WHATELY — “The really experienced people come in the morning when it’s cool,” said Mary Jane Soule, a clerk at Sobieski’s River Valley Farm, about the best time to pick blueberries. “It’s a great family activity. People bring hordes of children, or come on dates.”
Soule, whose grandparents owned a blueberry farm in Connecticut, said that she learned quite a few tips about the best blueberry picking practices from them, such as bringing a bottle of water, or a chair to sit on.
She said that other advice, such as how to efficiently pick a lot of berries, she learned from experienced blueberry pickers who regularly come to the farm.
“You’ll see a whole clump all ripe,” she said. “If you pull on them, it’ll tear the bottom. Instead, put your hand underneath the clump, and sort of knock them into your hand.”
As far as how to harvest berries the fastest, Soule said the best way is to find a bush and pick it clean.
“The people who pick the most are the people who just stick to one bush,” she said. “The best blueberries are on the middle and bottom.”
Throughout the season, Soule said some people come a few times and pick a year’s supply. Then, they go home and freeze them by spreading the freshly picked berries on a cookie sheet and putting them in the freezer.
Once frozen, she said the berries are put in freezer bags for storage in the freezer.