Good amount of blueberries in some areas
The summer of 2021 started promisingly for the blueberry harvest, as the warm early summer produced abundant inflorescences and because there were also lot of insects on the move during June, the pollination of the flowers was also successful. On average, more than 60 percent of the flowers also developed into raw berries. However, drought has posed its own challenges to the ripening of the crop itself.
– Long rainless periods and warm weather certainly affect the size of blueberries. 80 percent of the berry is water, so if it is scarce, the berry cannot grow very large, said Rainer Peltola, a specialist researcher at the Natural Resources Center, in a news published in early July.
Although July also progressed all over Finland in very warm and dry weather, the weather conditions did not completely destroy the blueberry harvest. Jaska Ilvesluoto, a gym entrepreneur from Ranua, said that the harvest is going to be considerably better than for example last summer, and Petteri Karttunen, a local photographer, said that he had seen a lot of blueberries during his many photography trips in the nature.
One of the first ones to pick ripe blueberries in Ranua this summer was Jorma Sarajärvi, who together with his wife managed to collect over 20 liters of ripe blueberries on 27th of July. According to Sarajärvi, picking this summer will focus on small areas of a few acres, where there may well be good amounts of berries. Berry pickers should therefore focus on places where there is enough moisture even in drier times. In such areas, blueberries can be found in places well, at least for your own needs.
What should you take with you to the berry forest?
When going to the blueberry forest, you should consider at least a few things. It is advisable to reserve enough water, as well as an itch-relieving cream in case of various stinging bites. You should also carry a fully charged smartphone for the trip, which includes a b-bark style map application that allows you to track your own progress in real time. Especially in foreign terrains, downloading the Rescue Department’s 112 application can also be a good idea in case you get lost.
