Mamaku Blue FAQ
Q: Are all blueberries the same
A: No, there are many hundreds of blueberry varieties grown around the world today and all have different tastes, shapes, size, colour, sweetness, and shelf life.
Q: What sort of blueberries do you grow?
A: We grow Northern Highbush varieties as they are the most suitable for our conditions, which are frosty winters, cooler summers, higher altitude, higher rainfall, stronger winds, volcanic soil, and a small window for our season.
Q: How many different blueberries do you grow?
A: By 2022 we are growing 8 different varieties, all from the Northern Highbush group, and trialing another different 8 varieties for our future expansions. Some of our original plants were planted more than 40 years ago (Jersey, Dixi, Burlington) and some other varieties that we sell are the most popular varieties in the world, Bluecrop, Duke.
Q: When do your blueberries ripen?
A: Our season is from January till the end of March (approximately). Our earliest variety is Reka and our latest variety is Elliot.
Q: How long does it take for a blueberry tree to grow and fruit?
A: You can usually get some berries off after good 3 years of growth but the plant does not mature till over 8 years old, some recommendations are over 10 years for a tree to be mature, depending on the variety.
Q: How are blueberries pollinated?
A: Most highbush blueberries are self fertile, but cross pollination is recommended to achieve a bigger and more consistent crop. (Rabbiteye varieties are self sterile and cross pollination is required). Blueberries are insect pollinated, bumblebees and/or honey bees will do a great job.
Q: Why are your blueberries different?
A: We chose varieties that mainly excel in their taste over everything else, ie shape, sugar content, size, extended shelf life, etc. Our focus was also growing more disease resistant varieties as close to native American blueberry as possible. Our trees take longer to mature and we need to make sure our baby plants can develop their root system first before planting them into compact volcanic soil. Volcanic soil is rich in minerals but its PH is not ideal for blueberries, which require lower ph of the soil (between 4.5 - 5.5). Due to our unique climate, our blueberries ripen in the window from January – March (approximately) the latest we have harvested is early April, as they take longer to ripen and then get hit by early frosts. Our customers often comment that our blueberries have the taste you cannot substitute for anywhere else even when you choose the same variety. And we believe all these things project into their goodness as well.
Q: Is your orchard Certified Organic?
A: No. We use bee friendly procedures and natural fertilizers being cautious about the impact on the soil and the plant cycle. This has been our practice for many years on the orchard. Our berries are spray free, however if the weather is not conducive for a successful harvest, we may have to use preflower and/or postharvest spray to secure our harvest (we never spray forming or maturing fruit), we only apply if absolutely necessary and always looking at natural and biological controls before considering anything else. If we need to apply any sprays, including Certified Organic, we follow very strictly spraying procedures and withholding periods. The remaining 26ha of our farmland is certified bio gro organic.
Q: Is your Pure Blueberry Juice cold pressed and pasteurized?
A: Yes, our Pure Blueberry Juice is cold pressed and pasteurized. You can store it at room temperature when the bottle is unopened, but once you open a bottle, please, keep it in the fridge as it doesn't have any preservatives preventing juice to go off and the recommendation is to consume within 21 days.
Q: Is your PURE 100% juice a concentrate or made from a concentrate?
A: No.
Q: Do you add anything else to your PURE 100% juice?
A: No. We squeeze our best blueberries into our PURE 100% blueberry juice and we control every step of the process of making it, from growing berries to putting the label on the bottle.
Do you have any more questions? You can contact us.