, 06:50 PM
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Failure is not an option.
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,623
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Hey.
Our blueberries should be starting in about a week. We hand pick here.
RF
__________________
It's not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required. - Winston Churchill
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07/21/08, 07:19 PM
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AFKA ZealYouthGuy
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NW Pa./NY Border.
Posts: 11,453
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Stan can you show me pics of the high bush blueberry rake and how it and the high bush system works. I haven't bought blueberries yet and haven't decided what type/system to go with.
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07/21/08, 07:57 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Posts: 415
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Blueberries taste fantastic with oat cereals, like oatmeal and Cheerios. My father thinks that blueberries taste best in muffins, though.
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07/21/08, 08:02 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 5,425
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy
Stan, could you tell us how you dry them? I've read about "checking" the berries in boiling water before drying but I've never tried it. Do they come out kind of soft, like a raisin? I want them to be like the ones I get at the health food store. Our U-pick is $1.10 per pound for organic.
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I just wash them and put them in the dehydrator. They come out like little blue rocks. But taste really good. Mine are wild grown, wild bushes. So they are as "organic as can be. 
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07/21/08, 08:03 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 5,425
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocky Fields
Hey.
Our blueberries should be starting in about a week. We hand pick here.
RF
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I did till this year. It is so much more efficient that I doubt I'll ever go back.
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07/21/08, 08:04 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 5,425
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seedspreader
Stan can you show me pics of the high bush blueberry rake and how it and the high bush system works. I haven't bought blueberries yet and haven't decided what type/system to go with.
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I'll go out tomorrow and get some picks of the bushes and the rake. I may even do a Video...
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07/21/08, 08:07 PM
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AFKA ZealYouthGuy
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NW Pa./NY Border.
Posts: 11,453
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stanb999
I'll go out tomorrow and get some picks of the bushes and the rake. I may even do a Video... |
Well, on my slow... only option dial up, I will look forward to pics... lol.
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07/21/08, 08:16 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 5,425
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seedspreader
Well, on my slow... only option dial up, I will look forward to pics... lol.
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Come on, Don't you think folks will want to watch me pick for a good hour or two? 
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07/21/08, 08:25 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Western NY
Posts: 444
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Stan - where did you get the high bush rake?
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07/21/08, 08:31 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 5,425
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Quote:
Originally Posted by .netDude
Stan - where did you get the high bush rake?
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http://www.hubbardrakes.com/
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07/21/08, 11:12 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 491
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blessed Mommy
How do you freeze them. Do you have to individually freeze them first? Can you just put them in a freezer bag and freeze them?
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You need to put them on a shallow pan with only a few layers. Prior to this year, I've only used one layer but I'm having good luck with a layer about 1/2 to 3/4 inch deep. I freeze them for several hours and then dump them into a freezer bag. If there are any clumps, they break up easily.
They can be removed a few at a time for muffins, pancakes, or even eating out of the bag. They are yummy when put into yogurt while still frozen. They provide a tasty crunch to the yogurt!
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07/22/08, 05:29 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: NE Ohio
Posts: 3,030
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Congrats on a good crop! Our local blueberry farm was closed the last two years due to poor yields, but this year the bushes are practically bursting with berries. I picked 7 pounds in a half hour by hand the first day, and 5 pounds in about the same amount of time the second (my speed varies according to the humidity and how whiney my "helper" is). The rake sounds like a great idea if you are growing your own! Enjoy your harvest!
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Melissa
Reformed hoyden. Please forgive me if I relapse.
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07/22/08, 05:39 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Sullivan County Pa
Posts: 630
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stanb999
Yeah, The blueberries are coming in.
The berries are doing great this year. We finally got a high bush blueberry rake this year. So I can gather a gallon or two in less than an hour. So this year it looks like we will have a huge abundance. We freeze, dry, and make jam. Even so I think we may just sell some at our little stand. This would be the first time.
Here is a pick of the berries prior to final sorting.
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we have a really good crop too this year. we made a blueberry custard that was outta this world! the blackberries dont seem to be doing too well tho. this remonds me, i really need to get out and pick!
__________________
The Journey -IS- the Destination
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, Its about learning to dance in the rain....
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07/22/08, 06:22 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Western NY
Posts: 444
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blessed Mommy
How do you freeze them. Do you have to individually freeze them first? Can you just put them in a freezer bag and freeze them?
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I just put them in a freezer bag and have not had a problem with it. They don't clump, I can pull out a handful at a time when needed.
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