JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – April brings the start of Florida’s blueberry season and it should be a good year for fruit picking.
North Florida has a short harvest season lasting from April through May, but the chilly winter should make the fruit extra plentiful this year. That’s compared to the past few winters, which have been warm without enough chill hours for abundant tasty crops.
Recommended Videos
Warm winters can result in a lackluster harvest. That’s in part because bloom and leaf development will be late without an adequate number of chill hours dipping to 45 degrees Fahrenheit and below.
That means this will be a good season to go pick them yourself at many of the local field growers. If you’re looking to stock up on some blueberry plants for your yard, consider selecting varieties cultivated by the experts at the University of Florida.
Sentinel is the name of the university’s newest blueberry variety. It has proven to be best for its large yields in the central and northern parts of Florida and has a higher quality fruit than previous UF/IFAS cultivars. Its flavor rates are high among multiple flavor panels at UF.
Other blueberry names you may come across are:
- Emerald: These are reliable and grow well for those who are new to growing blueberries.
- Jewel: This the most common commercial berry. It may be a better fit for professional farmers since it has a prevalence for leaf disease.
- Spring High: This one’s good for the back yard and offers a softer skin you won’t find in the grocery stores. It is a popular pick for local field picking.
- Primadonna: You might want to leave this variety to the pros since it is extremely sensitive. UF/IFAS even changed its name from Princess to Primadonna to reflect its difficulty.
If you miss out on the opportunity to pick blueberries over the next two months, you can always drive north where the harvest season extends into summer.
Harvesting of highbush blueberries in North Carolina begins in late May and often continues through late June. Rabbiteye varieties ripen in late June and harvesting continues into August.