First Blueberry Harvest

The blueberries are finally ready for harvest! I feel as if we've been waiting for this all summer as we've patiently watched the bushes flower, then form small green berries, and slowly grow into plump purple clusters. 

We have been surprised at how many berries the bushes produced. They were planted just this spring, and although they were rather mature bushes, we didn't anticipate a very large crop until next year. 

We also have been happy to see that the deer have not been back after their early pre-harvest sampling! I had a talk with them after their raid a few weeks ago and apparently, they're standing by our compromise agreement (i.e. eat all the roses you'd like but leave the berries alone).  

Margaret joined me for the first harvest as Graham was still down for his morning nap. 

The berries we picked were to accompany our morning pancakes. Now that the babies are eating solids, we'll be sure to include some blueberries in their menu this week - which is so exciting! 

We let Margaret explore the morning's pickings... 

with two hands. 

 She liked squishing them between her fingers. 

The varieties we planted (boy and girl bushes are needed to cross pollinate) were: 

Jersey Blueberry 

Berkeley Blueberry

Bluecrop Blueberry

Early Blue Blueberry

Herbert Blueberry 

Next harvest, blackberries!