Blueberries are the fruit of several species within the genus Vaccinium, primarily V. corymbosum (highbush blueberry) and V. angustifolium (lowbush or wild blueberry). They are native to North America, where wild blueberries have been gathered by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.
Commercial blueberry cultivation began in the early twentieth century in the United States and has since expanded globally. Australia has become a significant producer, with farms concentrated in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia, taking advantage of counter-seasonal supply to Northern Hemisphere markets. The fruit is now grown commercially on every inhabited continent.
Blueberries are eaten fresh, frozen, dried, or processed into juices, jams, and baked goods. Wild (lowbush) blueberries are smaller and more intensely flavoured than cultivated (highbush) varieties, and are primarily harvested in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
How it's produced
Cultivated highbush blueberries are grown on perennial shrubs that begin producing fruit two to three years after planting and can remain productive for decades. The plants require acidic soil (pH 4.5–5.5), adequate moisture, and winter chilling hours to set fruit, though low-chill varieties have been developed for warmer climates including parts of Australia.
Harvesting of cultivated blueberries is increasingly mechanised, using over-the-row harvesters that shake the berries from the bushes. Hand-picking remains common for fresh-market fruit where appearance matters. Wild lowbush blueberries in North America are managed rather than planted — fields are burned or mowed on a two-year cycle, with the plants regenerating from underground rhizomes. Australia’s blueberry industry relies on cultivated highbush varieties, with harvest running roughly from June to February depending on the region.
What it costs the planet (per kilo)
≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Sources & methods →
Keeping it
Keep it: in the fridge, unwashed.
In the freezer: 240–360 days.
In the fridge: 7–14 days (from date of purchase).
Advice from Cubud’s own keeping notes — how to keep it, not a measured number.
What comes from this
Your household's take
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