From beginners to blueberry pros: A journey of learning, growth

Chris Rugowski

Contributor

August 4, 2025

ELCHO – Though a late-year ice storm destroyed some of their canes and bushes, Jackie and Jeff Bauknecht – owners of BearButt Berries (W10465 County Road K in Elcho) – said a wet spring is making way for a solid blueberry picking year.

On average, the Bauknechts said their crop produces between 3,500 and 6,300 pounds of blueberries – all natural with zero pesticides.

With the 2025 picking season in full bloom, the couple said it’s been a dream – albeit one they didn’t know they had – come true, as they help feed their community from their 700-plus blueberry bushes.

Out of the blue

Admitting she has no “green thumb,” Jackie said growing blueberries wasn’t at all the plan they had when she and her husband moved up to the Northwoods.

The plan, she said, was to retire on the 40 acres of land, but the blueberries were established by the previous owner of the land.

“We weren’t even blueberry people,” she said. “If we were going to buy a berry, it would be a strawberry. But you learn as you go, and we kind of figured we’re going to kill [the bushes] or they’re going to survive.”

Seven years later, Jackie said the berries are thriving – jokingly noting that if they can survive her “black thumb,” then they’ll survive anything. 

As natural as possible

Jackie said the only treatment applied at BearButt Berries is diatomaceous earth in spring – just to prevent the bugs from getting onto the berries or bushes.

Diatomaceous earth, she said, is soft sedimentary rock that consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae accumulated over millions of years.

From the time they start blossoming to the time they’re picked, Jackie said nothing touches the berries except water and what nature provides them.

Always thinking of the next season, Jackie said she and Jeff supported the blueberry bushes for the year ahead by treating each plant with care following harvest.

“Our motto is: ‘As little stress as possible to the plant,’” she said. “We keep the weeds down, but we don’t apply any de-weeding chemicals or herbicides.”

The Bauknechts said they keep things as natural as possible because it’s a duty to themselves, their dogs, their grandkids, the chickens, and, of course, customers who all walk into the blueberry patch and eat straight from the bushes.

From amateur to connoisseur

When the Bauknechts went to look at the property, they said they told the previous owner they were willing to give blueberry farming a try.

But, not all had to be learned, thankfully, as Jackie said she had a business background from her 40-year dog grooming career.

She said she was already attuned to customer service, which has helped her grow BearButt Berries throughout the years.

When it came to the berries themselves, however, the Bauknechts said they had a lot to learn.

Jackie said there are an estimated 150 varieties of blueberries – with BearButt’s being a cold-weather variety, which requires at least 90 hours of subzero weather to reproduce and be prolific. 

Seeing how the varieties of berries bloom, she said, is interesting to watch – because all the buds form at the same time, the blossoming and ripening happen at different times.

This, Jackie said, can make it challenging to predict each season’s opening.

The average blueberry bush, she said, will produce five to nine pounds of berries a season.

Unlike commercial-sized operations that feed their bushes every seven to 14 days, Jackie said at BearButt, they feed the bushes twice in the spring and let nature do the rest of the work. 

This, she said, allows the bushes to develop naturally, producing fruit that grows similarly to grapes.

Like any crop, Jackie said, the weather throughout the year affects the growth and amount of berries.

“We’ve had summers where the bushes were so full that we couldn’t get enough fruit off [them],” she said. “This last year, we’ve had a lot of rain, which has made for the best growth on the bushes since we bought the property in 2018.”

Picking season

Traditionally, Jackie said, about two weeks before public picking is opened, they will do select picking to get those first berries off the bushes. 

“You may only get 10 berries on a bush at this point, but if I were to leave this fruit, it would rot in two weeks, and that attracts other things,” she said.

Generally, the Bauknechts said they are open for public picking by the second or third week in July, but because of the odd weather this year, they’ve gotten a late start – opening in late July.

Jackie said fruit ripens at a variety of times throughout a four-week period, with good picking available through the end of August or beginning of September, subject to weather.

Community support

Even though Elcho itself is an unincorporated community with just more than 1,200 people, Jackie said BearButt Berries receives support from all over and continues to grow.

“We play games with the kids who come and fill buckets,” she said. “It gives me the warmest, fuzziest feelings for a kid to come here and find out where their food comes from and smile because they beat Grandpa or Grandma with all the berries they picked.”

To reciprocate the community’s support of BearButt Berries, Jackie said any excess fruit at the end of the season goes back to the community.

She said she will make blueberry jelly and jam, as well as freeze berries and deliver them to the food pantries and other community assets throughout the year.

For updates on the 2025 picking season, find BearButt Berries on Facebook.