Blueberry Production Factors
Hard Work
Blueberry production factors involve a lot of different things, one of the most important on being a lot of very hard work. The family starts working on the blueberry bushes in early spring, pruning, mulching, fertilizing, mowing and weed eating around the bushes. During the blueberry picking season they spend 12 hours a day, 6 days a week at the farm, making sure that the farm is in good shape when the u-pickers come. They check the farm to see where the ripest blueberries are and where the best picking is. When the picking season is over it is back to pruning, mulching, preparing the bushes to survive the harsh winter weather and working to ensure the blueberry production for the following year is as good or better as the current year.
More Blueberry Production Factors
There are a lot of blueberry production factors that effect the crop each year, with weather being a major factor. A spring and summer with normal rainfall and temperature make the blueberries thrive. However, very few spring and summer seasons bring "normal rainfall". Even in the driest years blueberry production has been excellent; the blueberry bushes have proven to be very hardy and have continued to provide an abundance of blueberries.
Another blueberry production factor effecting the blueberry crop, is the decrease in the native population of honey bees who are needed to pollinate the blueberry flowers in the spring. Bob and Cathy, with the help of Cathy's father have brought in "The Orchard Mason Blueberry Bee" (Osmia Ribofloris) a bee native to both the west and east coast of the United States, to take the place of the honey bee.
Age is another blueberry production factor. Each year new blueberry bushes are planted to take the place of the older blueberry bushes whose blueberry production decreases as they age. Some of these bushes are in the patch with the older bushes, some are in new expanded sections of the blueberry farm.
More information on Blueberry Production Factors will be coming soon!
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