Blueberry Pickin' Time

It's that time of year again! The hot humid time in summer when the blueberries need to be picked. We try to pick them every other day so that the berries continue to ripen rather than having a sea of green berries covering the ground under the bushes. The bushes will drop unripe berries if not picked properly, or so has been my experience. The birds usually do a good job keeping the blueberries picked if I don't... I am willing to share some but not too many! While blueberry picking can be peaceful, being outside at this time of year isn't usually too comfortable. It is hot during mid-day and the biting bugs come out at dawn and dusk. The trick is to try to pick them faster than the bugs can cover you in bites. I'm failing miserably so far this year! I attribute it to the good pruning I gave the bushes last fall and timing the fertilizer right this spring. They are producing like crazy!  I try to give them a good dose of fertilizer right as they start to flower, but don't always get to it in time. The rain has been very cooperative this year as well. We have given the bushes 3 good pickings, each taking about 2 1/2 hours. So far we have put 3 gallon sized bags of berries in the freezer and today we got a 5 gallon bucket about 3/4 of the way full. Not bad for 2 large bushes! There are 5 or 6 smaller ones, but they aren't producing much yet and because they are short, the chickens and turkeys steal the berries before we get to them. I never knew chickens could jump before I saw mine discover blueberries. They are hopping all over the place! Its so amusing to watch that it is almost worth allowing them to steal my fruit!

5 Gallon bucket nearly full of berries <3

 The berries are so sweet and juicy! Its difficult just to get them into the bucket instead of them ending up in our mouths! I think that Keegan eats more than he puts in the bucket! I'm looking forward to making blueberry jam, blueberry habanero pepper jelly, and blueberry cobbler, just to name a few things! We may end up with more blueberry wine this year, and I would like to try dehydrating them for trail mix as well!. It is always nice to have some in the freezer for pancakes and muffins later in the year. There are usually never enough berries for everything I want to do with them, but this year may be a first! We will see. Now to get them all picked and put up!

As always, the turkey-heads are nearby. Just in case I might drop a few. Always willing to help!