Growing Blueberries In Your Garden

Both highbush and rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are hardy in most regions of the U.S. Hot humid summers are problematic for highbush varieties and extremely cold winters can be injurious for rabbiteye blueberries.

Blueberry bushes grow 8-15-feet tall, requiring annual pruning. The soil pH should be in the range of 4.2 to 5.5. Their dark green summer leaves turn scarlet red in the fall. Pale pink flowers appear in the spring followed by the berries which start out as pale-green and ripen to dark bluish-purple.

Blueberries are very shallow rooted and must be irrigated regularly over the growing season. Space blueberry bushes 5 to 7 feet apart with rows 8 feet apart. As a base mulch use fabric matt and cover it with an additional 3 to 4 inches of sawdust, wood chips or pine needles. 

Feed each bush annually with a slow release organic-based sulfur-coated fertilizer. A newly blueberry plant starts out with one ounce of ammonium sulfate to a maximum of 8 ounces of ammonium sulfate for a mature bush per year. Bushes reach full production in 5-6 years and should yield annually for 20-30 years.

For northern gardens (USDA hardiness zones 3-7), highbush blueberries ('Duke', 'Bluecrop', 'Bluejay', 'Jersey', 'Blueray' are favorite cultivars) are harvested.
In Southern gardens, rabbiteye blueberries (zones 7-9) yield best. Varieties include: ('Tifblue', 'Premier', 'Climax', 'Powderblue', 'Brightwell',  'Montgomery'). Consult the local Extension office for recommended blueberry varieties for your area.

Acclimated to southern climates (zones 6b-9), rabbiteye blueberries bloom in early spring and may be injured by late spring frosts. Varieties with a high chilling requirement may yield poorly in deep Southern areas.  Both kinds of blueberries require cross-pollination; a few varieties are  self-fruitful.

Birds love ripe blueberries as much as people do. Cover your bushes with netting to protect against birds during harvest time. Blueberries should be pruned annually.

New Blueberry Planting Require One Year Soil Prep

Fresh blueberries a few more weeks away from harvest

Blueberries are the easiest fruit crop to grow. Blueberries have few disease and insect problems. Birds become a significant problem as harvest time approaches, from mid-June through September. Blueberry culture is unique as the ideal soil pH range is 4.8 - 5.2. You should spend a year to lower the soil pH and raise the organic level to 3% and higher before planting blueberries.

Select a sunny location preferably with an east or northern exposure. Reduce the weed population by applying monthly applications of Round-up™ (glyphosate) herbicide over the planned blueberry site from April thru September. Have the soil in the blueberry patch analyzed. Follow the instructions on the soil test report, applying 0.2 lbs of elemental sulfur per 100 square feet for each 0.1 pH unit adjustment.

Sample calculation: you have cleared a strip of 6 feet wide by 16 feet long (approximately 100 square feet) for 3 plants. Your soil test recommends lowering the pH by 12 units (measured in tenths), so multiply .2 pounds sulfur x 12 units. The answer is 2.4 lbs of sulfur per 100 square feet. After 6 months, check the soil pH again to determine if you need add more sulfur.