Blueberry — description and agricultural technology
Blueberries are known as a tasty berry that has beneficial properties for the functioning of the internal organs of the entire human body. Since ancient times, blueberries have not only been consumed as food, but also used to treat diseases and ailments. This is the reason that gardeners pay increased attention to this berry crop.
Where are blueberries grown?
Many people know blueberries exclusively as wild berries. And, indeed, blueberry bushes are widespread in forest thickets and swamps. However, the process of collecting wild berries is quite labor-intensive. Therefore, for those who are not averse to enjoying its fruits, a much more rational decision would be to independently grow this berry bush in their garden plot. In terms of usefulness, garden blueberries are in no way inferior to wild forest blueberries.
Where is the best place to plant blueberries?
In order for growing to bring only joy, you need to understand where blueberries are grown and under what conditions.
Blueberries are considered a northern berry, since the geography of its germination covers the entire northern hemisphere of our planet. But it is worth considering that not all varieties are frost-resistant.
Varieties intended for warm regions are considered the most fertile, and it makes no sense to plant them in conditions in which they will not receive enough heat. In this case, the gardener risks getting a harvest that is several times less than he could get from this variety. Not to mention the fact that in cold climates shrubs may not survive at all.
Winter-hardy blueberry varieties are less prolific than heat-loving ones. Moreover, they will bear fruit only in cool climates. There is no need to explain that growing such varieties in warm climates makes no sense.
Blueberry varieties. Comparative characteristics
When purchasing seedlings, gardeners almost always face the main problem: how to select blueberry varieties whose comparative characteristics will correspond to the existing climatic conditions? At the same time, of course, I want the variety to combine all the best characteristics. More precisely, the variety must have high fertility, and the fruits must have high taste and relatively large size.
The size of the bush is of no small importance. For example, low-growing blueberries produce fewer berries than high-growing blueberries. For example, a variety of tall blueberries can produce up to ten kilograms of berries from one bush. And a short one will give no more than a kilogram. Although this is more a feature than a drawback, since low-growing blueberries have a higher tolerance to low temperatures than high-growing blueberries. And the frost resistance of a shrub is by no means the last criterion when choosing a variety for planting.
Breeders have already bred a huge variety of blueberry varieties, different in their qualities and characteristics, and each of them will definitely find its own gardener.
Where to buy blueberry seedlings?
If you want to avoid mistakes and get the most positive result, then you should purchase them exclusively from a nursery that sells blueberry seedlings of the highest quality. Only in a specialized nursery will they not only sell you blueberries, but also tell you in detail about the berry itself and explain how to grow and propagate it.
Blueberries: agricultural technology for growing and propagating
In order to get maximum results, you need to thoroughly study the needs of blueberries: agricultural technology for their cultivation and propagation.
The most successful period for planting blueberry seedlings is spring, before the buds on the trees swell. Over the summer, the young plant will have time to take root and grow stronger, since there is no risk of frostbite in the summer.
Perhaps the most important thing when planting is the choice of soil. You need to take his choice very seriously. A truly good harvest of this healthy berry can only be obtained if it is grown in acidic, well-drained soils. It is also necessary to provide nutrition for the root system, for example, with the help of humus.
Blueberry roots are extremely delicate and fragile and you will have to help them unfold in the soil. How to do it? You need to not just transfer the seedling from the container, but first carefully remove it and soak the soil around the rhizome. Then you need to manually straighten the roots, plant them in the hole and sprinkle them no more than three centimeters.
If planting is in the fall, then it is no different from spring planting, with the exception of one condition: All seedlings that are no more than two years old need to cut off weak branches, and cut the rest by half.
Important: do not rush to fertilize a newly planted plant! To do this you need to wait time.
It is necessary to spray the plantings with special products to protect the plant’s rhizomes from pests. In addition, during the growth process, you will have to constantly manually collect various beetles from the bushes that want to feast on the foliage.
In the process of growing a seedling, you need to loosen the soil several times a season. The main thing is not to do this too often, as you can damage the delicate rhizome and thereby ruin the plant. In addition to loosening, blueberries require careful weeding and timely watering is extremely important - about twice a week. On particularly hot days, it is also preferable to spray the plant: early in the morning and after three to four o’clock in the afternoon. In spring, it is necessary to trim diseased and dead branches from the plant.
Despite the fact that blueberries are truly a northern berry and can withstand frosts down to 25 degrees, in the winter, garden blueberries must still be covered with burlap in order to protect the plant from frost. In this case, you should absolutely not use polyethylene.
Blueberries are not very demanding on the soil, but they respond extremely positively to saturation with mineral fertilizers. Blueberries should be fertilized exclusively in the spring, before the buds swell. And under no circumstances should you introduce organic fertilizers at this time!During fruiting, it is advisable to stretch a fine net over the bushes in order to protect the crop from birds, which will certainly spoil the berries before they are fully ripened.
Blueberries are propagated by both seeds and cuttings. The seeds are collected from ripe blueberries, after which they are dried and planted in the fall, in temporary beds. After two years, the germinated seeds should be transplanted to a permanent location.
A more reliable method of propagation is by rhizome cuttings. They are cut either in the spring - before buds swell, or in the autumn after the leaves fall. Blueberries can also be propagated by dividing the bush. However, the best way of propagation is to purchase seedlings from a nursery.
Blueberries are a very demanding crop, but rest assured that with proper care they will provide your gardener with many healthy and tasty berries!