Blueberry season is a magical but fleeting time. These tasty and nutrient-packed berries ripen quickly, so you need to be ready to pick them at their peak. Learning how to harvest blueberries efficiently lets you maximize the bounty from your bushes or u-pick farm.
Follow these 13 tips to pick bushels of plump, juicy berries before they go bad on the bush:
1. Choose the Right Harvesting Tools
Having the proper picking tools speeds up harvesting blueberries Useful options include
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Berry rakes or scoops: Ripe fruit off of bushes and into a container all at once. Rakes with long handles make bending less necessary.
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Tarps or sheets – Spread under bushes, then shake plant to dislodge ripe berries onto the tarp for easy collection.
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Umbrellas – Hold upside-down under bush to catch berries as you shake branches.
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Small containers – Lets you pick with both hands rather than one-handed into a large bucket,
2. Pick in the Early Morning
Blueberries should be picked early in the morning, when it is cooler. Berries stay firm longer after being picked if you pick them early in the day. When berries get warm in the afternoon sun, they get soft and won’t last as long.
3. Work Systematically Around Bushes
Don’t randomly pluck berries. Pick bushes clean by working methodically from the bottom to the top of each plant. Check both sides of every branch.
4. Use Both Hands
Hold a small container in each hand. You can pick much faster harvesting with both hands rather than one-handed into a large bucket.
5. Pick in Teams
Team up with others. One person can shake the bush or hold an umbrella while the rest quickly collect the dropped berries into containers.
6. Focus on Ripe Areas First
Scan plants and target the ripest, deepest blue sections first. Come back later to see greener areas. That way, you won’t waste any ripe berries.
7. Don’t Overfill Picking Containers
Don’t pack small containers too full. Heavy containers cause spills and waste time. Around 2/3 full is an ideal weight.
8. Use a Berry Carrier
A waist-strap carrier or apron frees up both hands for efficient direct-to-carrier picking instead of repeated bucket trips.
9. Take Short Breaks
Take brief breaks to stretch your back and hands. Bending over for too long leads to strains and injuries.
10. Stay Hydrated
Drink plenty of water to stay energized and avoid dehydration. Wear a hat, sunscreen, and bug spray as needed.
11. Pick Often
Make frequent harvesting passes. The more you pick, the more productive your bushes will be. Don’t let ripe fruit drop.
12. Plant Productive Varieties
Choose abundant yielding blueberry varieties like Duke, Spartan, Bluecrop, Premier, Tifblue, and Powderblue.
13. Invest in Efficient Tools
Quality picking tools like rakes, carriers, and containers will boost productivity and reduce strain.
Tips for Picking Wild Blueberries
Harvesting wild, low bush blueberries relies primarily on small hand rakes. Tips for efficiently raking wild berries:
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Use a wide rake head to cover more area per sweep.
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Keep the rake head close to the ground, gently disturbing berries loose.
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Use smooth strokes without damaging plants since they must regrow each year.
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Work in teams with some collecting filled buckets to keep pickers raking nonstop.
Make DIY Blueberry Harvesting Tools
You can create homemade blueberry harvesting tools on a budget:
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Coffee Can Rakes – Cut open cans into tines and add a handle.
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Umbrella Berry Catcher – Remove one section so trunk fits inside.
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Tarp Berries Catcher – Use tarps and clotheslines to quickly harvest into.
Enjoy the Rewards of an Efficient Harvest
Picking blueberries doesn’t need to be difficult or time-consuming. Follow these tips for fast, efficient harvesting. Your reward is bushels of fresh, healthy berries to enjoy or preserve. Happy picking!
Keys to Determine Blueberry Ripeness
When a blueberry is ripe, it is full, has a powdery layer on top called “bloom,” and is the same shade of blue from the blossom end to the top.
It should be nice and firm, but not soft, and come off the bush almost by itself. I use my thumb to gently flick it off the plant and into the bucket.
Size doesn’t really play into it, since size can vary quite a bit between different cultivars. Your best indication is color!.
