Gardening > Grow Your Own Blueberries

Blueberries - Grow your own:

Blueberries

Blueberries
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Blueberries have been in the news for quite some time now. These mauve/blue berries are said to be bursting with anti-oxidants and vitamins. How lovely to pick a bowl of blueberries from the garden and eat them for breakfast! Added to cereal or yogurt these berries are truly delicious.

If you want to grow blueberries in your garden you will need to buy at least two varieties. This will ensure good pollination and hopefully a good crop of fruit. Blueberry bushes are attractive especially in the autumn/fall and are very low maintenance.

Plant the blueberry bushes in the autumn/fall or early winter, allowing two handfuls of bone meal per square yard of soil. Once planted, mulch the bushes with a good layer of well-rotted manure or compost. Repeat the mulch every year and in late winter treat the bushes to two handfuls of blood, fish and bone per square yard.



As the bushes get older remove any elderly, weakened branches and ensure that branches are at least six inches apart to allow in sufficient light and air. For the first few years just snip off the tips of the branches in autumn/fall.

Blueberries can also do well in containers on a patio, decking or similar. Positioning the containers near to the house can help to deter birds looking for a fruit snack.

To buy blueberry bushes try Deacon's Nursery if you are in the UK. In the US try Waters Blueberry Farm. For general blueberry information and blueberry products The Dorset Blueberry Company is an interesting website to visit.

In anticipation of your future blueberry crop, here a few recipes to look try:

Blueberry Muffins
Bluebrry Pie
Bluebrry Pudding


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A topic being discussed at the moment on our forum:

Land For Food Production


I wonder just how much land it would take to feed a family of, say, 4? I know that if my family didn't buy fruit and veg we wouldn't have enough to eat but is self sufficiency down to amount of land or method of growing? Last year I overcrowded my small veg plot with counter-productive results like mildew and snail infestation that went unnoticed until we came to pick the tomatoes (all holes!). I wonder if anyone has ever been totally self providing or whether the local market and barter played...