APPLETON — On a mid afternoon in late July, Tim Davis steers a Bragg Harvester through a field of blueberries. Metal teeth thread through vegetation, grabbing and tossing berries onto an upward conveyor belt that drops the fruit to the rear of the vehicle where Davis’ son swaps filled buckets for empties.

Five other harvesters, worked by teens, lumber through the same area of Ridgeberry Farm. With a Summer 2022 beginning harvest date of July 18 and a likely end date on or around August 6, the race is on to reap the rewards of a successful season.

Around Maine, similar blueberry farms are also racing the clock ahead of the second annual Wild Maine Blueberry weekend, in which the public is invited to the farms and blueberry-related retailers in celebration of Maine’s favorite fruit. Click here for a full list of blueberry weekend participants. 

In the estimated 18 day harvest, Ridgeberry Farm will produce approximately half a million pounds of wild Maine blueberries. And then, August 6 and 7, they will kick back with the community. On the forefront will be blueberries for sale, live music, and the sale of barbecue lunch items served up by Gun Slingers Barbecue, a group of law enforcement officers with a passion for the grill. (Sorry vegetarians, no meatless options available)

Closer to the heart, the days recognize the three generations of family who keep Ridgeberry on the forward cultivator, and the farm’s pride in being a part of the community.

“We enjoy giving the kids in town their first job and introducing them to this [blueberry farming],” said Farm Manager Tim Davis. “Because this is a Maine tradition. We like giving the kids an opportunity to partake in it.”

Farming with Family

As Davis and his son pull blueberries from the ground, Davis’ wife, Jess, along with other relatives, manages the local transactions while her parents, Ridgeberry owners John and Allison Boyington, tend to overall details of the rugged 200 acre landscape, of which they own about 100 acres and lease another 100 acres.

This is a family business, about 30 years old and now three generations deep. While some are in the fields, a sister-in-law who owns Fraternity Village General Store, in Searsmont, purchases the berries for her baked goods.

“It’s hard work, but we all seem to like it,” said Boyington. “I guess they’d walk off on me if they didn’t... A couple of grandkids seem to want to keep going with it, so that’s fine.”

And when the farm is selling half a million pounds per year to Wyman’s, a national distributor, why not?

Operating with a little ingenuity

Enthusiasm for a certain hand rake in Boyington’s possession is met with a shrug from his shoulders. To him, it’s just a rake. Yet, for many outside of the blueberry industry – and apparently for many within – making a piece of equipment presents as amazing. 

The Doug-Bragg Harvester

Sixteen metal tines mimic an old-school rake. With the tines in three layers, the average blueberry plant gets raked about three times.

A shelf between the tiers catch the berries and drop them onto an inner conveyor. The inner conveyor drops the berries onto a bigger conveyor.

On the back of the vehicle is a fan that blows off the weeds as the berries drop into catch basins.

“It’s a pretty simple machine,” said Davis. “But very efficient.”

About 24 years ago, Boyington saw someone make a hand rake and thought, “I can do that.” And so, he did.

Boyington says he’s made and sold approximately 3,000 hand rakes over the years to the blueberry companies, although none in the past three or four years. People want machines nowadays, he says. 

However, heavy machinery, and people, for that matter, are not the entire piece of the puzzle. Bees also lend their buzz for the sake of the harvest.

Ridgeberry Farm rents honeybees and buys bumblebees to help with pollination. According to Davis, once the bumblebees are let out, they will form wild colonies and disappear. The rented honeybees are dropped off the last week of May and retrieved again in the middle of June.

And then, without customers, there is no market.

Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 6 and 7, 2022

Public is invited to visit the farm between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day.

The dynamic duo of Ando & Jeff will perform Saturday, August 6, from 12:30 - 3 p.m.

The Rogue’s return this year on Sunday, August 7, from 1 - 3 p.m.

“Bring a chair,” said Ridgeberry Farm, on its Facebook page. “While you are here you might as well get some blueberry pie and blueberry soda to enjoy while listening to music!”

GunSlingers Barbecue will be offering the following menu: Pulled Pork Sandwich, Brisket Sandwich, Half Chicken, Brisket Quesadilla, Refried Beans, Jalapeno Cornbread, and some other sides.

Darlings Ice Cream Truck will be on site with “ice cream for a cause.” Years ago, Jess Davis taught English to a pastor in the Ukraine. That pastor is now making daily trips to the Ukraine border. The ice cream is free, with all donations going to supporting that pastor’s mission.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com