6 Simple Steps To Grow Blueberries

Blueberries are considered as one of the major nutritional powerhouses that are rich in antioxidants which can fight diseases like cancer. Blueberries are also well-known for saving eye-sight and for their anti-ageing properties. You can plant them in your garden. Follow few simple steps to grow blue berries in your garden.

As you all know that blueberries enhance the taste of muffins, pies and cereals and make them taste even more scrumptious. However, apart from their incorporation into various cuisines nowadays blueberries are gaining more popularity in the field of “Landscape” as well. Fortunately, with the help of some simple steps to grow blueberries you can easily fulfill your blueberry-growing dream even if you don’t have a green thumb.

Best Antioxidants To Grow In Your Backyard

Earlier there were only 3 main kinds of blueberries known as the high bush, low bush and the rabbit eye. All of them had particular growing conditions. However, now with the advent of hybrids, many new varieties of blueberries are arriving in the market. If you are keen to grow blueberries in your home, then given below are the 6 simple steps to grow blueberries at home:

Choose A Location
The first thing you will need is to choose a perfect location where you can grow your blueberries. If you choose a place where water stands for two days, avoid that location. You must plant your blueberries in a soil which drains well. Blueberries grow well in containers as well, so if you do not have a garden, you can plant them in patio containers & follow the steps to grow blue berries in containers.

Choice Of Soil
The best growth of blueberries takes place when they are planted in acidic soils that have a low pH i.e. around 5.0. This is one of the simple steps to grow blueberries. Moreover, into the soil you should also add rich organic matter in order to fortify the soil. If you want to plant a row of blueberries, elevate them higher than the soil level by about twelve to eighteen inches high and 3 feet wide. The spacing between the plants should be about 4 to 8 feet.

Plant Your Blueberries In A Sunlit Place
Once you have decided on the location to plant your blueberries, make sure they get enough sunlight throughout the day. During the late afternoon i.e. just before the dusk the blueberries can endure partial gloom.

Mulching
Mulching is one of the simple steps to grow blueberries which help to preserve moisture and avert weeds. About 2 to 4 inches of mulch is sufficient for the blueberries to thrive. Acid compost, bark mulch, grass clippings and sawdust are quite good for this purpose. Repeat this each alternate year.

Pruning
Pruning is the one of the most vital and simple steps to grow blueberries and make them thrive for many years. In order to shun over-fruiting, your blueberry plants must be pruned every year. While pruning your plants, your aim should be to remove about one-third to half of dead wood each year. Pruning encourages plant growth and makes your blueberry plants more productive.

Fertilizing
This is the last step among the 6 simple steps to grow blueberries at home. It is recommended to fertilize your blueberries once during the early spring and once more during the late spring. After fertilizing your plants make sure you water them properly and wholeheartedly. Cotton seed meal and blood meal do well for organic fertilizers. Stay away from manures as they can destroy your blueberries.