Growing and eating your own blueberries

Are you looking for a plant for your garden that is both beautiful and still useful? Look no further…

I introduce to you – the blueberry bush! A plant for all seasons.

Maybe you’ve run into them, when walking in the forest. These are “wild blueberries”, and are simply delicious! Full of great vitamins and antioxidants.

However the ones I grow in my garden are of another sort: Vaccinium corymubosum, also known as “American blueberries”. Still rich in vitamins and antioxidants but easier to grow in your garden. They are high in Vitamin C and only 83 calories pr. cup! They are nutritional dynamite, said to aid your memory, vision, support your overall health and counteract urinary tract infections!

Wow – all that in just one little berry.

However…

You need to know that commercially grown blueberries often have a high level of pesticide residue in them, so if you’re not growing them yourself, be sure and always buy ORGANIC!

What you need to know about planting, growing and harvesting blueberries

Blueberries require well-drained, acidic soil with a pH of ideally between 4.5 – 5.2. Covering them with sawdust, pineneedles or leaves will keep this level of acidity and help keep their roots moist and low in temperature. If your blueberry bush turns yellow in color (before autumn), it means the soil lacks acidity. So watch out for this!

Bushes should be planted in the early spring, which is now – so get to it! 🙂 However if you’re planning on keeping them in pots, you can plant at any time. Space them 4-6 feet apart, so they have room to grow, and don’t plant them any deeper then in the pot.

It’s a good idea to buy 2 different sorts, as blueberries are self-fertile, and you’ll harvest more and larger berries this way. One bush is never enough any way! We have the versions called: “Herbert”, “Darrow” and “Ivanhoe”. And I have just bought one more: “Stanley”.

I love that they have “people-names”, it makes me feel like I have friends growing in my garden.

So to sum up: