There are still a few places unloading their blueberries.

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I just read my day's emails and it seems the fridge trailers will be pulled out tomorrow.

The last of the berries sold last week and were picked up on Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure when they were going to be picked up and so I had to pay rent on the trailers until I could cancel on Tuesday. They're not cheap.

The berries all sell.

I can sell every berry to the cannery. They pay the least - as a general rule. (I'll write some more about that in a moment. I'm drinking a wee bit.)

But, as I said, they don't pay very well. The goal is to sell the cannery as few berries as we can. The cannary's goal is to buy all our berries at the lowest price they can pay.

I also prefer to sell my berries to people and not nearly-faceless corporations. The cannery company gives zero fucks and they just smash the berries to shit and cram 'em into cans, which they sell to people who produce commercial blueberry products or sell as canned blueberries. Yup... You can buy blueberries in cans.

But, call it my immaturity, I prefer to sell them to people who not just pay more - but will actually be happy with the attention and care we give our crop. In fact, anyone who's local to that area can just come pick blueberries in our fields and, so long as they're for personal use, I'm not even going to charge them.

Blueberries are little bites of pure delicious. They make people smile. I'd rather the blueberries go to someone who smiles than go to someone who shows up in a truck and pisses and moans about the long drive back.

When I say the cannery pays the least, that's not strictly accurate. There are two companies that buy our berries and get a price lower than the cannery. One makes delicious products with Maine wild blueberries - and gives me a ton of their result. The other one is pretty new, as in we just picked them up last year. I give them a discount because they make delicious blueberry wine and they give me some of the wine.

(If anyone knows the legal issues well, I'd be interested in mailing them out to a few of you as holiday gifts. I'm not actually sure how legal it is for me to send alcohol without actually doing some formal ID check - and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to be a part of that.)

Anyhow, the last things remaining are just finishing up pulling any string left over (berries are 'raked' in rows) and putting hay on the field.

Seeing as I'm here...

There are eight fields. Each year, four of those fields are harvested. After the harvest, the fields are covered in hay. This is called 'haying the field' but that just confuses people. Really, we're putting hay on the field.

The hay sits on the field all winter.

Then, spring comes - and we set the fields ablaze - which is every bit as awesome as you might imagine. That's right... We set the mountain on fire. We don't even go to jail for it!

That year, the fields that were burnt will not produce berries. We alternate the fields, so each field is harvested every two years.

Why do we burn the fields? It kills any animal or fungus pests that are in the ground. Blueberry plants survive it just fine. They regrow quickly and the field has fully recovered by the following year. Burning the fields also kills (m)any unwanted plants - such as tree saplings. It basically stops Mother Nature from reclaiming the fields as her own.

But, the blueberry harvest is mostly finished and now you know a bit more about blueberry farming!

Seriously, burning the fields is awesome. You gotta stay sober for it but it's hard work and a good reason to celebrate afterwards. You run around with giant "Indian Pumps" on your back. First, you burn a firebreak and then you just set that fucker on fire. It's done in the spring, while there's still snow in the woods (usually) and the ground is too wet (usually) to be a major problem, but sometimes whole mountains have gone up in flames - burning many acres. So far, that's not been something I've experienced.

Note: I don't usually actually control the burn process personally. The guy I bought these fields from is quite an expert at it and it's a potential forest fire. So, I just happily run around with the pump on my back. It's a good workout and the view is spectacular.

Alright, so now you know a wee bit more about blueberries. They're delicious!

Obvious disclosure: I have a direct financial interest in the Wild Maine Blueberry industry.

