Question for the wild berry experts...

Since it has been bone dry again this spring, what is the outlook for wild berries come this July and August?  Last year, I was mostly shut out.  I could not find any berries in Voyageurs National Park.  I found plenty of bushes, but no berries.   :-[  A buddy and I did find some on Oak Island on LOTW.  Just enough berries for pancakes.  

Marmot

Blueberries were plentiful in very early July last year in Q. By August all were gone. Some years they are most plentiful later in July.
An untimely ten day drought in SE wisconsin this year all but wiped out the morel mushroom harvest.
As for berries this year in the Q and BWCA, I think there is still time for enough rain to fall to negate effects of the drought. However, the chances of a normal crop of berries in the parks at this point in time looks grim.

Late spring moisture levels primarily affect the number of berry flowers on each plant.  Dry years mean fewer flowers.  Early summer moisture affects how many flowers end up becoming viable fruit, and partially determine the speed of ripening though temperature has more effect than moisture on ripening speed.

I think it's safe to say there won't be a bumper crop this year, but if June sees normal rainfall then you shouldn't have to scrounge too hard for berries during the peak of ripeness, whenever that happens to be.  

amelanchier (june berry/ service berry, et al.) trees should produce similar berries to most years as they are less susceptible to drought than most vaccinium (blueberries) shrubs. rubus (raspberries) also tolerate dry conditions pretty well too but are present in much fewer numbers than the others. root depth and type of root systems (fibrous vs sporadic) help make them adaptive of drought conditions in unique ways.

go for the june berries in late july if the birds havent gotten to them first, they are delicious.

thebutcher

thebutcher wrote on May 22^nd, 2007 at 2:01pm:

go for the june berries in late july if the birds havent gotten to them first, they are delicious.

I heartily second that.

A couple of years ago our group passed through the blowdown area around Ensign Lake on our way to and from Knife in mid-August. No other berries were available but the juneberries and some past-their-prime pin cherries. They are of a decent size, so you don't have to spend all day to get enough for a group.

-aj

I am not a berry expert so my picking and eating has been of stricty blueberries and rasberries. As they are the only 2 I am sure of. Does anyone know of a good website that shows pictures, dates availabe, things to watch out for of other tasty treats mentioned before. I would love to try some new berries but don't want to screw up and end up dead or sick.

Try this.   (You need to Login or Register

Or this.   (You need to Login or Register

I usually get my information from the handful of edible plant books that I own (including a tattered one that goes on group trips), but some information is available on the old faithful rook.org site if you are willing to browse a little. Here are entries on the berries I mentioned earlier:

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-aj

Saw plenty of blueberry bushes full of blooms when I was in Quetico over the previous 2 weeks.  If that is any indication of the blueberry supply, it should be at least an average year.

dd

What is the earliest you'll find blueberries, and where do you look for them?

wrote on May 30^th, 2007 at 12:41pm:

What is the earliest you'll find blueberries, and where do you look for them?

1) Day 1 of canoe trip (late June)
2) Southfacing granite expanses. They are low to ground, usually about ankle high, and you can easily spend a couple of hours pickin' & grinnin'. They are good in pancakes, bannock, and many other dishes. In a 'normal' year, they will mature about mid-July, but I've seen 'em in late June into August, depending on year.

When are you going?

Doesn't sound like I'll get to enjoy them. I'll be in the north central part of the Q from June 19 to the 27th.

Don't give up. They may be in during last few days of trip. I would at least look.

wrote on May 30^th, 2007 at 12:41pm:

What is the earliest you'll find blueberries, and where do you look for them?

I know this is a little late, but in regards to "when to look."  For me it's always been Red, White, and Blueberry.  The Fourth of July weekend I scout to my favorite patches and check on the condition.

This year, because of the lack of snow (cold temps with no snow can kill the plants) and low rain fall I was expecting the worst (last year was terrible for berry picking).

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of good, plump berries.  Over two weekends my wife and I picked about 6 gallons of wild blueberries.

Where to look?  Rocky hills with Jack Pine...

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Blueberry pancakes.... yum.

-Shane

instead of looking at your feet, ;D look straight ahead, they are usually head high :P

oh, and they are navy blue!

(Thinking I must be missing a joke here but just in case I'm not...)

Highbush blueberries might be head-high, but you won't find highbush berries in canoe country.

Wild blueberry plants rarely grow taller than mid-calf.

Also:

Blueberries can come in earlier than the 4th, too.  Spydor is right that most years few will show up before then but this year the crop was early.  We had no trouble picking berries enough to put in a batch of pancakes and in a batch of oatmeal.  Had I seriously thought we'd find so many this early, I'd have brought some bannock mix or muffin mix.

Just got back from a trip to the Bdubs. Ripe blueberries were on virtually every portage trail. Raspberries, too. Even found a few late strawberries. Thimbleberries should ripen by late August.

Blueberries need exposure to the sun but appreciate some daytime shade to grow best.

we just came back on August 1st and the Blueberries were on their way out, a month ago they were everywhere.

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As this new picture from my album in the Inukshuk Photo Gallery shows, the   (You need to Login or Register were still going strong on an island in a "secret" location on Ogishkemuncie the second week in August.

Hint: To find those big ones, look for areas (depressions) where water can collect as it drains down the sides of the rocks.

Strawberries were long gone, raspberries were tiny, but everywhere, and rose hips and thimbleberries were just starting to come on.

-aj

asmjock wrote on Aug 15^th, 2007 at 4:09am:

a "secret" location

Here we go again ;) ;D

solotripper wrote on Aug 15^th, 2007 at 9:10pm:

Here we go again ;) ;D

Notice that I took a nice close shot so the background wouldn't give any clues...  8-)

-aj

That must be O_S in the pink sweatshirt.  How does he keep his fingernails so clean?

And SO it BEGINS ::)

PhantomJug wrote on Aug 16^th, 2007 at 12:08am:

That must be O_S in the pink sweatshirt.  How does he keep his fingernails so clean?

Secret lake water + hand sanitizer.

:) ;) :D ;D :o ::) :o 8-)