Blueberries in a bucket at Blueberry Haven near Clintonville, July 30, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
TOWN OF DEER CREEK, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A popular blueberry patch in Outagamie County has many coming out to get their pick of fresh fruit.
Coming off a relatively mild winter, Blueberry Haven Owner Richelle Aiello says she was hopeful for a quality season this year.
“You could tell as soon as the flowers were on that it was going to be a good crop. With all that rain, I know everybody was affected a little differently, but it helped plump up the berries and really set us up for a nice harvest,” said Aiello.
Blueberry Haven grows five different varieties on the 14-acre farm just south of Clintonville. The season for pick-your-own fruit opened on July 11.
Tom Kriedeman and his wife Jean Kriedeman of Little Suamico took to the field Tuesday morning.
“We’re here picking blueberries. There’s plenty of them here, that’s for sure. They’re great. They’re very good. Big. And there’s a lot of them on the bushes,” said Tom.
“Our goal is to pick six pails, which is probably about 12 quarts. And we were here last week and did the same. So if the heat doesn’t get too bad, we’ll get our six pails worth,” said Jean.
Picking hours have been extended to include afternoon sessions as well.
“I would say within two days of 90s, they’re going to be blue already. Berries that haven’t gotten picked can over-ripen. But our extended hours have been doing very well at keeping those picked as well,” said Aiello.
Aiello says it’s been a great season, but time may be running out.
“We usually go through mid-August. With this heat, it might cut us a little short. So, we’re going to say this week for sure. If you haven’t gotten your berries, I would get out this week and then we will re-assess then. We will still have more berries, but it’s kind of day-by-day. We’ll see what a week of 90s and high dew points do,” she said.
What do people do with the berries? In addition to the traditional baked goods, producers say the fruit may be juiced, freeze-dried or even made into blueberry butter.
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