Blueberries are straightforward to develop, look stunning within the backyard, style fabulous, and are well-known to be good for you. When you have only a little bit of area and a few solar, plant a blueberry bush or two as attractive landscaping and benefit from the many advantages of sun-ripened blueberries picked straight out of your backyard.

Pink Icing blueberries

Blueberries are a kind of fruits or greens that I daydream about plucking straight from the plant. An enormous, ripe blueberry freshly picked is likely one of the most pleasant tastes your style buds can take pleasure in.

As soon as established, blueberry vegetation might be fairly prolific. They’re additionally enticing shrubs, to allow them to double as decorative shrubs in the course of the 12 months and engaging treats throughout harvest season. Blueberries may even develop properly in containers, making them a enjoyable patio or balcony perennial.

Let’s get rising some blueberries, we could?

hand holding harvested blueberries — Blueberries produce a pure whitish, waxy coating referred to as bloom to guard the fruit.

Well being Advantages of Blueberries

In the event you love blueberries, as a lot as my household does, then you realize there’s nothing fairly like recent blueberries. I’ve a minimum of 6-8 blueberry bushes in my small city backyard (I lose depend typically!) and we get numerous recent berries. Even so, I’ll head out to a neighborhood natural blueberry farm every year to choose up one other 10-20 kilos of berries to eat recent and freeze for the winter.

However is that an excessive amount of of factor?

Nope!

Blueberries comprise antioxidants referred to as flavonoids. One sort of flavonoids, specifically, anthocyanins, are liable for their wealthy blue color in addition to a lot of their advantages.

One research on anthocyanins stories that they “possess antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-obesity results, in addition to prevention of cardiovascular ailments”. No surprise we’re inspired to fill our plates with rainbow-coloured meals.

Listed here are a couple of different recognized well being advantages of blueberries:

Blueberries are low on the glycemic index, which signifies that they don’t trigger your blood sugar to spike.

They’re thought of to be a really nutritious fruit, supplying excessive ranges of fibre, nutritional vitamins, and minerals.

Research present that they assist enhance reminiscence.

Quite a few research have proven that blueberries assist decrease blood stress.

Blueberries are intently associated to cranberries and will assist forestall urinary tract infections.

Blueberry blooming on a plant — Blueberries are thought of by many to be a superfood.

Why Ought to You Trouble Rising a Blueberry Bush?

They style good, they’re good for you, AND they’re a implausible panorama plant.

Add a couple of blueberry vegetation to your panorama for his or her white, bell-shaped blooms within the spring and the intense globes of blue in the summertime. However the REAL present occurs within the late fall when the bushes flip vibrant purple, neon pink, orange, or red-purple.

Blueberry Bush Fall Color — Blueberry foliage within the fall.

I’m fortunate to reside the place the soil and local weather are perfect for blueberries. Now we have loads of open-air blueberry farms you possibly can take pleasure in year-round while you drive by means of agricultural lands. The fields appear like they’re on fireplace when the branches flip purple within the fall.

Blueberry bushes make an excellent edible different to short-growing shrubs like boxwood. Think about a row of blueberries lining the fence and what number of berries you should have! And you realize garden-grown meals at all times tastes higher than grocery store-bought meals.

How you can Develop Blueberries

Rising blueberries just isn’t that onerous, however local weather and soil have so much to do with it. My local weather in Vancouver, BC, is good, with average year-round temperatures and loads of rain. In case you are in a unique local weather, which makes it tougher to develop them within the floor, blueberry bushes do very properly in containers as properly.

There are some things to know when rising blueberries.

Planting Blueberry Crops

To plant the blueberry vegetation that you just bought from the nursery, dig a gap two instances the dimensions of the roots, and add in a wealthy compost combination. Plant the bushes to the identical depth because the nursery had it. As soon as your new bush is planted, trim off 25% of the branches to encourage new branching.

Blueberries are Acid-Loving Crops

Fortunate me! I reside in a blueberry nation. They love the naturally acidic soil of Southern Coastal BC. Blueberries develop properly within the Pacific Northwest as a result of the excessive rainfall ranges add extra acidity to the soil (keep in mind these acid rain warnings of way back?).

In different areas, it’s possible you’ll wish to take a look at your soil to seek out out the pH stage and alter it to close 5.0. Adjusting your soil’s acidity stage can simply be completed by mixing backyard sulphur into your soil.

Nicely-Drained Soil

Blueberry bushes wish to drink numerous water (which is smart as a result of the berries are 84% water), however they don’t like to sit down in water consistently. They’ve a shallow root system, and persistently being in moist soil might trigger root rot. If water stands for two days within the spot you wish to plant a blueberry bush, plant it elsewhere as an alternative.

