Growing Blueberries - Tips on How to Grow Blueberries In Your Garden

Blueberries have gained a lot of favor recently as a health food that is high in antioxidants. But even ignoring that, they are a delicious treat, and like most fruits, they always taste better when fresh from the garden. But how do you grow your own blueberries? It turns out that they grow on bushes that bear fruit for several years, so it can be a worthwhile investment of your time. You should also know that it takes a couple of years for blueberries to start producing. This is not the case for strawberries depending on the variety you plant.

The first step in growing blueberries is to identify the type of blueberry bush that will grow best in your area. You need to make sure that the bush is suited to your hardiness zone. There are four basic varieties of blueberries:

Highbush: The most common commercially grown, can grow over six feet tall. With larger fruit than some other varieties, these are hardy to zone 4, and can be grown in much of the south as well.

Half High Blueberries: Not quite as tall as the highbush, but are hardy as far north as zone 3. Somewhat smaller fruit than highbush as well.

Lowbush Blueberries: These are not as erect as the others, growing up to 18 inches in height, and they spread through runner, acting like a groundcover and not as much as bushes. Hardy to zone 3, but does not do well in the south, these are much more a northern variety.

Rabbiteye blueberries: These are better for the south and are native to parts of the Southeast. Very high growth pattern, the are the tallest of all, and are hardy in zones 7 through 9.

Blueberries are related to azaleas and rhododendrons, and like a very acidic soil like their cousins. The best soil pH would be about 4.5. These requires some soil preparation, with a good first step mixing in a few bushels of peat moss. After that, test the soil again, and add sulfur to get the pH to the targeted range.

Most blueberry plants have fairly shallow roots and since they will be in place for years the preparation of the soil is critical. The best is a loamy mix, consisting of 4-7% organic matter like compost. If the combination of acidity and drainage is not feasible you may want to consider raised garden beds.

How many bushes should you plant? That, of course, will vary with the size of the family you need to feed, but four to six bushes can service and average family. The spacing should be five to six feet for the large varieties, and maybe three feet for the lowbush blueberries.

These bushes need at least one or two inches of water per week. Keep in mind that tap water can affect the pH and mineral content of the soil so when possible use rainwater. To help retain water and reduce watering needs a two to four inch layer of organic mulch is recommended. This will naturally help suppress the weeds as well.

Use a fertilizer that won't increase the pH of the soil. It's also best to avoid concentrated fertilizers, since it is easy to damage the roots of your bushes if these aren't properly diluted. Organic fertilizers like soybean or cottonseed meal work very well, or you might use an organic azalea fertilizer as they are formulated to maintain to lower the soil pH.

Blueberry bushes will likely not blossom until their second year, and many suggest removing any blossoms the first year to encourage stronger root systems and improve the long term yields of the bushes.

Birds are the most common pest problem with blueberries. The simplest solution to controlling birds is bird netting. Just remember that when you put up bird netting, the birds can land on the ground and walk under it unless you secure it to the ground around the bushes. Sometimes you may have problems with rabbits or other small rodents. An effective solution there is to put a small chicken wire fence around your blueberries.

You probably won't need to prune your blueberry bushes for the first three years. Remove blossoms in the first year to stimulate strong new growth. When the time comes to prune, do it in in the early spring on dormant plants. Thin out the dead and weak growth, and be sure to open up the middle of the plant to allow light and air to the center of the plant. You should know that the blossoms bud out of two year old or older growth. Finally, when you have fruit set, like any fruit tree or bush, it's important to thin it out as if too many berries are on the bush they will not develop adequately.