I grew up in eastern Maine half a century ago. We had a rural property and grew several acres of low bush blueberries only a few inches tall but quite lush. T

I grew up in eastern Maine half a century ago. We had a rural property and grew several acres of low bush blueberries only a few inches tall but quite lush. The land was acidic and rocky, essentially worthless for anything else. Cultivation was as close to natural as you could get. If you wanted blueberries, you burned the land in the early spring. Burning was a neighborhood thing. Someone would light the fire line and the rest of us would carry around 5 gallon Indian pups (brand name I think). Do that for a few years and you had a field of blueberries. Actively cultivated blueberry fields were burned every other year. I never looked into the reasoning; it was tradition, but I suspect it was a combination of clearing out dead matter and maintaining the acidity. In August we would rake the blueberries and take them to the local cannery. A blueberry rake is a rectangular scoop about 9 inches wide with wire tines. The LA Times is dead wrong about the flavor comparison. Maybe all high bush varieties are mild and flavorless, but Maine wild blueberries are really rich and flavorful. Mmmm blueberry pie. A Maine summer was strawberry pie in June, wild raspberry and blackberry pie in July, and blueberry pie in August. And lobster and clams so that it wasnt all pie, pie, pie.