Growing
Blueberries
Jane Holmes
Published by Jane Holmes
Smashwords
Edition
Copyright 2011 Jane Holmes
Table of Contents
Introduction,
About Blueberries, Preparing Your Blueberry Bed, Choosing the Best
Plants, Blueberry Plant Resources, Planting Your Blueberries, Care of
Your Blueberry Bed, Pruning, Harvesting, Insect & Disease
Control, Blueberry Recipes, The Health Benefits of Blueberries
Growing
Blueberries
Introduction
Blueberries
are a great plant to add to your berry collection. They are packed
with flavor and are naturally sweet. Whether eaten fresh or turned
into muffins, pies, or jams; the coveted blueberry is very versatile.
We have a friend who eats them frozen as a snack, right out of his
freezer. I’ve found I like them that was, too.
About
Blueberries
Highbush blueberries are best for our area
here in northern New Hampshire and other northern climates. Here,
they bloom in early summer and continue bearing fruit through July
and most of August. Blueberries can be canned, frozen and made into
jams or jellies. The blueberry pies we enjoyed, made with fresh
blueberries were wonderful! This season (2011) has been a good year
for blueberries, with abundant yields everywhere.
Blueberries
are a powerhouse of nutrition and have many health benefits, which I
will go into later in this article.
Preparing Your
Blueberry Bed
As with all other fruits, the first thing to
do is have a soil test done, to see if the spot you have
chosen for your bed will support blueberries.
1. Blueberries
like a very acidic soil with a pH of 4-4.5. Often people find they
must ad sawdust or mulch to their soil to bring the pH down
2.
A good sunny location with good drainage is best for
Blueberries.
3. Soil with a sandy loam and a good amount
of organic matter is a must.
If you can apply a cover crop early
in the spring and another after it has
been tilled in, the year
before setting out your plants, it can be very beneficial. Always
turn your cover crop in before it blossoms and goes to seed
4.
Once your ground is tilled in the spring, compost should be added
to the soil. Work the compost down into the soil about twelve inches
deep. Between the cover crops and the compost, you have created a
nutrient rich soil that will get your Blueberry bed off to a great
start. If your soil is of the clay type, adding organic matter will
help lighten it tremendously.
5. A crowned bed that lifts
your row of berries six inches above the rest of the ground, helps
your bed drain properly
6. If your pH came back higher than
5.0, sulfur or aluminum sulfate can be added, according to the
recommendations in your soil test. A more organic approach is to add
pine needles, sawdust or bark mulch.
Choosing the Best
Plants
For a list of plants that grow best in your area, I
would recommend contacting your County Extension Service for
information. Each county has researched and grown most of the
varieties and can guide you to the best variety for you. Two to three
year old plants are a good choice for planting. They have been
nurtured along by the nursery and are now ready to be put into the
ground in your beds.Visit nurseries of good reputation or research
the mail order companies that offer Blueberry Plants. Often just
asking around will lead you to companies that others have been very
happy with.
Some of the plants that are good for our northern area
are Patriot, Blueray, Bluecrop, Jersey, Northland, North Country,
Northblue and St. Cloud. Each strain has its own special attributes
so studying them carefully is advised.
Blueberry Plant
Resources
Sullivan Greenhouses, Elm St., Rte
135, Lancaster, N. H. 03584
We have purchased excellent blueberry
plants from Sullivan’s in thepast and had very good luck.
Nourse
Farms – Growers of the Finest Small Fruit
Plants
www.noursefarms.com
We
purchased some of our blueberry plants from this great company and
received the best looking and healthiest plants we have ever
seen
They are doing just great! Although these are the only two
companies we have worked with, I’m sure there are just as many
reputable nurseries in your area. It pays to ask others have planted
blueberries.
Planting Your Blueberries
You have
purchased your blueberry stock and either picked them up at the
nursery or they have been delivered to your door. Hopefully your bed
is ready to plant. This is a very rewarding part of the process. Up
until now, we have been preparing. It’s finally time to plant!
Yahoo! Space your plants about 5 feet apart in the row.
1.
Dig the hole for each plant twice the size of its root system.
2.
Place the plant in the hole, taking care to spread out the delicate
roots.
3. Set the plant at the same depth or just slightly
deeper then it had been at the nursery. The depth is was set into the
pot at the nursery is easy to see, as it is darker where it has been
moist. DO NOT let the roots dry out while planting.
4. Fill
in with good top soil, pressing gently but firmly to set the soil
around the roots and the base of the plant.
5. Water
thoroughly. This will help settle the soil down around the roots and
the base of the plant.
6. Remove any broken or diseased
branches (hopefully, there will be none).
Care of Your
Blueberry Bed
Now that your blueberry plants are set into
their bed, it’s essential that they be monitored and well taken
care of.
1. Remove all blossoms the first year. If you can
stand it, it’s a good idea to remove the blossoms the second year
as well, to promote plant growth.
2. Mulch with 3-4 inches
of mulch to help protect the shallow root system that runs just below
the ground.
3. Use pine needles, sawdust, bark mulch,
leaves or a combination of all four to mulch around the plants. We
have found bark mulch very successful. I have also heard some people
warn against using leaves, but have not pried any reason why out of
them.
4. It’s also a good idea to moisten the soil
slightly before applying the mulch. This will help retain
moisture.
5. Keep your berry bed weeded, both in the actual
bed and between the rows.
