Liis Soonik, the information manager at the RMK Ristna Visitor Center, said on Thursday's "Terevisioon" that wild strawberry season is currently in full swing. Due to a warm May, the berries ripened several weeks earlier than usual.

"Typically, I expect to see the first berries around Midsummer, but now you can already head into the forest with a basket or bucket and start harvesting," she noted, emphasizing that roadside ditches are not the best places to pick wild strawberries. "Look for a nice clear-cut or a spot between forests; the berries are cleaner there."

Soon, cloudberries will also be ripening. "Usually, I start looking for cloudberries here on Hiiumaa in mid-July, but now I'm already itching to check if they are ripening earlier," Soonik said, adding that blueberries and wild raspberries ripen after the cloudberries. "So there's plenty to look for in the forest."

Depending on the location, the warm spring has also impacted the yield of berry plants.

"In a nice pine sapling stand where I am, the berries are quite beautiful. However, I visited a limestone area a week ago, and the drought had dried up the berries there. On Hiiumaa, there wasn't much cold during the flowering period, so there are quite a lot of berries, but it largely depends on the area," Soonik explained.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!