Blueberries are also often referred to as blueberries in this country and can be harvested from wild plants in the forest or from cultivated varieties for the garden. They can be eaten fresh or preserved by boiling.

Picking the berries in the forest

The native wild varieties of blueberries in the forest have a similar ripening time to the varieties cultivated for the garden in North America. Depending on the weather, the first fully ripe fruits can usually be found from the beginning of July. However, the exact ripening time of a stand also depends on the altitude of the location and on the shade provided by trees and shrubs. In the case of wild blueberries, the season usually does not last as long into late summer as in the case of cultivated varieties, but a harvest is still possible in places up to the end of August or the beginning of September.

The North American blueberry varieties for the garden

Commonly used as garden yielding plants, these plants are descended from North American blueberries, which have larger fruits and white flesh. They are a little less aromatic and rich in vitamins than their wild relatives in this country, but are more pressure-resistant and do not stain your fingers when crushing fruit. The harvest time for cultivated blueberries ranges from around July to September, depending on location and care. During this time, fruits can be harvested continuously from the same bushes, as they ripen at different times. Good yielding varieties for cultivation are:

  • Bluecrop
  • gold grape
  • Bluetta
  • Nero

tips and tricks

Since unripe and ripe fruits hang close together on each branch of cultivated blueberries, care should be taken when using a berry comb to only get fully ripe fruits. Blueberries do not ripen and must be sorted out when they are unripe.

Category:

Vegetable garden