10 tips for growing blueberries in the backyard
WANT TO SUCCEED with blueberries? Ask the guy with a Ph.D. in the subject, author of all the best books on home-garden fruit growing: Lee Reich, a repeat guest on my public-radio show, and an old friend. That’s Lee’s blueberry netted “gazebo” up top, meant to keep the crop safe from birds and other hungry types. All the delicious details on how to grow blueberries:
10 tips for growing blueberries
ALL OF LEE REICH’S instructions except for pruning refer to care of all blueberry plants, whether lowbush or high; pruning details below are for highbush types. (That’s him with ripening paw paws, above.)
- Choose a sunny spot. Though blueberries grow in semi-shade in nature, heavier fruiting happens with more sunshine.
- Test for pH, and adjust to a very acidic 4-to-5 range using pelleted sulfur (a natural element, and easier and safer to use than dusty powders).
- Though blueberries like infertile soil (yes!), it must be high in organic matter.
- Add peat moss to the hole when planting. Lee doesn’t usually use much peat moss, which is a non-renewable resource, except for this one-time application.
- Water well, and provide regular water for maximum fruiting (especially critical the first two years in the ground). Lee’s plants are on a drip system.
- Mulch to a depth of about 3 inches with wood shavings and chips, pine needles, shredded autumn leaves or sawdust.
- Net the plants during fruiting season to outsmart the birds. (Lee grows his 16 highbush shrubs in a netted “gazebo,” seen in the top photo, and they yield an astounding 190 quarts of fruit.)
- Replenish the mulch each fall, after leaf drop—and also feed the plants just a little Nitrogen at that time by spreading soybean meal (from the feed store) at the rate of 1 pound per 100 square feet.
- Recheck the pH and readjust every couple of years with more pelleted sulfur.
- Don’t prune till highbush plants are four or five years in the ground. Stems aged six years or older–about inch-thick stems–don’t produce optimally. In late winter, the oldest stems are cut out to the base (photo below shows how the base of a mature plant looks after pruning, with a good mix of older, younger, and middle-aged stems remaining).
- Need more detail? Lee’s complete blueberry how-to is in our podcast (play it at the bottom of the page), and in this story from my archives, along with other tips and resources. Or visit Lee’s website.
prefer the podcast version of the show?
MY WEEKLY public-radio show, rated a “top-5 garden podcast” by “The Guardian” newspaper in the UK, began its 10th year in March 2019. In 2016, the show won three silver medals for excellence from the Garden Writers Association. It’s produced at Robin Hood Radio, the smallest NPR station in the nation. Listen locally in the Hudson Valley (NY)-Berkshires (MA)-Litchfield Hills (CT) Mondays at 8:30 AM Eastern, rerun at 8:30 Saturdays. Or play the March 25, 2013 show using the player near the top of this transcript. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes/Apple Podcasts or Spotify
or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
how to win ‘grow fruit naturally’
TO ENTER TO WIN one of two copies of Lee Reich’s latest book “Grow Fruit Naturally”, which Lee was generous enough to share with me to offer to you, comment below by answering the question. UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed, but comments are always welcome.
What fruit, if any, have you had success with in the garden? Which one(s) have outsmarted you thus far?
Don’t worry, you can simply say, “Count me in” and your entry will be official, in case you’re feeling shy–but I love hearing your answers. Two winners will be drawn at random after entries close at midnight Sunday, March 31, 2013. Good luck to all!
(Garden photos and portrait courtesy of Lee Reich. Disclosure: Books purchased from my Amazon affiliate link yield a small commission.)
Count me in.
I have had success with blueberries and raspberries. The Methley and Santa Rosa plums have suffered either late killing freezes or attacks by an insect that results ion a wee worm beside the pit in every single (otherwise delicious) fruit. Such heartbreak! The white peach tree finally had to go to the trash. I couldn’t get rid of the dreaded peach leaf curl. Oh, the drama!
Raspberries here in Star Valley Wyoming, are a huge success. You’ll never guess what I have problems with since everyone else here grows them beautifully..Strawberries If the slugs aren’t slurping them up too fast for me to get to then I have gorgeous plants with no fruit. argh
Oo! Pawpaws have eluded me. So cool to see Lee’s doing so well. Blueberries and raspberries (semi-wild, um…) are winners.
We’re adding fruit to our garden this year. The plan is blueberries and blackberries.
I just began blueberries last year and they were wonderful until found by the birds. Count me in as I need help.
I have had success with strawberries, apricots, mandarins, apples, lemons, and blueberries. Working on the plums, peaches, cherries, blackberries, blueberries, figs, lines, and pomegranates. Thank goodness for living in California!
I have great success with blueberries and strawberries—when I remember to protect them from the birds and chipmunks. Hoping to get a fig to survive here in CT.
They’ve all outsmarted me so far. Blueberries have been my “best”, and my young plants have only produced a handful of fruits so far. Count me in!
I have always wanted to grow blueberries. This book would certainly help me out. I have had some success growing raspberries.
Love the pic of Lee with the Paw Paws…. Have them growing naturally on the farm in Illinois.. Haven’t gotten any established here in Ct yet, though they are growing & producing at the Ct Exp Sta’s Lockwood Farm. I have some in production, but not ready for sale yet. Have a great American Cranberry, but leave them for the birds so far….
Count me in
There is still plenty of snow on the ground. I will have to wait to check on my blueberry
bushes. Will concentrate on the indoor incubating seeds.
I have yet to have success with fruit (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) in the garden. I think I need this book!
I grow several varieties of raspberries successfully, and have been wanting to grow blueberries. Thanks for sharing this information, and for a chance at winning the book!
Strawberries grow like weeds for me but my blueberry bushes are pitiful. New tips to try!
Help!! Fruit failure. Count me in
Count me in!
Count me in! I seem to be having some success with strawberries this years.
You are adding books to my must have book list faster than I can read them. I have an unplanted blueberry bush in my urban back “yard” as we speak. Its destined for a container, and its only waiting for me to read up on container blueberries.
I really hate the idea of using peat moss, is there no alternative? Compost maybe?
Count me in!
I planted strawberries last summer and container blueberries last fall. I have my fingers crossed for good outcomes this year.
Though new to gardening, I fancy myself a sort of artisan of strawberries. My daughter and I have enjoyed the ripe sweet juicy berries straight off the vine for the past two seasons right in our very own backyard.
In our balcony garden we’ve had very paltry strawberry harvests, but we still grow them for the joy of it. We do pick a lot of wild blueberries, and when we finally get a real garden have plans to incorporate a big field or border of them, as well as lots of fruit trees and other things.
I have had very good luck with raspberries, though I am a little worried about how few new canes I had last fall. I Have had awful luck with strawberries. They want to grow anywhere but the strawberry bed, and they go from green to moldy in a damp spring. I am planning on blueberries and am most worried about getting the soil right.