Blueberry season is here!

By Rosemary Conroy on Friday, July 16, 2004.

listen:

As blueberry season approaches, Rosemary Conroy tells you where to find these gems and why you should.

Something Wild: Blueberries
Air date: 7/16/04

Welcome to this week?s edition of Something Wild. I?m Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

One of the best things about this time of year here in New England is blueberry season. Is there any sweeter treat than a handful of these yummy wild fruits?

Wild blueberries pack so much goodness into those pretty little packages. Yes they are tinier than the cultivated varieties, but I believe their bigger taste more than makes up for their size.

And, blueberries are incredibly good for you. They have gobs of antioxidants, for example. The Natioanal Institute of Health even claims that this versatile fruit can slow the effects of aging, help improve vision, and even prevent cancer.

So where can you find these beneficial berries? Look for the low-bush variety, growing, as their name implies, close to the ground in pine-oak forests. Check out plants that grow have good sun exposure, as these will produce more fruit.

Lake and pond edges are the best places to find wild high-bush blueberries, a more upright, shrubby variety. I can?t think of anything better to do on a hot July day than to paddle along the edges of my favorite pond picking and eating sun-warmed blueberries.

If you can?t get to a place where these wonderful fruits abound, don?t despair. They are easy to grow in New Hampshire, especially if you, like most of us, have acidic soil. One of the few native fruits in this region, blueberries are long-lived, easy-to-care for plants. You can buy hardy stock from the state nursery in the spring, or from a garden center specializing in native species.

Of course, you could just visit one of this area?s many pick-your-own blueberry farms. Their bigger cultivated fruits may not be as tasty as the wild kind, but they still make darn good eating.

And apparently darn good health!

Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, NHPR, and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire.

For Something Wild, I?m Rosemary Conroy.