Blueberry Basics
Think of this as your introduction to the world of blueberries!
This is a very generalized introduction to growing blueberries. Certain types and varieties may require more specific care, but if you’re just getting started, this will give you a solid foundation!
Location, Location, Location
If you love blueberries, and you’ve decided to add them to your garden, choosing the right space for them is pretty simple. Place your blueberries where they can bathe in the sun all day long! Blueberries LOVE full sun, and will do best in an area where they have unobstructed access to the light. They can tolerate some shade, but you will never have a more healthy plant than when you place it directly in the sun. If you live in an area that is particularly hot, you may want to have your plants in a space where they have access to full morning sun, but then have access to some shade in the afternoon.
If you’re thinking you have the perfect spot for your blueberry bushes, the next thing you need to do is to make sure your soil in that area is blueberry friendly. You may have already heard that blueberries need acidic, or slightly acidic, soil and that they like sand…but how do you know if the dirt in your sunny spot is what Goldilocks your blueberries consider “just right”?
… You Can Buy Dirt
To check your area, start by digging where you want to plant. Blueberry plants have very shallow root systems, around 12” deep, so you do not have to dig far. We like to prepare about 18” down, just to make sure we have covered all of the roots even if there happens to be the random overachiever reaching down further. Here where we are in North Carolina, we have dirt that is essentially just clay…NOT ideal for blueberries. If you find yourself in the same situation, or you’re not sure what you’re looking at, don’t worry! You can easily create the loamy, sandy soil your blueberries thrive in.
You can dig out your space, and replace the dirt removed with a premade mixture designed specifically for blueberries, or you can make your own. For the premade options, you have plenty to choose from and we cannot say that one is better than another, so just do your research if you’re wanting to go the premade route. Another option is to make your own blueberry friendly soil. There are different options for this, but below you will find the soil we make for our blueberry plants.
Why Is It Spicy?
So, we said previously that blueberry plants like soil that is acidic…well how acidic and how do you know when you’ve achieved that? You will find different ranges depending on where you look, but we’ll stick in the middle of those ranges and say a pH of 4.0-5.0, so be safe and try to be as close to the middle around 4.5pH as you can. To check this, you have a few different options.
The first option is a DIY home test that does not require strips, kits, or equipment. There are different methods you can find online, and they require mixing dirt in water to make mud and then adding vinegar to see if it fizzes to determine if it’s alkaline or acidic. These is going to be the least accurate method, but can work well for some.
The second option is to purchase a kit with pH strips to check the acidity of your soil. There are many different options, and they each have their own collection and testing methods, but this is a much more accurate method but does require some time to properly prepare and test.
The third option is our preference, because it is the perfect balance between simple and accurate. Purchasing a meter will allow you to quickly measure the acidity of your soil. Some models may be more precise (a bar and scale versus a digital readout) and may even offer additional information, like soil moisture and light exposure. There is also a wide price range, so you can easily find one to fit your budget. One recommendation we have is to purchase one with a top readout or that has a rotating head, otherwise you are laying down on the ground trying to see the readout. We have a few options listed here that we like.
Another thing we always say when it comes to growing, is that what works for one person may not work for another. So if you find that your plants do not look happy around 4.5, but they are doing amazing around 4, do that! Trial and error until you find what works best for you, in your area, with your plants.
Variety is the Spice of Life
So what if you knew all of this already, and you’ve had your bushes for a few years, and they’re super healthy and gorgeous…but you have never seen a single berry. What gives? You may or may not have heard that you need different varieties of blueberries in order to cross-pollinate and get berries. This can be a little confusing though.
There are five different varieties of blueberry bushes:
Northern Highbush
Northern Lowbush
Rabbit Eye
Southern Highbush
Southern Lowbush
So when you hear you need different varieties, you may be thinking you’ll just grab a Rabbit Eye and a Southern Highbush and you’re good to go. This would be wrong. We like to say you need different types of the same variety in order to get berries.
Our Animal Analogy
This is a way we try to explain varieties and how to get berries.
Think of blueberry bushes as animals. There are different varieties of animals, like dogs and cats. Within each variety of animal, there are different types…like in the dog variety of animal, there are Golden Retrievers and Poodles. They’re the same variety, dog, but they are different types.
Think of blueberries as a Goldendoodle. You want a Goldendoodle puppy. If you have two Poodles (same variety and same type), you will never get a Goldendoodle. If you have a Poodle and a tabby cat (different varieties, think highbush and rabbit eye) you will also never get a Goldendoodle. However, if you have Poodle and a Golden Retriever (same variety but different types), you will get a Goldendoodle (BERRIES!!).
Each variety of blueberry has different types, so once you choose the first type of blueberry plant you want (or one you already have), search for a different type of blueberry bush within that same variety.
I Can Do It All By Myself
Some blueberry bushes are self-pollinating, meaning they do not need another type of blueberry bush in order to produce berries…they do it all on their own. However, having another type of blueberry can help the self-pollinating bush yield a larger harvest. Some examples of self-pollinating bushes are the Top Hat Dwarf Blueberry and the Pink Lemonade Blueberry.