Full Solar

Whereas blueberries can develop in partial shade, attempt to decide on a sunny location when planting your blueberry bushes to maximise your bush’s fruit manufacturing.

Use Mulch

Add about 3 inches (deep) of mulch round your blueberry bushes to assist forestall your vegetation from drying out and to supply some safety throughout winter. For mulching, you should use wooden chips, sawdust, pine needles, or shredded autumn leaves.

Add Netting

It’s no shock that everybody, together with birds, loves blueberries. One way or the other, birds know that the second the berries flip from inexperienced to blue, they may eat all of them quicker than you possibly can say, “Put up the online,” should you don’t defend your vegetation with netting.

Use tightly woven netting (out there at any backyard heart) to maintain the birds away so you possibly can harvest the candy berries your self.

Pruning

Most varieties bloom on 2, 3, and 4-year-old wooden. It’s not troublesome to inform that are the brand new branches and which are not producing. In the event you didn’t have as productive a 12 months as you’d have preferred, prune again the oldest branches to encourage new progress.

If you’re going to prune, accomplish that in late winter. At all times take away the useless or diseased branches so the plant isn’t losing power on these.

In case your plant is 6 years previous or youthful, pruning selectively might be simplest. For older vegetation that aren’t producing properly, reduce as much as 2/3 of the plant to the bottom, leaving solely the youngest branches.

blueberry flowers — Prune in late winter earlier than the plant begins to set out leaves and flowers.

Bluberry Bush Varieties

Some blueberry vegetation (however not all) are self-pollinating, so if in case you have a small area, then seek for a range that may fruit with only one plant. Different varieties require that you just plant two of the identical sort.

I develop Bluecrop, Duke, and Pink Lemonade in my yard. I additionally develop blueberries (and different fruits like strawberries) in containers. I select these varieties primarily based on magnificence, dimension, and fruit manufacturing in small areas.

The Pink Icing selection is one in every of my favourites.

Blueberry Pink Lemonade — Pink lemonade blueberry

Excellent for Containers

Blueberries make the proper fruit plant for a balcony or patio. Their comparatively shallow root system means which you could efficiently develop blueberries in containers. Some nurseries even promote dwarf varieties bred for container gardening.

Monrovia Pink Icing Blueberry — Make certain the container is massive sufficient to assist the mature blueberry plant.

Harvesting Your Blueberries

Harvest the berries once they flip blue all the best way round and might be simply faraway from the bush. Be affected person. Like many fruit vegetation, it might take some time to have a full crop of berries.

As you’re ready for extra berries to ripen, retailer the harvested berries by refrigerating or freezing them in a lined container (or freezer bag) as quickly they’re off the bush. Washing them removes the protecting bloom (the waxy, grey coating that covers the berry) inflicting them to spoil quicker.

As a substitute, wash berries simply earlier than consuming.

How to Grow and Care for Blueberry Bushes — Wait to clean your blueberries proper earlier than consuming.

Consuming Blueberries From Your Yard Blueberry Bush

Blueberries should not solely scrumptious, however they’re versatile as properly! Strive having fun with nature’s (blue) sweet one in every of these methods:

As an excellent snack for any time of the day, simply by themselves.

Use them as an excellent add-in to cereals and salads, like this scrumptious Spinach Blueberry Salad.

We additionally like to make a recent fruit salad with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and some other fruit we have now that day.

Delight family and friends with home made blueberry jam, which condenses the flavour and makes great presents.

Blueberry Bush FAQ

My blueberries are bitter. What does this imply?

Bitter blueberries could also be harvested too early. Wait till they’re totally blue all the best way spherical and simply come off the bush. In the event that they proceed to be bitter, it could possibly be the variability itself.

Do you want one or two blueberry bushes to get fruit?

It relies on the variability, however most blueberry bushes are self-fertile and can produce blueberries with out one other bush close by.

Whereas most blueberry vegetation are self-pollinating, having a couple of blueberry vegetation proper subsequent to one another can really assist improve your yield and end in tastier blueberries. Bees are the first pollinators for blueberry bushes.

What to not plant subsequent to blueberries?

Blueberries needs to be planted subsequent to vegetation that like related circumstances. Any plant with completely different rising necessities needs to be averted. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, broccoli, cabbage, kale, and different brassicas shouldn’t be planted subsequent to blueberries.

I hope you’ll attempt your hand at rising blueberries. Given all the advantages of blueberries in addition to the relative ease of getting a blueberry bush (or two) in your backyard, I feel you’ll discover the expertise very rewarding.