https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/209021903
Invasive species are a threat to blueberries and bird vetch is an invasive one that can invade undisturbed areas that most other invasive species do not (Rader). Do not use a rake of any kind to harvest the blueberries, it may be swifter, but you invariably damage the plant and can reduce the harvest of next year as the berry buds can start forming as early as late June for the Vaccinium uliginosum L. (Rader). Bees help improve pollination and fruit production from blueberry bushes (Rader). If you plan to have your own blueberry bush, then you should prune up to half the plant after the leaves dropped from a frost (Rader).
I have an unrelated plant known as Rhubarb which I learned that should not be harvested for more than a third of the plant as what we eat are the aboveground stalks. Which is a fair amount of the plants mass and what it takes back for nutrient survival at the end of the season. I see that Rader stated pruning the plant improves production but as it is a berry bush and we eat the fruit from it rather than its woody branches, I can imagine that removing the branches allows the bush to spend less energy producing fruit the next year. It may have more clustered buds for harvesting the blueberries from that fact alone. Of course, it is general knowledge that blueberries are used for everything from pies to jams. I have even added them to oatmeal for a change of flavor.
Work Cited
Rader, Heidi. “Blueberries-Wild and Citified.” It Grows in Alaska: In the Alaska Garden with Heidi Rader, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 16 Apr. 2020, itgrowsinalaska.community.uaf.edu/2020/04/16/blueberries-wild-and-citified/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.