Sudbury blueberry pickers in for 'typical' season, says Ministry

After a few bad batches, Sudbury's blueberry crop may finally be starting to look up.

The past two years were particularly bad, according to many local pickers.

This year, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says the berries are bigger and more abundant.

But some blueberry vendors are still feeling an impact on their business.

Arthur Choquette has been selling blueberries for more than 30 years and says the pickers he buys from aren't doing as well as they used to.

"One was doing very good," Choquette said. "He was picking up to between three and four 11 quart baskets a day, and right now he's barely getting half a basket for a whole day's work."

Choquette, who says a knee injury keeps him from going into the patches himself, is not very optimistic.

"I don't think we're going to have that great of a crop. It's going to be better than last year, but not much," he said.

More berries in the patches, fewer bears in the city

The MNRF says last year there were fewer berries, and those that dig grow were much smaller.

"I think what we can attribute that to is the late frost that we seemed to get last year, and the impact that that had on the plants," Ross Hart, district manager in Sudbury said. "And we just didn't seem to get that in this area this year."

The relative abundance of berries has had another effect on the ministry.

"We're not seeing the number of bear calls coming in," Hart said. "They're quite down, specifically during this last few weeks. We did have some numbers spiking in the spring, of course, when they're coming out of their dens and they're looking for that food source. But lately in the last little while it's been very low."

"I can just only imagine that that means they're quite happy where they are. They definitely prefer not to be in the cities and around people."

This professor studies his own blueberry patch

Retired professor Joe Shorthouse says it's only a "typical" year for Sudbury blueberries, although it's likely the best crop since 2013.

Shorthouse has been photographing blueberries in the batch behind his house on Bethel lake since 1978.

"Last year and the year before it was a very poor year for moisture, almost desert-like conditions in the Sudbury area in July and August," Shorthouse said.

"It was like all the plants collectively decided to drop all their berries and reproduce by other means."

"Berries are not critical for it," Shorthouse said. "Critical for Sudburians, but not for the plant."

Shorthouse said as a retired biologist, he also enjoys observing the unique properties of the blueberry plant.

"It's a plant that somehow hasthe ability to detect where there's moisture, nutrients, and the right level of light," he said.

"Here we have a plant that can very accurately learn about its habit. And how they do that most botanists haven't figured out."