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Aaand we’re done with the 2025 blueberry season! We harvested a record number of blueberries… and sold a bunch too, lol.

I’m berry tired (haha) and ready to pass out now. If you’ll forgive the long post, here are some reflections.

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU for your support this season. Your enthusiasm and feedback remind me why I do all this work and make it worth it. Also thanks to our parents who worked so hard throughout the year weeding, fertilizing, mulching, and picking.

This year was probably the least stressful blueberry season in seven years. Getting those nets was a total game changer. I didn’t have to be out from 6 AM until 8 PM every day (no joke) for more than a month chasing away birds. Besides birds, the nets also kept out squirrels, yellow jackets, and even fruit flies. The yield was amazing!

Next year I’ll change the approach to pruning to focus on bush height and size as well as for the general health of each bush. One problem with the nets was that the bushes were too tall, and many ends of branches broke getting them on and off. Also we kept trapping birds, so we’ll figure out another way to secure the base.

Speaking of fruit flies, the one-time organic spray worked great… for about a week. I would have re-applied, but because of rain and family visiting, the timing just wasn’t right. Next year I’ll plan to do a second round.

Spraying for mummy berry sort of worked. But again, because of weather and scheduling I was only able to spray 1.5 times. A sizable portion of Earliblue and Bluecrop, HALF the one Jersey, and a small fraction of Hardiblue were lost to mummies. Next year is supposed to be an off year, but because we didn’t really spray much we will continue to spray next year and take 2027 off. Interestingly, the nets caught some later mummies, so we’ll put them on earlier to contain them and prevent more fungus the following year.

We got very lucky not having many problems with yellow jackets. Mike knocked down several nests early. (Always one or two under the deck, a few under patio furniture, one by the garage door, and sometimes inside one or two of the bushes!) One established nest in the front yard was removed a few weeks ago. There were a few solitary ones at the very end of the season but nothing like that one year where they swarmed for half the season. Happily, the bee suit remained hanging in the closet.

Last, we were not able to net any Elliotts because there are weeds and vines all at the base. We’ve never properly weeded, mulched, or even fertilized them. The current plan is to weed at least the first 10 bushes in each of the two rows, which will be challenging with all the poison ivy. Maybe I should get some prednisone now.

To recap, next year we will
1. Weed, mulch, and fertilize some Elliotts
2. Prune for smaller bushes
3. Spray more diligently for mummy berry
4. Get more nets
5. Net immediately after fruit set to contain mummies
6. Spray at least twice for fruit flies

If you’d like to keep up with us during the off season, please like our Sky Blueberry Farm Facebook Page.

Again, thank you for all your support this year. Here’s to an even better 2026!