How to grow blueberries
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Home & Garden
Blueberries make a great addition to the garden. The berries are suitable for desserts and jam making. Here are some tips on growing your own.
A gardener’s advice
- Blueberries need a moisture-retentive, acid soil with a pH value between 5 and 6. They do best in an open, sunny area, but they can be grown in partial shade.
- It is useless to try to grow blueberries in alkaline soil. Therefore, when only alkaline soil is available, blueberries can be grown in containers. Fill the containers with an acid- or a peat-based compost, with no lime added.
- Approximately 4 to 6 bushes should provide a good supply of blueberries for the average family. The berries are generally ready for picking in mid and late summer. Each of the plants will bear fruit over a period of several weeks.
- Blueberries are not completely self-fertile so to ensure a good yield it’s best to plant at least 2 varieties.
- Plants can be propagated by layering in autumn or spring or by taking semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer.
