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Canadian Wild Blueberries: What Happens to the Wild Blueberry?

If you’re like us, you’re probably curious about how harvest season looks for wild blueberry producers. When farmers are harvesting corn, wheat, oats or canola, they use combines with specific headers (and settings) for each type of crop. Apple pickers are often hired for harvest to hand pick apples, careful to not bruise them, and then they are sorted by shape, size and quality. Other berries are harvested by shaking the branches and using a hand held rake for the stragglers, allowing the fruit to drop to the ground which is covered with a tarp. 

How are Canadian Wild Blueberries Harvested?

 

While the wild blueberry used to be picked by hand or by using a small, hand-held rake, harvest has significantly changed for many producers over the last couple of decades. 90-95% of growers now use a mechanical harvester which is mounted to a tractor. These harvesters have rotating rakes that pull the berries from the branches, drop them onto a belt, and then drops them into large totes. 

             

 

Fact: Each tote can hold around 300 pounds of berries

 

Approximately only 1-2% of wild blueberry producers still use the more traditional method of hand-raking the wild blueberries off of the brush. There are also smaller mechanical harvesters, as well. These can be pushed, or have push rakes that are mounted onto smaller machines, and are often used on smaller farms. 

What Happens after They Are Picked?

 

Depending on the size of operation, there are different ways that producers go about handling their produce for Individual Quick Freezing (IQF). Most producers ensure that once the totes have been filled, they are loaded onto a flatbed trailer and brought to a receiving station. Here, they are weighed and loaded into a transport truck. These trucks will bring the berries to the processing plant, where they go through a series of events to prepare them for the individual quick freezing process. Note: some producers skip the flatbed trailer all together and load their berries directly into the transport truck for the delivery to the processing station. 

 

Once the berries arrive at the processing plant, they are cleaned in by going through a blower and several different water baths. To ensure quality control, they are sorted by using lasers, as well as other techniques. Once the berries have been sorted and cleaned, each and every wild blueberry is individually quick frozen. There are several different processes that the berries will then go through, depending on the processing plant, what the berries are being used for, and where they are going. In the end, the berries are then packaged and prepared to ship. For berries that are sold in the freezer section in your grocery store, most of the berries are packaged into 600 gram and 2 kilogram bags or containers. The vast majority of Canadian wild blueberries, however, are exported out of the country! 

Did you know that Japan uses wild blueberries primarily in yogurts and jams, while Germany will use Canadian wild blueberries most often in glass jars! 

What about Fresh Wild Blueberries?

 

Because fresh wild blueberries do not have a long shelf life, they are most often sold as frozen berries. But if you’re in an area during wild blueberry harvest, and you happen to get your hands on some of those small blue gems, we highly recommend doing so! The process of harvest-to-table of fresh wild blueberries is a little different. 

Once the berries are picked, they are then brought back to the shop on the local farm. They go through a similar process as their frozen counterparts, with a giant fan blowing out the debris. Then they go over a sizing belt which helps sort the berries by size and ripeness, a tilter belt that removes clusters, and then over a picking belt where workers can sort through the fruit to pull the bad ones out (note: some operations also have started using lasers to help with this sorting process). Boxes are then packed in several sizes, including pint, 5lb and 10lbs. You can find these blueberries fresh at farm markets, some local grocery stores, or roadside stands. The farms that have their own processors will often also freeze their berries, and sell them to consumers well after the harvest is over!  

We are so thankful for those who manage and harvest Canadian wild blueberries! We love those tangy little berries that are unique to our part of the world, and how versatile they are. It’s wonderful being able to use them in all types of food, throughout the year (thanks to IQF), and even other things like DIY paint and soap. 

 

What do you think? Did you know this is how the mighty wild blueberry was harvested and processed? Were there any surprises? Let us know in the comments!