The color stages that the berries go through can vary between cultivars, but it’ll generally follow these stages (see illustrations below):
- Pale green
- Reddish purple
- Purple at the bottom and red at the top: almost there!
- Fully dark blue with a powdery layer: ready to pick.
- Extremely dark, soft and wrinkly: you waited too long.
!st Stage: Green to Purple
2nd Stage: Purple to Blue
Last Stage: Showing blue from top to bottom of berries
If you want to know if your berries are ready to pick, pay close attention to where the blossom ends connect to the stem. If there’s still any hint of red or purple there, just wait a little longer. You’ll get an pretty tart blueberry if you pick it while the blossom end is still purple.
Tip: There are a select few exceptions to the color rule. Specifically, pink blueberry cultivars like ‘Pink Lemonade’ and ‘Pink Popcorn’ are ripe when the berries are evenly bright pink.
When Are Blueberries Ripe?
When the blueberries on your bush are ready to pick depends on factors like the climate where you live and the variety you’re growing, but you can usually assume “roughly” the following:
- Early blueberries: May-June
- Mid-season blueberries: July-August
- Late blueberries: As late as September
Not all the berries on a shrub will be ready to pick at the same time. About a third of the blueberries on a bush can be picked when they first come out of the ground. The next third can be picked a week later, and the last third can be picked yet another week after that.
If you stagger your different varieties to include early, mid, and late season varieties you should be able to get a 6-7 week harvest. This is true whether you are growing them in the ground or growing them in pots on a deck or balcony.
This chart on ripening times of various blueberry varieties can give you a good idea of what to expect for a harvest season.
Tip: Use the fact that not all blueberry bushes ripen at the same time to stretch the season by planting at least three different shrubs: one early variety, one mid-season one, and one late one.
Fastest way to pick blueberries
FAQ
How do commercial growers pick blueberries?
Fresh blueberries are carefully hand harvested to protect the fragile fruit. Blueberries that will be packaged and sold frozen, freeze-dried, or used for jams and jellies are mechanically harvested. Machines are used to shake each bush, causing the ripe berries to fall into a catching frame.
What month is best for blueberry picking?
Here are typical blueberry harvest times for regions in the United States. California: March–June. Northeast: Late July–September. Southeast: April–May. Midwest: Mid-July–Early September. Rocky Mountains: Mid-July–Early September. Northwest: July–September. Southwest: April–June.
How do you pick blueberries?
Picking blueberries is one of the most straightforward tasks since there isn’t much effort involved. Wait until the berries are entirely blue all the way around and pluck them gently from the stem. Continue picking fresh berries throughout the season as they change from pink and light blue to dark blue.
Are blueberries easy to pick?
There’s no great secret to picking blueberries. Beyond the actual picking of the blueberries, there isn’t an easier fruit to prepare and serve. Plus, you don’t have to peel, pit, core, or cut them. You can freeze, can, or dry them to keep them for a long time if you don’t use them right away for pie, cobbler, or a snack.
Can you harvest blueberries by hand or machine?
When you harvest blueberries by hand or machine, take care not to damage the delicate fruits. Pick one berry at a time from the plant and carefully place it into your basket or container. It would be a harvesting mistake to bruise the fruits by being too forceful when picking or dropping them into a container from a height.
When to harvest blueberries?
The region where you live also plays a part in blueberry harvesting. For example, blueberries have a short season in the far south, and harvest time is from mid-March to late May. It’s a good idea to understand your hardiness zone to determine when to harvest blueberries.
How do you harvest blueberries?
Harvesting blueberries is a simple process but, even so, there are a few things to keep in mind. First off, don’t rush to pick the berries too soon. Wait until they turn blue. They should fall off right into your hand with no tugging on the delicate berry required.
Do blueberries ripen at different times?
Blueberries come in many types and ripen at different times. This makes it easy to pick blueberries during the right time of year. Picking blueberries is easier than picking many berries, since you don’t have to stoop over to pick them, and the berries aren’t hidden behind leaves. It’s also easy to spot ripe berries.