Celebrating great British Mee Blueberries
Variety is the spice of life on the Mee Blueberries farm in Northamptonshire. Did you know this award-winning farming family grow SIX different varieties of blueberry, and adapt the way they farm to suit their needs?
Emily Mee, her father Peter, mother Zoe, brother Charlie and his wife Charlotte (left to right) are rightly proud of their Red Tractor assured blueberries, which are sold in supermarkets across the UK, and all come from this single farm.
Originally from an arable farming background, Peter and Zoe decided to diversify in 2014, and gradually planted 15 hectares of blueberry plants under polytunnels. These polytunnels protect the superfruit in a controlled environment, offering frost protection and removing the risk of hail damage.
It’s working fantastically too: last year the farm sold 162 tonnes of blueberries to British consumers and it’s on track to pick 200 tonnes this year… that’s the weight of almost 50 adult elephants!
Six of the best
About those varieties… it’s all about timing and spreading the UK blueberry season as far as possible. For the early ones, Duke (top right) and Driscoll’s Sweet Jane, the polytunnels go up in March. The compost in their tunnels is permanently covered with black plastic, to draw heat into the roots and encourage growth early on. In April, the bees arrive to help these two varieties pollinate earlier than their successors.
Next are Sekoya Crunch and Peachy Blue, and the two late varieties Driscoll’s Barbara Ann (bottom right) and Liberty. In contrast to the early varieties, the late varieties’ polytunnels go up in June, with white plastic covering their roots to keep the roots cool.
These six highly nutritious superfruits vary massively in taste, too. Sometimes people say they don’t like blueberries – but maybe they just need to try another variety!
“For the freshest and best-flavoured blueberries, customers should buy British.”
Emily Mee, Business Development Manager at Mee Blueberries
The life of a blueberry
Another surprising fact about the blueberry way of life is that there’s work all year round, with pruning beginning in February and polytunnels going up in March, followed by weeding and maintenance in May and June.
The farm is really busy throughout summer with picking and packing until September, before the post-harvest tidy up from October.
Does the Mee family ever get a break? “We enjoy time off at Christmas!” Emily said.
“We’re just glad that consumer demand for blueberries is strong and we are really proud to be a Red Tractor Licensee growing British blueberries.”
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