U-Pick Wild Blueberries in the Maritimes

With the summer truckin’ on, we are all excitedly anticipating the wild blueberry season, which usually starts sometime in August, and goes through until September (depending on the year)! There’s nothing that quite beats the taste of fresh wild blueberries, straight from the shrub, right? While you can often find these blue gems on your adventures down trails and paths, there are also several U-Picks throughout the maritimes! 

Nova Scotia

Wild Blueberry U-Pick

Location: 1 km north on the Upper Clyde Road Clyde River, NS, Canada
Phone: (902) 637-8322
Check out their website HERE

 

Glenhill Berry Farm

Location: Hwy #7, North Lochaber, NS
Phone: 902-783-2787 or Email: staylor@stfx.ca.
You can find more information HERE

 

BeeCee Farms Wild Blueberries

Location: 172 New France, Afton Rd. Antigonish, NS
Phone: (902) 863-2047
Watch for updates and information HERE

 

 

Wild Blueberry Health Benefits

 

New Brunswick

Trueman Blueberry Farms

Location: 255 Etter Ridge Road, Aulac Sackville, NB
Phone: (506) 364-7458
Check out their website HERE

 

Sunset U-Pick

Location: 49 Ferris street, Fredericton, NB
Phone: 506-459-3183
To learn more about Sunset U-Pick, click HERE

 

Michel Ross

Location: 3252 Route 135, Trudel, NB
Phone: 506-764-3533
There is no website for this farm, so you’ll want to call for all the updates!

Prince Edward Island

Blue Acre Farms 

Location: 15623 Route 14 Tignish, PE
Phone: (902) 882-3410
To watch for updates and get more information, click HERE

 

The McCardle’s Berry Patch

Location: 11860 St Peters Rd Tracadie Cross PE
Phone: (902) 676-2945
Check out their page for more information! You can find it HERE

 

Woodingtons Blueberry U-Pick

Location: 539 Route 104 Kensington, PE
Phone: (902) 836-5305
Click the link HERE to find out more information! 

 

 

Strawberries are great, apples are delicious, and picking your own pumpkin can be a blast. But we think there’s nothing quite like picking a bucket full of fresh wild blueberries! 

 

Have another u-pick in mind that you don’t see listed here? Drop a comment below and help us update this list! 

 

 

 

 

Canadian Wild Blueberry Festivals You’ll Want to Check Out

We love the wild blueberry, and we’re not alone! Many people love them because of their versatility, their vibrant taste, and the mega health benefits that they give. The Canadian wild blueberry industry provides jobs to thousands of people across the country. We think it should be celebrated, and others agree! 

 

We’ve compiled a [growing] list of wild blueberry festivals that can be found across Canada. 

 

Prince Edward Island

St. Peters Wild Blueberry Festival

http://www.stpetersblueberryfestival.com/

A week long festival with many events and activities. Usually runs at the end of July. 

 

New Brunswick

Granite Town Wild Blueberry Festival 

https://www.facebook.com/GraniteTownWildBlueberryFestival

A week long celebration of all things St. George, NB. This town also known for its large blueberry! 

 

Nova Scotia

Wild Blueberry Fest

https://www.wildblueberryfest.com/

A two week celebration throughout the central region of Nova Scotia!

 

 Quebec

Festival Du Bleuet 

https://www.festivaldubleuet.com/

This festival is located in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Québec and runs for a week long. 

 

Saskatchewan 

St. Walburg Wild Blueberry Festival

https://blueberryfest.ca/?fbclid=IwAR1zZ78nOVskbSiA2U1mbq3Dhpy-Qpm1DVRDG2U-cmAMok8Oxmd8X8wU19g

Located in St. Walburg, Sask, this festival is held the 4th Saturday of August each year. 

 

 

Have you ever visited any of these festivals? Do you know of others that we haven’t listed? We want to hear from you! Drop us a line in the comment section below! 

 

*Disclaimer: due to the nature of the pandemic, some of these festivals may not be running in 2021. Please check out their websites & social media pages for up-to-date information