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aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

[WA] Blackberry season is here

Just came back from a bike ride on Interurban, and blaclkberries are starting to get edible around the trail. While finding the fully ripe may takes a little search, they are out there already. I presume they should be much better in warmer areas.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

this is early (I think?) and having a little rain last week should make for a huge crop.
Me, I'm thinking blueberries (safeway had imports for $10 for a half flat (tasted ok,
»www.mountainviewblueberr ··· arm.com/ has bluecrop (your basic berry for $2.10 a pound (and blueberries are fast and easy to pick, no thorns)

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz

sashwa

Mod

We use to go wild blueberry picking when I was growing up. And there were wild blueberries bushes in the field behind our house. Those were the bomb and much better tasting than what you get in the stores.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor to tshirt

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to tshirt
said by tshirt:

this is early (I think?)

Hard to say. Depending on the weather, there can be a 2 - 3 weeks spread.

Looking at this old berry thread ( »Re: [WA] Berries #2 ) we're definitely ahead of 2010.

I might need to go out and visit that blueberry farm. Even at $2.10 it's probably still cheaper than going out to the mountains and hunt for berries there, though as sashwa said, the wild blueberries can taste much better than the store bought varieties. I actually had a pretty good sized blueberry bush in my old place in Mill Creek, but the soil is much poorer and drier up here, so it died about 2 years after I moved here.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

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1 recommendation

tshirt

Premium Member

we've picked at the farm I linked for year (missed the last 2-3) used to be the largest commercial exporter in Washington, but is now part of Stockers family (one of the 4 big original farm families in the Snohomish valley 3rd or 4th generation now in charge.) the later types of berries are better but if you go buy a bag a any store anywhere during the winter it will be a bluecrop- very reliable keeper that ships fresh too. blueberries used to grow every where around here and you still find old farms in the swampy areas overgrown by everything else.

a handful of blueberries baked in half a peach or nectarine with a little sugar, serve warm with a drizzle of chilled cream.

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz

sashwa

Mod

WA blueberry bushes must be different than the wild blueberry bushes in CT. They weren't in swampy areas.

Voxxjin
Made of Hamburger
Premium Member
join:2010-01-13
Dupont, WA

Voxxjin to aurgathor

Premium Member

to aurgathor
I started seeing more and more over the last couple of weeks. I was gone this weekend and when we came back I noticed tons of them in the woods behind the house. I picked a couple pints of them to eat over the next few days.

This is one thing I definately remember from being out in the woods of Washington about 20 years ago. being able to hike and snack on them along the way.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

Down there blackberries probably become edible a week or two ahead us.
aurgathor

aurgathor to sashwa

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to sashwa
said by sashwa:

WA blueberry bushes must be different than the wild blueberry bushes in CT. They weren't in swampy areas.

There other closely related species that look like a blueberry [the fruit] but they grow in the mountains.
aurgathor

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to tshirt
There's also the Larsen Lake blueberry farm in Bellevue just off 148th, but they may be a bit more pricey.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt to aurgathor

Premium Member

to aurgathor
mountain huckleberry very good too.
One caution on huckleberry (and mountain berries of any kind) picking is you are directly competing with bears, in their territory.
make noise and be prepared to leave fast without your fruit.
tshirt

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to sashwa
They are a little different, not really swampy but damp mucky high acid soils. definitely needs a lot of water to fill the berries

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz

sashwa

Mod

The soil in that field was not mucky but NE definitely gets rain during the summer months so the soil is always moist there.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Farmers almanac says
"Blueberries are picky about soil. They require one that is acidic, high in organic matter, and well-drained yet moist. pH should ideally be between 4 and 5".

around here always seem to be planted in the boggy areas near river or ponds, probably so they could be watered in summer but yours might have been highbush types which are a little different somehow more like huckleberries are here

I know wild ones are often in burned forest areas after a few years

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz
446.4 4.0

sashwa

Mod

This is what I remember the bushes looking like.




Also there are lots of rivers, ponds, and lakes in CT and New England.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

WOW! a neatly mulched and grass covered path.

you 'farmworkers' really know how to rough it.