Blueberries collected in the forest taste delicious, but they often require a lot of effort to collect. The cultivated blueberries, which come from North America, deliver high yields in small spaces in the garden.
Which types of blueberries are suitable for the garden and how do you care for them?
Cultivated blueberry varieties such as Reka, Northland, Pilot, Sunshine Blue or Bluecrop are suitable for growing blueberries in the garden. They need acidic, loose soil without lime and prefer a sunny location. Make sure there is sufficient watering and only harvest ripe fruits.
The right varieties for the garden
Even if you value the local blueberries that grow in the forest, they are only partially suitable for growing in the garden. On the one hand, the effort required to plant wild blueberries would not be justified by the expected yield at harvest time in July. On the other hand, these blueberry varieties also place demands on the location that can hardly be achieved in the garden or only with great effort. The varieties of the “Vaccinium” genus, originally bred from North American blueberries, are not only larger and more robust, but also deliver a relatively high yield in a small area. The most popular varieties for growing in the garden in this country include:
- Reka
- Northland
- Pilot
- Sunshine Blue
- Bluecrop
The right preparation for growing garden blueberries
The types of blueberries bred for the garden also require soil that is not too chalky and rather acidic with a loose substrate for he althy growth. If you have clayey and calcareous soil in your garden, you will probably not be able to avoid the planned location of the cultivated blueberries. Since blueberries do not have very deep roots, the bed prepared with peat (€15.00 on Amazon) or rhododendron and azalea soil should be filled with the acidic substrate more broadly than deep. The location itself can also be in full sun for cultivated varieties of the Vaccinium genus. However, due to the relatively dense fruit set of these high-performance varieties, it is important to ensure that the plants are sufficiently watered during dry summer phases.
Enjoy and store fresh blueberries from the garden
Fresh blueberries have the best taste when picked directly from the bush. However, they only last a few days in the refrigerator. The advantage, however, is that blueberries, raspberries and blackberries do not ripen all the fruits at the same time. You should only ever pick the really ripe fruits from the branches, as blueberries do not ripen after harvest. For storing blueberries, you can boil or freeze them.
Tips & Tricks
A so-called blueberry comb is only of limited use as a harvesting aid for harvesting cultivated blueberries, as it is very easy to accidentally tear off unripe fruits.