6. Many people chose to plant
fescue grass between their rows. This is a grass
slugs don’t
like, which will help keep them away from your plants.
7.
As with other berries, watering is important. Blue berries should
have around two inches of water per week. A good irrigation system
that runs along below the bushes works very well. Many systems have
timers to keep the water at the proper level. Too much water will
cause mildew and rot problems. The right amount of water and air
around the plants will produce very healthy plants
8. Three
to four weeks after planting, apply 2 ounces of 7-7-7 fertilizer or
aluminum sulfate in a circle 15 to 18 inches away from the plant.
Organic growers often side dress the plants with more compost and
work it into the soil.
9. In future years, the amount of
fertilizer needed will increase as the nutrients in
the soil is
depleted. Whatever fertilizer you choose to use, the directions
should be on the container. Gage the amount by the age of your
plants.
Pruning
You will find that your
blueberry plants will require very little pruning during the first
two or three years, but always remove any broken, dead or diseased
branches
1. After 3 years, prune annually during the early
spring. At ground level, remove any old dead, weak or damaged
branches.
2. Remove any old branches that are no longer
producing.
3. Keep 6 or 7 vigorous older stems and 2 newer
shoots per bush. The newer shoots will eventually replace the older
shoots when they are pruned away.
Harvesting
1.
Blueberries begin to produce fruit in early to mid-July in New
Hampshire and complete the process in mid to late August.
2.
Blueberries grow in clusters of 5-10 berries per cluster, which
ripen over several weeks.
3. Berries begin to turn blue
with a slightly reddish tinge a few days before they are fully ripe.
This is your notice to keep a close eye on them daily.
4. Pick
only fully ripe berries, those that pull from the stem easily. If
there is resistance, leave them until the next picking.
5. A
fully ripe berry is sweeter and better tasting, much larger and will
provide bigger yields.
Insect and Disease Control
If
your blueberry beds are properly taken care of, you will find very
little problems with them. If you do develop a problem a general
purpose fruit spray will control all insect and disease
problems.
1.Seven controls pest like Blueberry
Maggot.
2.Bird control is easily taken care of with
netting. Many orchardists build a wooden
frame around sections of
their beds and drape the netting over the framework.
Blueberry
Recipes
Blueberry Muffins
¼ teaspoon
butter
¼ cup shortening
1 egg
½ cup sugar
2 cups
flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup
milk
1 cup blueberries
1Cream together butter, shortening
and sugar. Add egg and mix well, until light and fluffy. Add flour,
baking powder and salt. Mix well, alternating with milk until batter
is well mixed
Spray muffin tins. Spoon batter into muffin tins by
heaping tablespoons. Bake at 400° for approximately 20-25
minutes
Blueberry Pie
Pastry:
2
cups flour
2/3 cup shortening
¾ - 1 cup cold water
Cut
shortening into flour until well crumbled. Add cold water and mix
with a fork
until it forms a nice round ball. Divide in two equal
parts. Roll out on a floured board
and place bottom crust in pie
plate
.Blueberry Filling
4 cups fresh or frozen
blueberries
1 cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons corn starch or
flour
Put blueberries in bowl. Combine sugar and flour/cornstarch
and mix well. Dump
Over blueberries and mix well until berries
are well coated. Pour into pie shell.
Roll out second crust for
top, making sure to cut vent holes. Bake at 400° for 40 to
45
minutes.
Blueberries are great tossed into your breakfast cereal,
whether it’s a nice warm oatmeal or a dish of cold cereal or
granola. They are a great snack fresh or frozen and make wonderful
baked goods
We have been told that one can take a quart jar,
fill it will blueberries, put the cover on tightly and store it in
the back of your refrigerator for several months. Due to a gas that
the blueberries produce, they will be just like fresh when you open
the jar and eat them. We will be checking this out! There is nothing
like fresh blueberries to munch on.
The Health Benefits of
Blueberries
1. Blueberries have been proven to contain the
highest levels of antioxidants than any other berry.
2.
Blueberries have earned the title of the “Cancer Prevention Food”
and with good reason. They are known to shrink cancerous tumors and
prevent the development and growth of cancer.
3. In
a study done at Rutgers University, it was found that pterostilbene,
a substance found in blueberries, has been proven to reduce
pre-cancerous lesions in the colon and lower the risk of colon
cancer.
4. Blueberries can reverse memory loss.
5.
Blueberries are credited with improving physical coordination and
balance.
6. This fruit has also been proven to lower
cholesterol.
7. Blueberries can prevent urinary tract
infections.
8. Blueberries are high in Vitamin C and
fiber.
9. Blueberries are low in calories, which makes them
a great snack.
10. Blueberries improve brain function and
help restore memory.
11. Blueberries can also help serious
problems like Alzheimer’s disease
12. Blueberries
strengthen the cardiac muscles and help cure many heart
diseases.
References/Resources
University
of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
Fact Sheet by William
G. Lord, Unit Extension Fruit Specialist and David C. Seavey,
Exension Educator. Revised 2/01
www.Ceinfo.unh.edu.com
Berry
Health Benefits Network – Health & Healing Fact
Sheet
www.Berryhealthbenefitsnetwork.com
Fitness
Top Ten
Diet & Optimum Nutrition, Disease Management
Top 10 Health Benefits of Blueberries
www.fitnesstopten.com
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