8/3/2023 0 Comments Pine barrensI spent most of my childhood summers in the Pine Barrens, which has a unique and sometimes bizarre subculture that is often misunderstood. And as the season comes to an end, disappointed groans can be heard in the produce aisle when locals can no longer find blueberries labeled “Jersey Fresh.” Every June, during peak season, “U-Pick” farms are crowded with families stocking up on giant blueberries small towns like Hammonton and Whitesbog throw blueberry festivals wineries pump out blueberry wines and diners sell out of blueberry pies. Blueberries are also a point of local pride. In 2016 New Jersey’s blueberry yield was more than 43 million pounds and it was valued at $59.4 million – and that was a bad year. Photo courtesy of Blueberry Farmer examining a crop of ripe blueberriesįast forward a century, and the blueberry industry is huge in New Jersey especially within the Pine Barrens. Even though they can grow pretty much anywhere, blueberries thrive in acidic soil, and the oppressive nature of the New Jersey Pine Barrens was the perfect breeding ground. But while conducting their research, White and Coville made another important discovery, one that would tie the blueberry even closer to the spirit of New Jersey and The Pine Barrens. It took several years of experimenting, but by 1912 the duo perfected what would become known as the highbush blueberry, a taller bush bursting with multiple yields of plump blueberries. But despite other farmers doubting the potential of the mighty blueberry, White did what every true Jersey Girl does when she’s told something can’t be done – she does it anyway. Most farmers at the time believed that the wild blueberry was too difficult to domesticate and would never be a profitable crop. In 1908 White wrote a letter to Frederick Coville, a USDA botanist, asking for help in her mission to domesticate the wild blueberry. One of those tenacious farmers was Elizabeth Coleman White, the mother of the blueberry we know and love today. But in the 1800s persistent farmers found a way to harvest bountiful crops in The Pine Barrens’ harsh environment. In fact, it was nicknamed “The Pine Barrens” by settlers who deemed the area’s sandy soil too acidic and porous to sustain traditional European agriculture. Up until that point in history, this 1.1 million acre forest of evergreen trees in South Jersey was considered infertile. If you think it sounds bizarre starting a farm in a place with the word “barren” in its name, you’re not alone. Photo courtesy of A cranbery bog in The Pine Barrens.
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