Blueberries anyone?

Susan asked me if blueberries are difficult to grow. I e-mailed her with some information and after I re-read it, I thought I would share it with you. With prices for everything going up these days, any thing we can grow ourselves is beneficial! So if you like blueberries:



"Blueberry bushes are surprisingly low maintenance. The only requirement they need is acidic soil, around pH 4.5-5.5. You can amend that pretty easily with aluminum sulfate and sphagnum peat mulch. I have 9 bushes now, and it's good to plant them in the fall. It's good to have more than one variety so they cross-pollinate and produce better. You have to prune them every year after the first couple years, but it's not hard to do. You just cut off dead parts and non-producing canes. Also, the first year, you don't let them make berries--you pick off the blooms, so they will concentrate on growing and establishing good roots. They are really resilient to pests. I've had a few aphids and Japanese beetles on them, but they never damage them badly. The only problem I've had with them is when we had that freeze last spring--it froze off all the blooms and I had NO berries at all last year. This year, I've got a ton of berries on the oldest ones, and they're just now getting ripe.

I bought mine online from Nourse Farms. They're a family owned company and are really nice about answering any questions you may have. Go to www.noursefarms.com to check them out!

I don't have the time or patience to mess with high-maintenance gardening right now, so that's why I like blueberries...and they're one of my favorite fruits too :)"