# Wild Blueberries



## Crawfish (May 7, 2002)

Today I found wild blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and black raspberries within a 100 yard stretch in south central Michigan, which for some reason, I thought was pretty cool. 

Now, I know strawberries and brambles are common, and I know the U.P. has plenty of blueberries, but I'm curious how many of you find wild blueberries in the southern LP?


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

I find wild blueberries all the time in the Manistee national forest around this time of year. They are hard to recognize as they are so much smaller than farm grown berries.


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## Crawfish (May 7, 2002)

Yes, quite small, and the plants I'm finding here are only about 8-12" high at the most. When I've found them in the UP, they were bigger plants and berries. I'm sure the lack of rain in our area isn't helping fruit size.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Little early for picking. Added a new antique rake to my collection that I am hoping to try this year. Need some rain!


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

Tons of them usually up this way. Terrible year this year. Those 2 days of late frost killed I'd say 75%+ of the blooms. Only ones that survived are the plants that are in the wooded areas. Anything in open areas didn't produce any berries.


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

Not looking to hijack your thread. I love blueberry's and we grow them at home. Here is a picture of a valley in Alaska I stumbled on last year. It's all blueberry's and must be 6000 acres! I had a great pie...


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

Nice area!!! Here's a little chunk of blueberry heaven around the corner from me on State land. Goes for a few miles. Losing 100's of acres to logging unfortunately.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Actually logging is a good thing. The plants only produce well for a couple years of their life cycle. Fire is what they need, but logging has replaced that nowadays.

So if you don't find any in your old spot keep looking, and if you have a burned area nearby, go there first.

The commercial operations on the east coast do a 7-10 year burn rotation.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

swampbuck said:


> Actually logging is a good thing. The plants only produce well for a couple years of their life cycle. Fire is what they need, but logging has replaced that nowadays.
> 
> So if you don't find any in your old spot keep looking, and if you have a burned area nearby, go there first.
> 
> The commercial operations on the east coast do a 7-10 year burn rotation.


 Logging wipes them out around here. For some reason, they really only grow good around white or red pines like in the pic. When they log out the area, they grind and plow the stumps and ground, which kills 90% of them. Then they don't replant, so Jack Pines grow back, which the blueberries won't grow near. I can go to areas that were carpets of blueberries that got logged 4-5 years ago, and there's almost not a blueberry plant to be found.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

Downriver Tackle said:


> Logging wipes them out around here. For some reason, they really only grow good around white or red pines like in the pic. When they log out the area, they grind and plow the stumps and ground, which kills 90% of them. Then they don't replant, so Jack Pines grow back, which the blueberries won't grow near. I can go to areas that were carpets of blueberries that got logged 4-5 years ago, and there's almost not a blueberry plant to be found.


Looks like you have to be proactive and do some wild blueberry habitat management. Cut off the jack pines at ground level with a pair of snips and replace with white or red pine seedlings that you started at home.


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## Crawfish (May 7, 2002)

Swampbuck, I've seen those hand rakes in action in Maine, and they sure are effective. Amazing how quickly a pro can fill a 5 gal pail!


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Crawfish said:


> Swampbuck, I've seen those hand rakes in action in Maine, and they sure are effective. Amazing how quickly a pro can fill a 5 gal pail!


I hit it good every2-3 years, put a lot of work into scouting, this makes 3 years since the last good harvest, Kirkland area fire. They freeze well, that was 12 1/2 gal in 45 min.

My rake is a liberty take, from Halifax, Nova Scotia's. I do my time,and it's worth it.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

petronius said:


> Looks like you have to be proactive and do some wild blueberry habitat management. Cut off the jack pines at ground level with a pair of snips and replace with white or red pine seedlings that you started at home.


I think I'll be long gone by the time the trees grew and the berries infested the area again. lol Local conservation club has been doing white pine plantings on state land, since the state won't do it and is obsessed with Jack Pines. Still lots of blueberries out there, but lost probably 1/4 of them in the last few years due to the state's lax replanting and new logging techniques.

Went by an area last night that had a controlled burn 3 years ago. Not a single blueberry plant to be found. They plowed and ground everything up there also. I think that's what's doing it. We live on pure sand with just an inch or so of actual soil. When they plow after a cut or burn, it's like a beach out there. Pure sand.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

swampbuck said:


> I hit it good every2-3 years, put a lot of work into scouting, this makes 3 years since the last good harvest, Kirkland area fire. They freeze well, that was 12 1/2 gal in 45 min.
> 
> My rake is a liberty take, from Halifax, Nova Scotia's. I do my time,and it's worth it.


 Are all those rakes wasteful, or just certain models? I watched a guy using one by me a while back. It stripped everything off the plants, ripe or not. Left barren plants in his wake and wasted all those berries that weren't even ripe yet.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

If used properly none of those things happen. I have some antiques that may be rough, but the rake I use from liberty rake is used by the commercial growers in Nova Scotia, they are not in business to damage or kill plants

The law that applies is that you can't damage plants, same laws that apply to trees.


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## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

swampbuck said:


> If used properly none of those things happen. I have some antiques that may be rough, but the rake I use from liberty rake is used by the commercial growers in Nova Scotia, they are not in business to damage or kill plants
> 
> The law that applies is that you can't damage plants, same laws that apply to trees.


