Finns generally know a lot about different types of plants, and can tell which ones are safe to eat and which ones should be left alone.
I grew up in Wisconsin, where cranberries are a common crop for farmers. I expected the cranberries in Finland to grow in a very wet area, and I also expected I would need rubber boots to pick any without getting my shoes wet. Imagine my suprise when we walked out on a bog, and my feet did not even get wet! The ground was very springy, which made looking for berries lots of fun.
I was a little nervous about eating the lingonberries. When I tried lingonberry juice, it was very tart and not very sweet.
Both the lingonberries and the cranberries suprised me when I tasted them. The cranberries were not sweet at all, while the lingonberries were very sweet! I decided that I like cranberries better as a juice, and lingonberries better as fresh berries to eat.
Different berries grow in different places. Cloudberries and cranberries, for example, tend to grow in swampy areas. Lingonberries and blueberries tend to grow in the forest. You have to know where to look for certain types of berry, or you will not see any! Keep your eyes on small bushes and vines that are close to the ground.
Each different type of berry has adapted to live in its particular environment. This also means that the berries are not all competing for the same places to grow.
All of these plants are very tough because they have to survive the Finnish winter, and berries all have different growing seasons.
