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Growing blueberries
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Some southern highbush blueberries starting to ripen
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This fruit is a regular taste sensation and is surprisingly rarely grown
in Australia, although we understand it is a lot more popular with our
American gardening cousins. Australians probably don't grow blueberries
because they don't think they'll grow well here. This couldn't be further
from the truth. In fact we've successfully grown blueberries here in sunny
subtropical Queensland. So if we can grow these scrumptious berries so
can you!
Growing conditions
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Blueberries are very fussy when it comes to your soil. They need
a nicely composted free draining soil. Don't even think about growing
them in clay soils - they don't like "wet feet" which clay
encourages.
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The other big consideration when it comes to your soil and blueberries
is the pH level. Blueberries thrive in a highly acidic soil between
a 4 and 5 pH. Basically this is the same type of soil that azaleas
and camellias love, so if you have luck in your ornamental garden
with these flowers you should be right with blueberries. Acidic soils
"unlock" minerals like sulfur and zinc to blueberries, which
makes them grow and grow.
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During spring you should get new light green growth. If this is yellow
or looks sick your pH is too high. Add peat moss around the plant
and cover with mulch. Mulch is very important to blueberries as it
helps retain moisture (when they can dry out in summer) and keeps
weeds down, which should hopefully not effect blueberries' shallow
root system.
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If you have a less acidic soil consider digging in peat moss, and
depending on how much of a fundamentalist organic gardener you are
you might even consider sulfur added to the soil a few months in advance
of planting. Mulch with acidic materials too such as pine needles
or sawdust.
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Blueberries like a sunny position but will also get by in some shade
(but not too much, otherwise flowering might be effected).
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During the flowering and fruiting season they'll need a lot of water
- usually around two inches a week.
Garden care
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Blueberries need chilling; so it's important to buy a variety who's
chilling requirements match your climate:
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Highbush
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Best grown in Northeast and Northwest America, and in southern
parts of Australia
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Half-high
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Grows well in the American plains where night temperatures
drop considerably in winter
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Low bush
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Keep going north into the depths of Canada and that's where
you'll find this extremely cold hardy compact variety
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Southern highbush and Rabbiteyes
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Suits the American south (and here in Southeast Queensland),
these are the right varieties for cool and mild winters
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Try to buy locally from nurseries to make sure you buy varieties
that grow where you live.
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Most blueberries will yield a lot better if you grow more than one
type of plant within the same variety, and flowers at the same time.
For example here in Brisbane we grow two early ripening types of southern
highbush - Sharpeblue and Misty. Rabbiteyes must have two types of
plants otherwise they won't produce berries.
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Blueberries aren't that greedy with fertilising, in fact it's best
to only organically fertilise around three times in spring - and then
that's it. Too much fertiliser will encourage leaf growth but not
berry growth. We put down a layer of manure and mulch and give the
odd liquid manure drink (with sulphate of potash included).
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You can prune dead, diseased and old wood toward the end of winter
or very early in spring before much action starts happening to your
plants. The odd prune is good as berries are usually formed on newer
wood.
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Blueberries are very easy to look after for organic gardeners. They
don't get many diseases or pests. Most growers report the only real
pest is birds. They can be deterred with netting. Or you might just
be lucky like us (touch wood) and the birds haven't worked out that
those dark blue balls are very yummy.
Harvest time
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Ok, you've waited patiently for weeks now, seen the gorgeous little
white bell shaped flowers turn into green small berries, they start
changing light purple then dark blue. "At last," you say,
"Harvest time!" But this is unfortunately not the case.
Even when the berries turn blue they're not ready. In fact they're
still very tart. You'll need to wait at least a week for the sugars
and flavour to come out.
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When you only have one or two berries it's easy to remember when
they first turned blue, but later in the harvest you'll hopefully
have dozens and dozens and you won't remember which berry is ready
when. Here's my experience. Look at the underneath of the berry. If
there's a little green circle at the point the berry meets the stem
- it's not ready. If there's no circle wait a day (if you can) and
it should (hopefully) be ready. Of course with experience you'll get
better at working out when they're ready.
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Lightly twist the berry off the stem, pop into your mouth and enjoy!
Last Updated
17 November, 2008
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