You can pick blueberries in early in the morning after dew has evaporated, or after temperatures have cooled toward the end of the day as evening approaches. At these times, the berries may be firmer and store a little longer. Higher temperatures make berries softer, affecting quality; some blueberry varieties soften more quickly than others as the temperature goes up. After harvesting, keep berries cool.
Also, picking berries with dew or rainfall on them can affect quality—wait until the berries have dried.
Sweetness is more a factor of such things as the variety, growing conditions (such as enough sun, not too much moisture, enough soil nutrients, pH of around 4.0 to 5.0), and ripeness. For peak sweetness, wait 3 to 4 days after a blueberry turns blue to harvest it.
Hi, Nicole,
You can pick blueberries in early in the morning after dew has evaporated, or after temperatures have cooled toward the end of the day as evening approaches. At these times, the berries may be firmer and store a little longer. Higher temperatures make berries softer, affecting quality; some blueberry varieties soften more quickly than others as the temperature goes up. After harvesting, keep berries cool.
Also, picking berries with dew or rainfall on them can affect quality—wait until the berries have dried.
Sweetness is more a factor of such things as the variety, growing conditions (such as enough sun, not too much moisture, enough soil nutrients, pH of around 4.0 to 5.0), and ripeness. For peak sweetness, wait 3 to 4 days after a blueberry turns blue to harvest it.
Hope this helps!