Growing Blueberries In Your Garden

Introduction:

Planting blueberries in your garden is a good choice for the home gardener who wants homegrown healthy fruit. Blueberry plants require little space and are relatively easy to care for. Growing blueberry bushes in your backyard is relatively easy if you follow these suggestions.

First, there are three basic types of cultivated blueberries, along with the native low bush blueberries. The state of Maine and Nova Scotia is famous for wild low bush blueberries. Cultivated blueberries are high bush, rabbit eye or southern high bush varieties, or a cross mixture of any of these types.

For the best results you should choose a variety that is suited for your climate. In northern climates choose a high bush variety, or a dwarfed hybrid that is crossed with the native low bush plants. Rabbit-eye and southern high bush blueberries are more suited to the warmer climate of the southern areas. Your agriculture extension service division can provide you information on which type of blueberry bush to plant in your area.

Planting:

For larger yields plant two or more varieties of bushes. It is not absolutely necessary to have more than one variety for pollination, but if the plants are allowed to cross-pollinate the plants will produce a larger yield.
Plant bushes in full sun for best results. The soil should be kept moist but not soggy wet for the best results. If the soil in your backyard does not drain well, consider creating a raised bed.
Properly planting the bush is critical for the bush survival. Dig a hole approximately 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide and mix a couple of shovels of peat moss with top soil and fill the hole to 4 inches from the top. Set the plant and cover the roots with the remaining peat soil mix.
If the soil is heavy, mix an equal amount of peat with an equal amount of soil.
Set plants 5 - 6 feet apart.
Apply 4 inches of wood mulch in a 2 feet wide band after planting, and maintain a 4 inch depth and 4 feet band over the life of the planting.

Fertilizers:

Perform a soil test before planting. The soil acidy should be 4.5 – 5.5.
At planting apply 1/2 - 2/3 pounds of ammonium sulfate (or 10 - 16 ounces of 10-10-10) for a 100 foot of row or just a handful for a single bush.
Keep the fertilizer at least 6 inches away from plant.
In the second year apply 1 to 1.5 pounds of ammonium sulfate (2 to 3 pounds of 10-10-10) per 100 feet of row or a handful to a single bush for fertility and acidity maintenance.

Watering:

Blueberries bushes have very shallow root systems and are very sensitive to water fluctuations. However, they only need 1 to 2 inches of water per week. During dry seasons, supplement rain water by watering. Proper watering is essential for a good crop of high quality berries.

Pruning:

Do not prune plants for the first three years. During the first year remove blossoms that appear after planting to stimulate vigorous growth. When the plant is dormant during the fall or early spring of the third year, remove any dead and weak branches.

Growing blueberry bushes in your garden will provide you with a good nutritional food. Blueberry bushes are also an attractive addition to any backyard landscape. The bushes are quite lovely when they're in bloom in the spring, and in the fall the foliage turns bright crimson, another good reason to grow blueberries.

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