A basic principle with almost any fruit or vegetable is the more you harvest the more the plant produces.
My blueberry bushes – for more than a decade — have started producing berries the first week in June and continued through July. June’s berries are slightly larger (about the size of a dime) than July’s berries (a little smaller than a dime.)
For years I picked everyday. And in the last two weeks of the season I picked every other day.
During the dry weeks of this season the berries have been tiny. Because of the heat, no rain, and the end of the season we started picking every other day about 10 days ago.
We had a thunderstorm last evening that coincided with our day to pick berries. Needless to say they didn’t get picked. This morning was the 3rd day. When we picked we were delighted to find the berries had increased in size dramatically. We got about 2 1/2 times what we usually get and I didn’t see any berries on the ground that were missed by not picking. ( I feel the rain was only in part responsible for the increased size and amount.)
I think next year — in the interest of saving lots of time — I’ll try picking every other day at the beginning of the season and every 3rd day at the end. If I see that I am loosing ripe berries (they fall to the ground) — then I can always decrease the time between pickings.
Blueberries harvested July 16th.
And by the way – the berries you see in the photo that are purple/red are not quite ripe. I always let the berries set on my kitchen table for a day before I use or freeze and they ripen perfectly.
Other Posts on Blueberries:
Blueberry – Tip
Pruning Blueberry Bushes
Blueberries – Beware of Root Competition
______
Organic Gardening is easy, efficient, and effective —- and it’s a lot healthier.
______
All content including photos is copyright by TendingMyGarden.com. All Rights Reserved.
I have about 5 robins that I see flying away from my blueberries when I approach. The owl statue, flash tape, and scary-eye balloon don’t impress them. Needless to say, I don’t find many ripe berries. I haven’t been willing to fuss w/ netting (plus I once found a bird trapped under some years ago.)
I wonder if your idea of picking them red and letting them ripen on the counter might be something of a solution?
They are usually red — one day (or 2) before they are blue, Tom. But that is not solution for birds. And as you said owl look-a-likes, flash tape, and scary-eye balloon don’t do anything.
I’ve found that it’s only a few birds with bad attitudes that do all the damage. If you can get rid of them — you should have better luck.
Theresa