One of the easiest things Recycla has grown over the years is blueberries. They aren’t fussy plants and take almost no effort. In addition to producing a fruit that has a number of health benefits, blueberry bushes are wonderful additions to your landscape. They have lovely white flowers in the spring and, later in the fall, turn a brilliant, eye-catching red.
If you’re interested in growing your own blueberries, you should plant them in the next month or two, depending on where you live. Recycla lives in Virginia in gardening zone 7 and blueberry bushes are already available in the garden shops.
Blueberries are pretty much self-fertile, but to get the most fruit production and largest berries possible, you should plant at least two types of blueberries. If you don’t have a lot of space in your yard or don’t have a yard, blueberry bushes do well in large pots. Just make sure that the pots drain well and that you keep them well-watered all summer.
When planting your bushes, mix in lots of compost or even just chopped up leaves from last fall. If you have pine trees in your yard, grab several handfuls of the needles on the ground and mix those in as well. Blueberries do best with acidic soil and pine needles are a free and easy way to give the bushes what they love. Set the bushes a few feet apart. And once you’ve planted them, mulch 3″ deep all around — this is important because it will keep the plants’ roots moist. In the fall, mulch the bushes again with pine needles or another acidic mulch.
While your bushes could produce berries the first year, it’s best to remove the flower buds and let the plants establish themselves. You should also make sure your bushes get enough water through the hot days of summer.
One thing you will need to do every spring is protect your fruit from birds, which love blueberries as much as we humans do. Bird netting will do the trick and save your berries for you. Just toss the nets on after the white flowers bloom but before the green berries get very big. Make sure the nets are secure at the bottom or the feathered visitors will definitely find a way to get underneath. (Recycla is thinking of building some sort of simple pergola or arches over her blueberry bushes so that she can cover the entire group instead of individual bushes.)
After that, all you have to do is wait and think about how you’re going to eat your berries — in muffins, pancakes, or just straight up.
One final note about blueberries: They also freeze very well. Just wash and dry, then store them in freezer-safe containers. The following winter, you’ll have amazing fruit to add to muffins or oatmeal.
Enjoy!
Do you think they’d do well in a large container? Since I rent, I’m reluctant to start a fruit bush/tree in the ground, because in a few years I’ll be gone – just when it’s time to really reap the benefits.
Jane, definitely! But get a big one, like at least as big as this: http://www.gardeners.com/Self-Watering-Rolling-Planter-Large/PatioPlanters_Cat,38-627RS,default,cp.html. Put some gravel or a few rocks in the bottom for drainage and use dirt formulated for pots. If you have any old leaves for grass clippings in your yard, I’d mix those in with the dirt too. Mulch the top of the pots with a little mulch, some pineneedles, or even some pinecones to keep the bushes’ roots cool and moist.
And believe it or not, you could get some berries the first year you plant.
- Jen/Recycla