Blueberries are not only delicious snack but they are also very healthy fruit too. Whether you eat them raw, squeezed in your juice, added to your smoothies or a delicious pie, they are simply irresistible. gardening, home, gardening, home, home
Health Benefit of Blueberries
1. Blueberries are the right food for starting your busy day because they are highly nutritious and low in calories. You’ll be receiving 3.6 grams of dietary fiber, along with 24% of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C and 36% of Vitamin K for every cup of blueberries.
2. Blueberries are packed with antioxidants. It was proven that antioxidants are good in preventing the signs of aging. So, if you want to stay young start eating a cup of blueberries daily. These antioxidants also prevent damaging to your DNA which besides aging can even cause cancer. According to a study conducted on humans volunteers drinking blueberry juice every day can reduce the effect of DNA damage by 20%.
3. Blueberries prevent blood cholesterol damage.
4. A study has shown that blueberries decrease blood pressure and cardio vascular risk factors. According to the study there was 4-6% lowering of blood pressure after patients consumed 50 grams of blueberries daily over a period of 8 weeks.
5. The high amount of antioxidants also protects your brain and improves your brain function and memory.
How to Grow Limitless Amounts of Blueberries
There are several tips that you need to follow if you want to grow unlimited amount of blueberries. Continue reading to find our which ones.
Find The Right Spot
The first important step is to find the perfect spot for your blueberry bush. Like other plants, blueberry bushes need a lot of sunlight and good soil in order to thrive.
Enough sunlight will allow your blueberry bush to carry out the process of photosynthesis, which is essential for the plant to grow. The right soil will also encourage the process of photosynthesis and will help the bush to grow.
If you have a big garden, then raised beds are an excellent idea. This way, the water will run throughout the soil providing just the perfect amount of moisture for the blueberry bush to grow. For those who live in a flat, don’t worry. You can still grow blueberries you’ll just need to buy a patio container.
Give Them Space
Don’t leave your blueberry bush in a corner because a bush needs up to 6 feet of space. Allow the bush to grow and expand in its natural way. If you are growing more than one bush, you’ll need to leave about 2.5 to 3 feet between them.
The Planting Process
In most countries in the world, the optimal time to plant your blueberry bush is either spring or fall. In some countries they can be planted throughout the whole year.
If you are planting a baby blueberry plant, you’ll need to take it out of its bought packaging. Ruffle its roots with your hands then place it into prepared soil. Then add some more soil around the roots until it can stand up on its own.
Pat down the top layer of the soil and then water your plant. Because they are shallow-rooted, blueberries require more water than other plants so make sure to always keep your blueberry bush hydrated.
Note: Your blueberry bush will only thrive well if the soil meets their needs. So, you’ll have to make sure that:
- Soil is well drained because if water stands in the location where you are planting for more than two days don’t plant your blueberry bush there.
- Acidic soil with pH of 5.0 is the ideal soil for growing your blueberry bush
Mulching
Sawdust is the best wreath for the blueberry bush, but rind mulch, pine bark, acid tripe or grass clipping will work too.
If you apply 2-4 inches of wreaths they will be more than enough for preserving moisture, disabling weeds from growing around and ensuring organic matter. You need to do this procedure once every year and make sure not to use any rind or sawdust from cedar or redwood tree.
Pruning
When the blueberry bush starts to thrive, you’ll need to start pruning it regularly. According to a research, pruning will “allow the strongest branches to grow the most vigorously, wherever they may be on the plant”.
This will allow your blueberry bush to grow to its maximum. At the same time, over-fruiting will be avoided, and over-fruiting could lead to small fruits. You need to detach most of the flower blooms when they are appearing. Prune your blueberry bushes regularly and you’ll have the strongest and healthiest plants.
Use a pair of small clippers or a pair of strong scissors and shop away any dead branches and remove any around the bottom of the bush.
In short you need to use these tips for pruning your blueberry bushes:
- First remove the low growths around the bottom of the bush
- Then clean any dead wood
- Chop away any discoloured and short branches
- Also, clear 1/3- ½ of the wood of the bush
Soil Fertilization
Last but not least, one of the most important steps when growing your blueberry bush is fertilization. Make sure to always use organic fertilizers because the chemicals found in inorganic fertilizers can seriously damage your bush. Organic fertilizers on the other hand are non-toxic, environment friendly and ensure that your plant will remain fertilized for a longer period.
The best time for fertilization is early spring, when leaves are breaking from dormancy. There should be another fertilizer application after pruning, because that way you’ll provide the nutrition for the new growth to break from the pruned branches.
Follow these tips and attend carefully to their needs and you’ll be guaranteed that your blueberry bushes will live and produce for 40 to 50 years treating you with their delicious fruits. You can also try planting at least two different varieties of blueberries for cross pollination to increase the yield.