I just read my day's emails and it seems the fridge trailers will be pulled out tomorrow. The last of the berries sold last week and were picked up on Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure when they were going to be picked up and so I had to pay rent on the trailers until I could cancel on Tuesday. They're not cheap. The berries all sell. I can sell every berry to the cannery. They pay the least - as a general rule. (I'll write some more about that in a moment. I'm drinking a wee bit.) But, as I said, they don't pay very well. The goal is to sell the cannery as few berries as we can. The cannary's goal is to buy all our berries at the lowest price they can pay. I also prefer to sell my berries to people and not nearly-faceless corporations. The cannery company gives zero fucks and they just smash the berries to shit and cram 'em into cans, which they sell to people who produce commercial blueberry products or sell as canned blueberries. Yup... You can buy blueberries in cans. But, call it my immaturity, I prefer to sell them to people who not just pay more - but will actually be happy with the attention and care we give our crop. In fact, anyone who's local to that area can just come pick blueberries in our fields and, so long as they're for personal use, I'm not even going to charge them. Blueberries are little bites of pure delicious. They make people smile. I'd rather the blueberries go to someone who smiles than go to someone who shows up in a truck and pisses and moans about the long drive back. When I say the cannery pays the least, that's not strictly accurate. There are two companies that buy our berries and get a price lower than the cannery. One makes delicious products with Maine wild blueberries - and gives me a ton of their result. The other one is pretty new, as in we just picked them up last year. I give them a discount because they make delicious blueberry wine and they give me some of the wine. (If anyone knows the legal issues well, I'd be interested in mailing them out to a few of you as holiday gifts. I'm not actually sure how legal it is for me to send alcohol without actually doing some formal ID check - and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to be a part of that.) Anyhow, the last things remaining are just finishing up pulling any string left over (berries are 'raked' in rows) and putting hay on the field. Seeing as I'm here... There are eight fields. Each year, four of those fields are harvested. After the harvest, the fields are covered in hay. This is called 'haying the field' but that just confuses people. Really, we're putting hay on the field. The hay sits on the field all winter. Then, spring comes - and we set the fields ablaze - which is every bit as awesome as you might imagine. That's right... We set the mountain on fire. We don't even go to jail for it! That year, the fields that were burnt will not produce berries. We alternate the fields, so each field is harvested every two years. Why do we burn the fields? It kills any animal or fungus pests that are in the ground. Blueberry plants survive it just fine. They regrow quickly and the field has fully recovered by the following year. Burning the fields also kills (m)any unwanted plants - such as tree saplings. It basically stops Mother Nature from reclaiming the fields as her own. But, the blueberry harvest is mostly finished and now you know a bit more about blueberry farming! Seriously, burning the fields is awesome. You gotta stay sober for it but it's hard work and a good reason to celebrate afterwards. You run around with giant "Indian Pumps" on your back. First, you burn a firebreak and then you just set that fucker on fire. It's done in the spring, while there's still snow in the woods (usually) and the ground is too wet (usually) to be a major problem, but sometimes whole mountains have gone up in flames - burning many acres. So far, that's not been something I've experienced. Note: I don't *usually* actually control the burn process personally. The guy I bought these fields from is quite an expert at it and it's a potential forest fire. So, I just happily run around with the pump on my back. It's a good workout and the view is spectacular. Alright, so now you know a wee bit more about blueberries. They're delicious! Obvious disclosure: I have a direct financial interest in the Wild Maine Blueberry industry.

[–] • 1 pt

That sounds awesome, Buddha.

If I ever find myself north of the mason-Dixon I will let you know :)

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[–] • 1 pt

They are delicious. There's a little bit of love, in every blueberry!

Not very much love, no... But, a little!

I only have so much love, and there's a lot of blueberries. Seriously... There's a whole lot of blueberries.

The average acre of wild blueberries will yield 5,000 pounds (2.5 tons).

Each year, I have ~200 acres harvested (400 acres total). That's 1,000,000 pounds (500 tons) of blueberries.

We're certified organic, for much of our production. This is good, 'cause the whole price for regular blueberries dropped to like $0.30/pound. Many blueberry farms are going out of business and many fields went without being harvested - there's a glut of berries and Maine's the #1 producer of blueberries in the world.

But, organic berry prices stayed stable. This year's average wholesale price was $1.40/pound.

I do not yet have the final numbers, so I can't be certain how many pounds were harvested. It was a pretty good yield and the estimate is that we harvested 1.1 million pounds from my fields. Last year was also a "bumper crop" and was about 1.2 million pounds of berries.

Unfortunately, last year had a higher percentage of the fields that weren't organic - and the price dropped to $0.30/pound. All told, and after all the expenses, I just barely made a profit - and it was a very, very tiny profit. As in, when all the accounting was done and all the expenses added, I made a profit of less than $10,000.

