Growing Better Blueberries

The United States is the largest global producer of blueberries with an estimated 98% of all blueberry production taking place in just eight U.S. states. Within each of those states, only small regions are ideally suited for blueberry cultivation.
Blueberries are native to Michigan and were gathered by Native American populations long before the arrival of European settlers. Western Michigan is one of the best places on earth to grow blueberries with only five counties bordering Lake Michigan comprising the State’s primary blueberry growing region. Blueberries thrive in this region due to three primary factors: 1) Lake Effect; 2) Soils; and 3) Topography.

LAKE EFFECT
Blueberries thrive in Western Michigan due to the moderating effect of Lake Michigan. This weather phenomenon plays an important and multi-faceted role throughout the year in the production of blueberries.

• During winter, Lake Michigan moderates even the coldest northern air as it crosses the open water of the lake. This reduces the number of extremely cold days for acreage near the lakeshore versus acreage further inland. This reduction in extremely cold days, which could damage blueberry bushes, are why most blueberries are grown within a few miles of the Lake Michigan shoreline.

• In the spring, the last frost of the year is earlier along the lake, versus a similar latitude inland, which reduces the likelihood of blossom damage. Also, because Lake Michigan is slow to warm up in spring, cool air from the lake naturally keeps bushes from blossoming early which reduces the risk of injury if there is a late frost event.

• During summer, Lake Michigan makes the hottest summer days a bit cooler which reduces the incidence of blueberry bushes suffering heat stress and damage when temperature exceeds 85 F. A secondary benefit is that since Lake Michigan warms and cools more slowly than the shoreline, the Michigan growing season is delayed by approximately one month. This allows late season cultivars to be grown in one of the northern most blueberry growing regions in the world.

SOILS
Blueberry bushes require naturally acidic soils, ideally in the range of 4.5 to 5.5 on the pH scale and access to ample water, both of which are plentiful in Western Michigan. Soils are mostly glacial sandy loams and loamy sands. These mineral soils form on sandy outwash plains or ancient lake bottoms and drain well after heavy rain or during rapid snowmelt. The sandy character of the soil allows for rapid root development which is critical for blueberry bushes to accelerate through the J-Curve to full maturity.

TOPOGRAPHY
The rolling topography of Western Michigan makes climatic conditions favorable for blueberry production. On calm and clear nights when frost is most prevalent, cold air behaves like a liquid and collects in low-lying landscapes. These "frost hollows" experience frost on nights when upland sites may only get down to 40 F. Western Michigan has ample land that has local relief with elevation above nearby lowlands. The warm air, above the nighttime surface inversion, is mixed with the cold air in the lowlands, creating an atmospheric situation less conducive to frost which can harm blueberry bushes.

More than thirty (30) different varieties of blueberries are grown in Michigan but not all are desirable from a commercial marketing standpoint. Michigan State University (MSU) estimates half the blueberry acreage in Michigan is more than 40 years old and faces declining productivity and commercial obsolescence. Over the past ten years, Jawor Bros. has aggressively planted new, later season varieties which are not only harvested when market prices are higher because they do not compete with counter-seasonal growers in Mexico and South America but also produce more blueberries per bush than older varieties.

While many growers have transitioned to using mechanical harvesters, Jawor Bros. believes HAND PICKING is the best way to harvest blueberries in order to ensure that quality remains consistent from our fields to your table. Using machines to harvest for the fresh market causes ground losses during harvest, fruit bruising from vertical falls during the mechanical collection process, and yield and pack-out losses due to immature fruit being picked. The shelf-life for fresh machine picked berries is also significantly shorter than that of hand-picked berries as harvest damage causes accelerated decay in retail packaging.

In order to maintain quality and deliver customers the freshest blueberries, Jawor Bros. controls the entire growing, packing and logistics process from plant stock through final product delivery to our customers. Blueberries are a delicate fruit and are vulnerable to field heat and temperature changes. Within hours of being harvested, our berries are placed in our state-of-the-art pre-cooler to chill them to the perfect temperature. Once chilled, they are sorted, inspected for quality and packed into clamshells. Once packed and consolidated onto pallets, our blueberries are immediately placed into our cold storage facility to bring them to optimal storage temperature of 33 F. From that time on, Jawor Bros. ensures that the “cold chain” is never broken from the time our berries are loaded onto trucks until they reach their final retail destination.

Have you ever looked to see where your blueberries are grown?

Blueberries grown overseas in countries like Peru and Chile are picked and packed into refrigerated ocean containers where the atmosphere is controlled through the injection of various gasses to slow the ripening process. Without this process, blueberries will ripen and quickly deteriorate. These measures are necessary because fruit from these countries spends WEEKS in transit on that water before even arriving in the U.S. After arrival, it can be several more days or weeks before the blueberries enter grocery distribution channels and are available for sale on store shelves.

Jawor Bros. measures the transit time for its berries from farm to store shelves in HOURS, not weeks. Michigan is within 500 miles of 50% of the U.S. and Canadian populations which allows us to pick, pack and transport our blueberries directly to our customers.