Berry Patch Blueberry
Fun Facts
Our first blueberry field was planted in September of 1981. This means that our oldest blueberry plants are over 40 years old!
We have a dozen different varieties of blueberries, each with their own unique characteristics. We planted these without knowing what would work in Minnesota and later found that climate change gave us a few more options as well!
The Berry Patch has 7-8 acres of blueberries in production, most of them planted in the early/mid 1980s. It takes about 4 to 5 years to bring a newly planted blueberry plant into production (allowing for one or two years when new growth is lost due to low winter temperatures). As far as we know, we are the largest blueberry planting in Minnesota!
The University of Minnesota Department of Horticulture began a hardy blueberry breeding project in the late 1960s with the strategy of incorporating the hardiness and flavor of the Northern Lowbush with the size and productivity of the Eastern Highbush. As they have done with apples and grapes, the U of M has successfully transformed the industry in northern areas that couldn’t grow commercial fruits at all. Rah Rah Rah for Ski U Mah!
Almost all of our varieties are “half-highs” meaning half parentage from Eastern Highbush and half from Northern Lowbush (like what you would find in Northern Minnesota or Maine). Some of our varieties have more lowbush parentage which gives them great wild blueberry-style flavor and a traditional blue color. They also produce smaller fruit.