Wild Maine Blueberry is Here to Stay!

I’m excited to share with you guys that we’ve decided to add a favorite summer seasonal scent to our regular line up - Wild Maine Blueberry. If you didn’t get a chance to try it this past summer, no worries! Now you can try it any time in our foaming soap, hand & body lotion, and lip balm.

This is such exciting news, Meggan! I really loved the Wild Maine Blueberry foaming hand soap and can’t wait to get more. But I am curious as to what is so special about wild blueberries from Maine.

I love when my Farmer’s Body family asks such fabulous questions.

The first thing that makes them so amazing is that they are WILD! Wild blueberries (also called lowbush blueberries) are native to upper New England. These crops aren’t planted but instead grow in large mountaintop fields and in “glacial outwash plains which formed 10,000” years ago. (Glacial outwash pictured below.)

10,000 years ago! What was even happening on Earth around 10,000 years ago? Earth was moving out of its last ice age and the melting of massive mineral rich glaciers formed these outwash plains that are excellent for growing blueberries. The sandy, rocky nature of this soil makes it easier for rapid root development, which is critical for the success of blueberry bushes. These areas where blueberries grow are called “barrens” because the conditions are too harsh for most plants to prosper. Pretty cool, huh?!

Interestingly, even though they are considered wild, these blueberries were harvested for centuries by native people (Wabanaki, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Abenaki, Micmac, Maliseet) before English settlers arrived in the 1600s. The native people not only taught the settlers how to take care of the blueberry fields, they also showed them the many ways to use blueberries.

If they have been harvested for hundreds (or even thousands) of years, why are they considered wild?

Another great question! They are considered wild because fields can have over 1,000 genetically distinct blueberry plants that vary in flavor, shapes, and colors. Because wild blueberries have to fight so hard for their survival, they are more potent and nutrient-rich than commercially grown blueberries. They are also much smaller than commercially grown blueberries and tend to have a more intense flavor.

We love to support local farmers (check out our partner farm page!), and we are so happy that we are able to use local, wild blueberries in our products.

If you’d like to read more about wild Maine blueberries or support local blueberry farmers, go here: https://wildblueberryheritagecenter.org/.

And click here or the button below to indulge in our Wild Maine Blueberry foaming hand soap, hand & body lotion, and lip balm. Yum!