It was the worst year, as far as profits go, that I've ever had. It comes with the territory and I don't actually depend on the income.

I can lower the expenses, but I hire locals and pay more than other farmers. I do this because I want the best harvest and field management I can get - and because there aren't a lot of people willing to rake blueberries, I want them to get to my fields first and then go work at other blueberry farms.

Basically, I increase my expenses in order to maintain quality standards. I much prefer it, regardless of the price, to sell my berries to actual people. The cannery either freezes 'em or smashes them and crams them in cans.

I didn't have time to participate in my own harvest this year, so I missed the joy of seeing tourists and locals coming to the stand and seeing the smiles on their faces when they eat delicious blueberries.

WARNING: I will talk your ear off about blueberries! I'm writing today's article for playguitar.gq - and I'm willing to interrupt that and write about blueberries. I'm pretty passionate about my berries!

Also, the name is David - if that matters. It's hard to believe, but my name's not really TheBuddha!

And, finally, I'll keep operating and harvesting. I employ a number of locals and they've depended on this income for many years. It's temporary and seasonal, in that there are no full time employees, but there are regulars that I can rely on and there's a next generation behind them.

They've already paid for themselves. I've already recouped my investment. I can operate them at a loss - pretty much in perpetuity. However, I don't think the market is going to completely collapse, so I'm not altruistic and next year's harvest will be 100% organic.

But, so long as I'm alive, the blueberries will continue to be grown, harvested, and sold at the price the market will bear. I can weather any storms where the market means I operate at a loss. I've not yet had a year with a negative balance but that's because I saw the writing on the wall and made the decision to go organic.

What does organic mean?

Truthfully, it means slightly lower production yields and you're probably getting some maggots in your berries. (There's not a lot and they're not unhealthy to eat.) There is a fly that has evolved to use the fruit as a part of their life cycle, but they're not really a problem here - yet. They haven't moved that far north and we haven't had a major infestation problem.

It does mean additional production costs, because we can't use the chemicals and have the field sprayed with an airplane. They're working on it, but right now it's impractical. The solution to prevent the insects is to use citrus concentrate mixed down with water, but this clogs the sprayers that the airplanes use - and requires their tanks get additional cleaning. And, because it's certified organic, the tanks must be thoroughly sanitized - as well as keeping the nozzles clean.

They're working on it and I'm in contact with the company that sprays the fields at least once a month, even during the off-season.

I'm not even remotely sorry for this novella as a reply! I'm pretty passionate about my blueberries.

Have you seen pictures?!? I fucking love my berries! Even better, everyone else loves my berries! I'm telling you, each berry is a delectable morsel with a tiny slice of love.

Each pound of blueberries averages about 220 individual fruits. That's right... Each year, I have about 220,000,000 blueberries available - and I'm a fairly small operation. Err... Wild blueberries are smaller, not as sweet or as mushy, than the cultivars you're probably familiar with. They're not like the blueberries you're probably getting in the store - unless you're buying "wild blueberries."

The bigger blueberries only have about 190 berries per pound. They're also pretty much like eating cardboard soaked in sugar water! Wild blueberries are superior. They're not always sweet and are sometimes tart. Looks can be deceiving and it's not always the smaller fruit that is less sweet. Sometimes, a big berry is pretty tart. So, it's a wonderful surprise - and the flavor is much stronger than what many people buy in the store.

Even though Maine is the world's largest blueberry producer, only about 10% of the berries sold in the US actually come from Maine. Most are high bush cultivars that are bred for size, sweetness, ease of harvesting, and weight. The cost is flavor and texture. Wild blueberries are a far superior product!

Obviously, I'm biased.

See? Now you know more about blueberries than anyone you're going to see all day!

I fucking love blueberries! I love 'em so much that I ain't even sorry that I wrote this giant response!

