Blueberry Season in Full Swing in Northern IndianaBlueberry Season in Full Swing in Northern Indiana With summer in full swing, it’s blueberry season in northern La Porte County, Indiana. Dean Ott, who operates two blueberry farms in the area, reports a bumper crop of high-quality berries thanks to favorable weather conditions. “We’ve got plenty of blue on varieties that aren’t normally blue this time of year,” Ott said. “It was great for people who came for opening weekend.” Ott’s farms, Stateline Blueberries and Blueberries of Indiana, offer an extensive selection of blueberry varieties. Stateline Blueberries grows 14 varieties, while Blueberries of Indiana boasts nearly 100. Despite the early ripening season, Ott hopes for cooler weather to accommodate late-season pickers. “Many people are used to coming later in the summer,” he said. Business has been brisk at Ott’s farms, particularly with the absence of two competitors this season. According to Ott, the closure of these operations has increased demand for his blueberries.
(La Porte, IN) – Summer is flying by. It’s already July… and it’s blueberry season.
Dean Ott runs two blueberry farms in northern La Porte County.
He says favorable weather recently produced a bumper crop of good berries for their opening weekend. “We’re pretty blue, I mean, we’re blue on varieties that aren’t normally blue this time of year,” Ott said. “Which was great for people who came this past weekend. Normally it’s only our early varieties the first weekend, and people have to hunt and peck. Well, this past weekend they picked the pondage. It was just a great weekend, really.”
Ott says the berries are ripening a little early this year. “We’re about 10 days ahead of our normal ripening schedule,” Ott said. “But having said that, we had three days last week that were pretty cold; we had three days this week that were pretty cold. So maybe we’ll slow down a little bit, fingers crossed.”
He’s crossing his fingers that some cooler weather will stick around to accommodate the late-season pickers. Many people, Ott said, are just used to coming later in the summer.
Ott and his family run Stateline Blueberries on 1000 North, west of SR 39. A few years ago, he took over the Blueberries of Indiana farm next door. The former grows about 14 varieties of blueberries, the latter nearly 100.
According to Ott, business has been good on his farms, especially since two of his competitors did not open this season.
