Colac Herald » News Rural Scene » Dark December delays Otway blueberry crops
Colac and district residents have failed to experience the delights of blueberries from the Otways before Christmas due to a lack of summer sun.
The Otways blueberry picking season is about two weeks late this year because of a lack of hot weather at the start of December.
Otway Blueberries owner and Oz Blueberries managing director Wayne Knight took The Colac Herald on a tour of both plantations.
Mr Knight said Otway Blueberries would normally have fruit in Colac shops before Christmas but because of the cold start to summer there was no fruit in the shops this year.
“We had a dry spring but a wet August this year. We had six inches of rain in August instead of the average five inches,” he said.
Mr Knight, who started growing blueberries in the Otways 27 years ago, said each of his
blueberry plants would yield between 15 and 20 kilograms of fruit.
“We have six different types of blueberries at Otway Blueberries,” he said.
“It’s a heavy year this year.”
Mr Knight said blueberry pickers would harvest about four to five kilograms of berries an hour.
“The flavour develops as the season goes along,” he said.
For the full story, see the current edition of The Colac Herald.
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