They are delicious. There's a little bit of love, in every blueberry! Not very much love, no... But, a little! I only have so much love, and there's a lot of blueberries. Seriously... There's a whole lot of blueberries. The average acre of wild blueberries will yield 5,000 pounds (2.5 tons). Each year, I have ~200 acres harvested (400 acres total). That's 1,000,000 pounds (500 tons) of blueberries. We're certified organic, for much of our production. This is good, 'cause the whole price for regular blueberries dropped to like $0.30/pound. Many blueberry farms are going out of business and many fields went without being harvested - there's a glut of berries and Maine's the #1 producer of blueberries *in the world*. But, organic berry prices stayed stable. This year's average wholesale price was $1.40/pound. I do not yet have the final numbers, so I can't be certain how many pounds were harvested. It was a pretty good yield and the estimate is that we harvested 1.1 million pounds from my fields. Last year was also a "bumper crop" and was about 1.2 million pounds of berries. Unfortunately, last year had a higher percentage of the fields that weren't organic - and the price dropped to $0.30/pound. All told, and after all the expenses, I just barely made a profit - and it was a very, very tiny profit. As in, when all the accounting was done and all the expenses added, I made a profit of less than $10,000. It was the worst year, as far as profits go, that I've ever had. It comes with the territory and I don't actually depend on the income. I can lower the expenses, but I hire locals and pay more than other farmers. I do this because I want the best harvest and field management I can get - and because there aren't a lot of people willing to rake blueberries, I want them to get to my fields first and then go work at other blueberry farms. Basically, I increase my expenses in order to maintain quality standards. I much prefer it, regardless of the price, to sell my berries to actual people. The cannery either freezes 'em or smashes them and crams them in cans. I didn't have time to participate in my own harvest this year, so I missed the joy of seeing tourists and locals coming to the stand and seeing the smiles on their faces when they eat delicious blueberries. ***WARNING:*** I will talk your ear off about blueberries! I'm writing today's article for playguitar.gq - and I'm willing to interrupt that and write about blueberries. I'm pretty passionate about my berries! Also, the name is David - if that matters. It's hard to believe, but my name's not *really* TheBuddha! And, finally, I'll keep operating and harvesting. I employ a number of locals and they've depended on this income for many years. It's temporary and seasonal, in that there are no full time employees, but there are regulars that I can rely on and there's a next generation behind them. They've already paid for themselves. I've already recouped my investment. I can operate them at a loss - pretty much in perpetuity. However, I don't think the market is going to completely collapse, so I'm not altruistic and next year's harvest will be 100% organic. But, so long as I'm alive, the blueberries will continue to be grown, harvested, and sold at the price the market will bear. I can weather any storms where the market means I operate at a loss. I've not yet had a year with a negative balance but that's because I saw the writing on the wall and made the decision to go organic. What does organic mean? Truthfully, it means slightly lower production yields and you're probably getting some maggots in your berries. (There's not a lot and they're not unhealthy to eat.) There is a fly that has evolved to use the fruit as a part of their life cycle, but they're not really a problem here - yet. They haven't moved that far north and we haven't had a major infestation problem. It does mean additional production costs, because we can't use the chemicals and have the field sprayed with an airplane. They're working on it, but right now it's impractical. The solution to prevent the insects is to use citrus concentrate mixed down with water, but this clogs the sprayers that the airplanes use - and requires their tanks get additional cleaning. And, because it's certified organic, the tanks must be thoroughly sanitized - as well as keeping the nozzles clean. They're working on it and I'm in contact with the company that sprays the fields at least once a month, even during the off-season. I'm not even remotely sorry for this novella as a reply! I'm pretty passionate about my blueberries. Have you seen pictures?!? I fucking love my berries! Even better, everyone else loves my berries! I'm telling you, each berry is a delectable morsel with a tiny slice of love. Each pound of blueberries averages about 220 individual fruits. That's right... Each year, I have about 220,000,000 blueberries available - and I'm a fairly small operation. Err... Wild blueberries are smaller, not as sweet or as mushy, than the cultivars you're probably familiar with. They're not like the blueberries you're probably getting in the store - unless you're buying "wild blueberries." The bigger blueberries only have about 190 berries per pound. They're also pretty much like eating cardboard soaked in sugar water! Wild blueberries are superior. They're not always sweet and are sometimes tart. Looks can be deceiving and it's not always the smaller fruit that is less sweet. Sometimes, a big berry is pretty tart. So, it's a wonderful surprise - and the flavor is much stronger than what many people buy in the store. Even though Maine is the world's largest blueberry producer, only about 10% of the berries sold in the US actually come from Maine. Most are high bush cultivars that are bred for size, sweetness, ease of harvesting, and weight. The cost is flavor and texture. Wild blueberries are a far superior product! Obviously, I'm biased. See? Now you know more about blueberries than anyone you're going to see all day! I fucking love blueberries! I love 'em so much that I ain't even sorry that I wrote this giant response!

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[–] • 1 pt

Ain't bothering me one bit with the novella, David :)

I knew that was your name but didnt know if you were comfy with anons using it online. If you would prefer it, I will call you that. If not, I will stick with buddha. Dealer's choice :)

I've got like 6 blueberry bushes in my yard, right next to the garden. Couple varieties, and I can look up the names if yoyre interested. Ive never tried a wild blueberry though.

Ive seen one or two of your pics, they are beautiful. I steal nature pics off voat and use them as the screensaver on my home theater PC. Your blueberries are in there :)

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[–] • 0 pt

Ah! You're the guy who told me that they had blueberry bushes. I do believe you even identified the species, actually.

You might even be the guy who posted pics on Voat, in the middle_path's garden sub! They were out in front of a wall, near the house?

I speak to a whole lot of people and names escape me. In fact, I kind of suck at keeping names together, unless there has been a lot of interaction.

As for what you call me, I'm largely indifferent. ;-) Buddha, David, Asshole, whatever... I was merely offering it to indicate that I'm a person and a personable person. Buddha works, though my username actually comes from:

"If you meet the Buddha on the street, kill him." So, just don't think I have all the answers and you can call me anything you want!

For your consideration:

https://imgoat.com/uploads/a09c8844ba/143503.jpg

https://imgoat.com/uploads/a09c8844ba/143504.jpg

https://imgoat.com/uploads/a09c8844ba/143506.jpg

https://imgoat.com/uploads/a09c8844ba/143510.jpg

https://imgoat.com/uploads/a09c8844ba/143511.jpg

https://imgoat.com/uploads/a09c8844ba/143514.jpg

https://imgoat.com/uploads/a09c8844ba/143515.jpg

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[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

Yes send me some wine random stranger. Here is my address.

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[–] • 1 pt

Yeah, I don't see too many people being willing to participate in that.

I have mailed stuff to people on Voat, but nobody on Poal - so far as I know. Some folks also know my address - it's not like I'm hard to find, and many folks know my real name. That's also easily discovered. Shit, just "whois" the 'musicfor.us' domain - which has my real name but I'd not actually suggest trying to use the mailing address.

That said, I'd probably even send you some blueberry wine. It's delicious.

I'm just not even remotely sure if I can legally send wine to people unless there's some age verification. That's just one of those things I don't know. I suppose I should ask a lawyer. They will, of course, tell me not to do that - but they should be able to look up the regulations and give me a snapshot of what I'd need to know and do to remain lawful.

I'm guessing that the fact that it'd be the mail and across State lines would make it a federal offense. I'm really not wanting to spend any time in a federal prison. 'Snot on my list of shit to do!

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[–] [deleted] • 2 pts

you lol.

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[–] • 1 pt

I probably would, too. Not 'cause I like you or even 'cause I want to be friendly with you - but because blueberry wine is really fucking delicious and even you deserve something in your life that doesn't piss you off.

Seriously, it's delicious!

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[–] • 2 pts

USPS - technically a crime to send alcohol
UPS - against policy but they don't have to know; if they do they'll destroy it and you're out $
FEDEX - ditto

source: I have sent gallons of beer via UPS

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[–] • 1 pt

Sweet and much thanks!

Did you check ID, or have any way of knowing they were of legal age?

I'm also a fairly juicy lawsuit target. The last thing I need is some suit 'cause I sent wine to some kid that I thought was an adult. There's pretty much no way I'm going to have a defense for that in court. Lawyers are good, but not magicians. There's no lawful defense for, "Well, I thought they were an adult. They told me they were."

I'd like to be able to send people wine - and I know there are wine delivery/subscription sites that somehow send it to their customers.

I suppose I could just ask them what it takes to be able to deliver wine. I've seen the wine subscription (they send you bottles like once a month) services for them. I have no idea what the process for that is.

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