I have gotten many, many compliments on my blueberries. I
have 6 plants and have been tending them for 5 years. I have 2 early
season, 2 mid-season and 2 late season plants. I wanted to ensure a good
crop from June well into August and even September so I chose a nice variety of
ripening times.
Here are my favorite varieties of
blueberries to grow because they do well at the garden, they are easy to care
for and most of all produce delicious and nutritious fruit.
Tips for planting are: Dig a giant planting hole, fill
half of the hole with peat moss (acidic and boggy), add 1 full cup of organic
acid loving plant fertilizer, water well, add blueberry plant, back fill the
hole with soil, top dress with compost, water and then mulch with 3-4 inches of
pine needles.) For the first year, keep your berries watered, after the
first year, I only water about once every 7-10 days in moderate temps. In warm
weather, 1 water once a week.
Tips for growing: In spring, prune away all
dead and broken branches from winter. Mulch, mulch well with pine
needles! Pine needles are acidic and blueberries have shallow root
systems so they do not like to dry out. Plant an herb (chives, clover,
oregano, sage, thyme) that attracts lots of bees near your blueberries to help
with pollination, you can even do this in a pot then move the pot when all your
berries have set. After fruits have formed and begin to ripen, watch out
for birds. If they come after your berries you will have to put a net
over them to protect your crop or use flash tape to scare them away. Once your
berries start to ripen, withhold water until you have picked all your berries.
Next, spring, add 1 cup of organic acid loving fertilizer per plant
(gently scratch it into the top inch of the soil around your plants), top dress
with compost, mulch with new pine needles then sit back and relax as you
harvest a bumper crop of berries.
-Gia
