North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Hilborn.E@epamail.epa.gov]

"Jim, picking blueberries one-by-one may seem tedious, but really it
only takes a few minutes to pick a couple of gallons. The ripe berries
practically fall off in your hand. Once you learn the correct pressure
to apply, you can basically "strip" a branch with your hand and come
away with only the ripe berries."

Kevin, I think that I need a picking tutorial.

It takes me about 1 hour per gallon.  It seems that all I do in July is
pick blueberries!

The rabbiteye berries in zone 7 do not all ripen at once, but the
fruit-bearing twigs are long and heavily laden with both ripe and green
fruit. As I gently lift them to strip the large, ripe berries, about 20%
fall to the ground - some from the movement of the twig, some fall out
of my hand as they overflow my hands capacity to retain all the berries.

I have not had luck with a bucket or bag under the twigs, as the leaves
below the twig deflect the berries in unpredictable directions.  I am
considering a sheet to spread under my work area during picking.

Hints/tips would be welcomed. As I pick I dream of some labor-saving
catchment device, but I do not have an engineer's talent for product
innovation.

Betsy Hilborn
7a NC