As I have said before, each summer I look forward to loading up our baskets and heading to a nearby farm to do a bit of berry picking. My son will eat them as fast as he can pick them off the bush. My daughter, on the other hand, has never liked any sort of berry and so it is thanks to her that we end up with any to take home at all. I love the time I get to spend in the warm summer sun, with my children and we…
Have you ever been blueberry picking, with your kids tugging at your sleeve, and really looked at a bunch of blueberries? Many of us think of those supermarket berries, consistent in size, shape and color. But the berry on the bush is so different from those.
A little bit tart, but mostly sweet. Some are big and juicy and ready to pop. A couple have shriveled to the branch. And some are still forming a promise for tomorrow. Green, nearly white, brown, lavender, purple, each bunch is a colorful array.
Blueberry bushes thrive when living in a diverse community. You need at least two different plants (being of different cultivars with differing bloom times to ensure cross-pollination) to produce much fruit. Native to the east-coast, the blueberry is a cousin to our west-coast native, the huckleberry. They perform as members of the same large happy family.
And what a wonderful way to watch the change of seasons throughout the year. Their brilliant red leaves add a sparkle to any fall garden. During the winter months the bushes provide a striking form with their twisted peeling stems and in spring, they will put on an exuberant display of small white blossoms. Of course summer is my favorite season because it means berries, berries and more berries.
High in antioxidants, my son and I like blueberries with almost anything. In our breakfast cereal or waffles, sprinkled over a green salad, pureed as a sauce for meat or ice cream, frozen as a snack, the list goes on and on and on. In the winter my son and I survive off the bags we have frozen away from our farming forays. But come those warm days of summer, we hunt eagerly for those first boxes at our local farmers market… a sign that we can plan our next trip out to the farm to enjoy a community diverse in color, ability and character.
Blueberries
Latin Name: Vaccinium corymbosum
Height: 4-6 ft high
Spacing: Plant your blueberry bushes about 4 ft apart.
Sun: In the wild, blueberries will grow in dappled shade. Your harvest will be greater if you plant your bushes in full sun.
Water: Blueberries like about 1” of water weekly during their first three years. Do not irrigate through the use of spray nozzles. Irrigate from below (ie: with a drip system), to prevent powdery mildew forming on the leaves and berries.
Soil: Blueberries require an acidic soil (perfect for those of us in the Pacific NW!) that is also rich in organic matter. This is a time when checking the pH of your soil would be a good idea… it should be between 3.5 and 5.0.
Companions: One recommendation suggested planting the blueberry shrubs with a lingonberry groundcover. The glossy evergreen leaves and red berries play a nice counterpoint to the blueberry shrubs.
Planting: If your winters are mild, plant 2-3 year old bushes in the fall, otherwise plant in the spring. After planting, apply a thick layer of mulch. This will feed and protect the shrub’s shallow root system.
The first year after planting, remove any flower clusters to prevent shrubs from producing berries. This will help your plants establish their root systems and will enable the bushes to produce healthy abundant crops in years following.
Maintenance: Add a layer of mulch around the base of the bushes each year.
In the early spring, remove stems that droop to the ground.
After the shrubs are well established (after 6 years or so), begin annual pruning in the winter. Cut out any suckering stems near the ground. Prune out smaller stems (less than a quarter inch) to stronger branches. Cut out older, twiggy growth. Thin out stems in the middle of the shrub to allow air circulation.
Harvest: Depending on the variety, blueberries will be ripe late spring or summer. The blueberry is ripe when it is a deep blue and pulls easily from the branch.
Of Note: There are two types of blueberry plants. One is Highbush Blueberry and is the one I describe here. The second is Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) and is a groundcover that forms a dense mat, has a lower yield and grows well in colder climates.
As a fruiting bush, blueberry shrubs produce abundant delicious berries. As a landscape element, blueberry shrubs provide year-round interest. In the spring, they are covered in little white/pink urn shaped flowers, in the summer their green foliage is studded with blue berries and in the fall their foliage turns bright yellow and red.
Find the variety that is appropriate for your climate.