Hey Swamp, Did you ever hear of old Joe Malinger? Rumor has that he bought any parcel of land that had any kind of creek on it. I knew a oldtimer that said his property had to have blue berrys on it and a creek.
Story goes that he went to the county to inquire about a piece of land to buy, they looked it up and told him that he already owned it.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

swampbuck said:


> If used properly none of those things happen. I have some antiques that may be rough, but the rake I use from liberty rake is used by the commercial growers in Nova Scotia, they are not in business to damage or kill plants
> 
> The law that applies is that you can't damage plants, same laws that apply to trees.


I wasn't referring to damaging the plants necessarily. I meant stripping almost all the berries off, ripe or not. This guy looked like he had lots of sorting to do. Taking still green berries and all. Quite a bit of foliage also. Seems like allot of waste and hassle.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Downriver Tackle said:


> I wasn't referring to damaging the plants necessarily. I meant stripping almost all the berries off, ripe or not. This guy looked like he had lots of sorting to do. Taking still green berries and all. Quite a bit of foliage also. Seems like allot of waste and hassle.


You really need to wait until 90% or more are ripe and then you only rake the berries on the outside of the plant. Both of those issues should be minimal. It really comes down to using it properly.


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## hillbillie (Jan 16, 2011)

I remember when I was young Mom would roll the berries down a terry cloth towel into a wash tub a few at a time to separate the twigs ,leaves and sort the green berries. Dad and us kids picked em by hand.

Thinking back, l believe she wrapped the towel around an antique washboard.
Sent from my Torque using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

swampbuck said:


> You really need to wait until 90% or more are ripe and then you only rake the berries on the outside of the plant. Both of those issues should be minimal. It really comes down to using it properly.


 Thanks. That makes sense. Thought about getting a rake before, but after seeing that guy, it seemed like more of a hassle with all the sorting. I guess he wasn't the greatest example to watch. lol


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

There is a learning curve, for sure. It took a few trips to get it right.


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## sargent (Oct 1, 2001)

Here in Oceana Co. we have tons of wild blueberries growing on our property. like the wild strawberries that grow here too they are very small but tasty. black berries and raspberries are not as common on our property but very abundant on fed land behind our property.


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## burntcabin (Feb 23, 2013)

6Speed said:


> Not looking to hijack your thread. I love blueberry's and we grow them at home. Here is a picture of a valley in Alaska I stumbled on last year. It's all blueberry's and must be 6000 acres! I had a great pie...


I used to rake fields like this off the coastal mountains in Maine. Gorgeous blueberry bogs...


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

burntcabin said:


> I used to rake fields like this off the coastal mountains in Maine. Gorgeous blueberry bogs...


Ive been to Maine a couple of times and know what you mean! Lobster rolls and blueberry pie...yum!


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Blueberries are just coming on around here. Went out and picked a few a couple days ago. Man they were good!!

No blackberries or black raspberries yet though, but it should be an amazing year. With that late snow and the goofy weather we have been having, I was sure that we were going to lose all of our berries this year, but it actually looks like it's going to be better than usual!


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Great report, Anish. I will have to start watching them.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

Just starting to turn ripe around here. Picked a few here and there. Number of plants with berries that survived are super-low this year though. I can't believe the hurt that late frost put on them in this area. I've picked a few quarts off my property every year for the last 10 years and I'll be lucky to get 200 berries total this year. lol State land looks just as bleak.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

All pretty much ripe around here, but numbers are pathetic. Checked several spots on state land in the last few days. Lucky to get 100 berries per acre!! And very tiny. Hopefully others that didn't get hit by the late frost are having better luck. This year is a wash in this area.


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## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

I checked mine yesterday and the frost got most of them but the berries that are on there are huge. They are just starting to turn. The black berries are loaded this year but it will be a while for those. I just have to get them before the bear finds them


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

Scout 2 said:


> I checked mine yesterday and the frost got most of them but the berries that are on there are huge. They are just starting to turn. The black berries are loaded this year but it will be a while for those. I just have to get them before the bear finds them


 I noticed the blackberry plants are loaded this year also. We have terrible soil for them around here and they're usually tiny and all seeds. Hopefully they'll be better this year with the weird weather.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Got word yesterday from a fellow Raker, that it is time to harvest the berries.....woohoo!


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

We found a couple descent patches along the 50" ATV trails yesterday, deep in the woods where the frost didn't hit. They were loaded and ready to pick.


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## Crawfish (May 7, 2002)

I've been seeing lots of black raspberries in Montcalm. A few blackberries and dewberries, but the raspberries are the most prevalent. Need to eliminate some of the competing AO and MFR and they would do even better.


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Our blueberry bushes over this way were loaded with not quite ripe blueberries right after the 4th of July. Went back out right after the Crayfish boil and nothing. The bushes looked like the blueberries were never even there.


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## CHASINEYES (Jun 3, 2007)

Two or three years ago we were picking them near Oscoda on Labor day. They were few and far between. Must have just been remnants of the on season.


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## The Eyes Have It (Apr 13, 2016)

Was in the eastern U.P. over the weekend. Pretty good blueberry pickin! Seems a little early though, still


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## The Eyes Have It (Apr 13, 2016)

The Eyes Have It said:


> Was in the eastern U.P. over the weekend. Pretty good blueberry pickin! Seems a little early though, still


Still lots of green berries ^


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## CHASINEYES (Jun 3, 2007)

The Eyes Have It said:


> Still lots of green berries ^


44 quarts have come from our patch so far. Many have went to waste as no one was picking for a time. I'm guessing at least double that still not ripe and that's being very conservative. That is not considering the back few acres where the berries are more of the wild variety. This is the first year they have produced since those two hard winters so they are loaded.


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