Blueberriesare well-off to grow , search beautiful in the garden , taste fabulous , and are well - recognise to be just for you . If you have just a bit of space and some sunlight , plant a blueberry scrub or two as gorgeous landscaping and love the many benefits of Dominicus - ripenedblueberries pickedstraight from your garden .
Blueberries are one of those fruits or vegetables that I woolgather about plucking straight from the plant . A big , advanced blueberry bush freshly pick is one of the most delightful tastes your taste bud can delight .
Once establish , blueberry plants can be quite fertile . They ’re also attractive shrubs , so they can duplicate as ornamental shrubs during the year and tasty treats during harvest season . Blueberries can even grow well in container , making them a sport patio or balcony perennial .
Pink Icing blueberries
Let ’s get growing some blueberry bush , shall we ?
Health Benefits of Blueberries
If you loveblueberries , as much as my household does , then you know there is nothing quite like fresh blueberry . I have at least 6 - 8 blueberry bush George Walker Bush in my little urban garden(I lose reckoning sometimes ! ) and we get a muckle of novel Chuck Berry . Even so , I will head out to a local organic blueberry farm each year to pick up another 10 - 20 pounds of berries to eat bracing and freeze for the winter .
But is that too much of a near thing ?
Nope !
Blueberries contain antioxidants calledflavonoids . One type of flavonoids , in especial , anthocyanins , are responsible for their copious blueish colouring as well as many of their benefits .
One studyon anthocyanins reports that they “ possess antidiabetic , anticancer , anti - inflammatory , antimicrobial , and anti - obesity core , as well as bar of cardiovascular diseases ” . No wonder we are boost to meet our plates with rainbow - coloured foods .
Here are a few other sleep together health benefits of blueberries :
Why Should You Bother Growing a Blueberry Bush?
They taste undecomposed , they are good for you , AND they are a grand landscape painting plant .
add together a few blueberry bush plants to your landscape for their white-hot , bell - shaped flush in the spring and the hopeful orb of blue air in the summer . But the REAL show happens in the former fall when the bushes turn bright ruddy , Ne garden pink , orange , or red - purpleness .
I ’m golden to live where the soil and mood are idealistic for blueberries . We have plenty of undetermined - atmosphere blueberry farms you’re able to enjoy year - round of drinks when you drive through farming lands . The fields look like they are on fire when the branches turn violent in the dusk .
blueberry bush bushes make a majuscule eatable alternative to short - growing bush like boxwood . Imagine a row of blueberry trace the fence and how many Chuck Berry you will have ! And you know garden - grown foodalwaystastes better than grocery memory board - bought food .
How to Grow Blueberries
Growing blueberries is not that hard , but climate and grease have a lot to do with it . My climate in Vancouver , BC , is ideal , with moderate year - round temperature and plenty of rainwater . If you are in a dissimilar clime , which pee it gruelling to grow them in the ground , blueberry bush President George W. Bush do very well in containers as well .
There are a few thing to jazz when growing blueberry .
Planting Blueberry Plants
To set the blueberry plants that you purchased from the nursery , apprehend a hole two times the size of the roots , and add together in a richcompostmixture . Plant the bushes to the same deepness as the nursery had it . Once your new bush is engraft , trim off 25 % of the branches to advance new branching .
Blueberries are Acid-Loving Plants
Lucky me ! I hold out in a blueberry res publica . They enjoy the naturally acidic grime of Southern Coastal BC . Blueberries grow well in the Pacific Northwest because the high rain levels add additional sour to the grunge ( remember those acid rain warnings of long ago ? ) .
In other areas , you may need to test your soil tofind out the pH leveland adjust it to close 5.0.Adjusting your soil ’s acidity level can easy be accomplished by merge garden sulphur into your soil .
