Category Archives: Blueberries (Vaccinium)

So, I used google to look up “Wild bog blueberry” and I found this paper on managing wild stands of a few types of berries in Alaska.  It is right in line with what we are currently studying.  Turns out, it’s from our Prof! Bog blueberry management

I have been making wine for a few years now, mostly focusing on birch flavored ones, but blueberry wine has always stuck out as an obvious option that should be explored. This site has what looks like an excellent recipe for the first batch.

This year was phenomenally prolific for me in my quest for blueberries. Early and abundant, then continued production all the way through mid-August. This was not the report that I heard from everyone I know who seeks the Interior blueberry.  Hit and miss, no show, or picked out was what I heard more than anything else. We travel far and wide to find the best spots and have a few different areas scoped out for different types of seasons. When spot x is showing nothing, spot y will usually be flush and so on. This proved to be right on the money again this year and while a few spots were low yielding, most of our others were fantastic. The combination of factors that leads to good berry yields has always fascinated me and continues today.  The Peninsula Clarion ran a story this year pointing out the difference between regions and spots on berry harvest.

A story on the history of wild blueberry cultivation and how it began in the pine barrens of New Jersey
Blueberry History

Original reports on the ground breaking work done by botanist Frederick Coville on the cultivation of wild blueberries (early 1900s).   Surprisingly readable.

Experiments in Blueberry Culture, 1911 – discovery of soil needs of blueberries and implications for commercial production.
Blueberry research

Directions for Blueberry Culture, 1916  – Five years later. What has been learned. Notes work done at Whitebogs, NJ.
Blueberry culture

Wild Blue Berry Network Canada

Interesting site on wild blueberry management in Canada. It also includes information on lingonberries and cloudberries. Many of the species are not in Alaska, but the management issues are similar.