When is your blueberry harvest?

[Gina]

I'm trying to extend the season both earlier and later with different Southern Highbush varities, but right now the main part of my season is usually from very late March/early April into the middle/late June. About 3 months long.

We've had a warm winter and early bloom so I think this year it's going to start earlier. From 50-60 bearing bushes, I've been picking about 10-20 every day or so. The birds are not working them yet thankfully.

It's going to happen soon. I can hardly wait.

[WillsC]

I have just picked a couple berries so far but there is a sea of green ones out there. I would say another 3 weeks and they should start to get going.

[fruitnut]

Mine are later than I'd like. Wish I had another greenhouse for low chill things like blueberry and figs. I could get harvest going much earlier if I didn't have to waste two months chilling and then hold down temps for other things.

Mine usually don't really come on until I'm thinking late April.

[Gina]

Mine usually don't really come on until I'm thinking late April.

That is late. But the upside is that your season probably lasts later into the summer.

I just was outside picking early fruits, and for the first time this year, there were more than I could eat. Of course not all of them were fully ripe, but that is another issue.

When it's early in the season, I pick about every other day to give berries a better chance to ripen. That however is rushing it, but I can't help myself. Next time I'll probably need to pick into a (small) container. Yippee!! And in a couple days, we are going to have some 80* weather which should encourage even faster ripening.

[WillsC]

We have been in the mid 80's here and you can almost see the berries swelling. I put the last 11 Kestrels I had in 3 gallon air pots to later transition them to bigger quarters. Dan was telling me that given their propensity to be evergreen I should leave some in pots and take them in the greenhouse in the fall and I would have fresh berries all winter......didn't have to twist my arm. Not sure how I will handle the pollination issue though.

[Gina]

We have been in the mid 80's here and you can almost see the berries swelling. I put the last 11 Kestrels I had in 3 gallon air pots to later transition them to bigger quarters. Dan was telling me that given their propensity to be evergreen I should leave some in pots and take them in the greenhouse in the fall and I would have fresh berries all winter......didn't have to twist my arm. Not sure how I will handle the pollination issue though.

In addition to pollinators, wouldn't you also need another concurrently blooming low chill bb for cross pollination? Or is Kestrel self compatible?

I hope you can get that to work. I'll sometimes get winter berries on my evergreen bbs (usually Emerald) - but it's non predictable.

[WillsC]

Gina,

Yes, I asked Dan and he said Chickadee as the cross pollinator, will pick those up soon. I would have to get a box of bees for the greenhouse.

[Inkfin]

Avanti (FL06-203) and Endura (FL06-377) could be good potential pollinizers for Kestrel as both of them (latest UF cultivar ) are also very low chill and do best in evergreen production according to Jim Olmstead.

[Gina]

You've probably seen this video. Hoophouses rather than a greenhouse. I esp like his last comment.

http://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/use-high-tunnels-to-improve-blueberry-yields-earliness/

[WillsC]

Gina,

Dan is talking about just that, putting in some high tunnels to grow the evergreens in, think he said a few acres as an experiment. He is always tweaking the growing envelope.

[Gina]

Although the video was from last year, the gentleman was not growing the latest low chill varieties. Perhaps with Kestrel, chickadee, and the even newer low chill ones, growing in tunnels will be even more successful. Out here many raspberries are tunnel grown. Not BBs yet - that I've seen.

No frost here, so all of my blueberries outside are mostly evergreen. But due to the vagaries of weather, production is extremely variable.