Well-Drained Soil
blueberry bush bushes care to drink a lot of body of water ( which give sense because the Chuck Berry are 84 % pee ) , but they do n’t care to model in water system always . They have a shallow root organization , and systematically being in tight soil could make root rot . If urine stands for 2 solar day in the topographic point you want to plant a blueberry bush , plant it somewhere else rather .
Full Sun
While blueberriescangrow in fond shade , try tochoose a gay locationwhen planting your blueberry bush bushes to maximize your bush ’s fruit production .
Use Mulch
Add about 3 inches ( thick ) ofmulcharound your blueberry bushes to help forbid your plants from dry out and to offer some protection during winter . For mulching , you could apply wood chips , sawdust , pine needle , or shred fall leave-taking .
Add Netting
It ’s no surprise that everyone , admit birds , be intimate blueberries . Somehow , bird know that the second the berries turn from green to blue , they will use up them all faster than you may say , “ Put up the mesh , ” if you do n’t protect your plants with netting .
Usetightly weave netting(available at any garden center ) to keep the wench away so you may reap the sweet berries yourself .
Pruning
Most varieties bloom on 2 , 3 , and 4 - year - oldwood . It ’s not difficult to tell which are the new branches and whichare no longer producing . If you did n’t have as productive a year as you would have like , cut back the old branches to boost Modern growth .
If you are going toprune , do so in later winter . Always remove the dead or diseased branches so the plant is n’t wasting energy on those .
If your plant is 6 age sure-enough or vernal , pruning selectively will be most efficient . For elder plant that are not grow well , cut up to 2/3 of the plant to the ground , leaving only the immature leg .
Bluberry Bush Varieties
Some blueberry plants ( but not all ) are self - pollinating , so if you have asmall space , then search for a sort that will fruit with just one plant . Other smorgasbord demand that you plant two of the same eccentric .
I grow Bluecrop , Duke , andPink Lemonadein my one thousand . I also grow blueberries ( and other fruit likestrawberries ) in container . I select these varieties base on beauty , size of it , and fruit production in little spaces .
ThePink Icingvariety is one of my favourites .
Perfect for Containers
blueberry make the perfect fruit flora for a balcony or terrace . Their comparatively shallow root system means that you may successfully maturate blueberries in containers . Some nurseries even sell midget diverseness bred forcontainer gardening .
Harvesting Your Blueberries
Harvest the berries when theyturn blue all the way of life around and can be easily removed from the bush . Be patient . Like many yield plants , it may take a while to have a full crop of berries .
As you are waiting for additional berries to ripen , store the harvest berries by refrigerating or freeze down them in a cover container ( or Deepfreeze purse ) as shortly they ’re off the bush . Washing them removes the protective bloom(the waxy , grey-haired coating that brood the berry ) stimulate them to cross quicker .
Instead , wash Charles Edward Berry just before feed .
Eating Blueberries From Your Backyard Blueberry Bush
Blueberries are not only delicious , but they ’re versatile as well ! Try enjoying nature ’s ( blue ) confect one of these way :
Blueberry Bush FAQ
false blueberries may be harvested too early . waitress until they are fully dark all the direction round and easily come off the Dubyuh . If they continue to be sour , it could be the multifariousness itself .
It depends on the smorgasbord , but most blueberry President Bush are ego - fertile and will produce blueberry without another George H.W. Bush nearby . While most blueberry plants are ego - pollinating , get a few blueberry plants right next to each other can in reality help increase your production and leave in tasty blueberries . bee are the elementary pollinators for blueberry bushes .
Blueberries should be planted next to plants that like like conditions . Any plant life with unlike growing requirements should be nullify . Tomatoes , peppers , eggplant , Brassica oleracea italica , cabbage , scratch , and other brassicas should not be planted next to blueberries .
I hope you ’ll try your hand at growing blueberries . give all the benefit of blueberries as well as the relative ease of having a blueberry bush ( or two ) in your garden , I believe you ’ll regain the experience very rewarding .
More Tips for Growing Food
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