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Blueberries are luscious fruit that are delicious and healthful. They are easy-to-grow and do not require a lot of space. Whether you want to grow blueberries on a farm or in your urban backyard, here are some tips that will help you get started.
Choose the right kind of blueberry plant to suit your needs. There are four kinds of blueberries and approximately 200 varieties. The four kinds are the highbush, lowbush, rabbiteye, and half-highs. The highbush berries are native to the northeast and can grow to a height of 8 feet. The lowbush are spreading wild plants that grow to a maximum height of 18 inches. They can be used as ornamental plants and they produce small berries. The rabbiteye plants are native to southern parts of the country and can grow to a height of 15 feet. They produce firm, thick fruits. Half-highs are medium sized bushes that are a cross between the lowbush and highbush plants.
Purchase the blueberry plants from a garden center or through a mail-order nursery when they are at least two years old. This makes transplanting easier for the plant and it is usually less expensive. Although blueberries are self-fruitful, it is helpful to plant more than one bush to encourage cross-pollination. Plants that have been cross-pollinated produce larger, earlier fruit.
The best time to plant blueberry bushes is in the spring. You should choose an area that receives full sun, provides wind protection and has well-drained acid soil. Turn over the soil and mix peat moss into the planting hole. Apply a nitrogen-based fertilizer twice during the growing season. Be careful not to fertilize too often as too much manure or fertilizer can kill the plants. Plant the blueberry bushes 1 foot to 8 feet apart depending on the estimated height of the mature plant. Since blueberry plants require a lot of water, it will be necessary to keep the soil moist by watering frequently. However, care should be taken not to overwater the bushes as this can cause root rot or promote the growth of fungus. Keep the plants weeded and mulched.
Pruning is very important to stimulate new growth and keep the plants healthy. Ideally pruning should be done when the plant is dormant, generally in the spring. The pruning process should include removing dead or diseased branches, cutting back old limbs and clipping off low, drooping undergrowth. You should also thin out and shorten remaining branches. If the plants are less than three years old remove any flowers to prevent premature fruiting.
Blueberries are usually quite hardy and are rarely attacked by insects or disease. The greatest hindrance to your harvest of blueberries will be birds. You can try various tactics to scare birds away but the most effective is blueberry netting. You can purchase the netting at garden centers or hardware stores. Cover the bushes with the netting and tie it at the base of the plant. This should be done as soon as the fruit shows signs of ripening.
Harvest the blueberries when they are deep blue in color and fall easily after a gentle touch. You can also check the area where the stem joins the fruit for a pink ring. If the pink ring is gone, the blueberry is ripe. The berries can be handpicked singly or combed with a special blueberry rake. Whatever method you choose, you will be delighted with a summer harvest of mouth-watering, sun-ripened berries.
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