Peak Blueberry Season

From Alachua County to Lake Okeechobee, Florida’s blueberry season is underway. “It looks like it’s going to be a good season,” says Douglas Phillips, a blueberry extension coordinator at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He notes the heavy green fruit he observed during the winter across trial sites he monitors.

In 2022, Florida harvested 32.6 million pounds of blueberries across 6,900 acres, generating $104 million and making the state one of the top 10 producers in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The state is uniquely positioned, having the earliest bloom window while the rest of the country winters, but it does compete with growers in warmer climates. Mexico’s blueberry production window of February through May overlaps with Florida’s peak season, which runs from March through May.

Labor costs remain a challenge for farmers since the bushes must be handpicked. Cultivating varieties of blueberries compatible with machine harvesting is the future of the industry, Phillips says. Two new varieties out of UF’s blueberry breeding program — 19-006 and 17-141 — were introduced to growers this year and will be formally named after the patent process is complete.

Floridians can participate in the harvest at U-pick farms around the state. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has a U-pick farm locator map under the consumer resources section of its website, and destination marketing organizations such as Visit Central Florida regularly post lists of local farms.