Did Someone Say Blueberries?

It’s blueberry season here at the homestead! Blueberries are one of my favorite berries. There’s no peeling, pitting, coring or cutting, just simply pop them in your mouth.

When I walk through the garden, I inspect each blueberry bush. Looking for a ripe, plump, dusty blue-gray blueberry. With a little nudge with your finger tips, it falls right into the palm of your hands and into your mouth.

This year is by far the best harvest yet! Let’s hope the local birds and squirrels don’t find out. Otherwise we will be competing on who has the most harvest. Most of the time the birds win if you don’t protect your berry bush with netting. On the other hand it’s Mother Nature’s way of telling you that it’s time for harvest. In this case I’m the early bird to get the worm.

I’d like to share some tips that was helpful and made a difference this year.

A couple of years back, we purchased four blueberry bush from our local nursery. Maybe you can relate to this. I purchased these blueberry bushes when the berries were green. I kept them in the their 1 gallon pots to transplant next fall. The blueberries ripened and it was a great harvest. The following year I had transplanted the bush into a larger pot and placed it on my back deck. This was before we had any fence installed. Much of my gardening started in containers on the deck to protect the plants from hungry deer. As spring came, the bushes didn’t bloom much. We thought maybe it didn’t receive enough sun and placed it in a sunnier location. Summer came and the leaves were getting dry as if it was getting too much sun. We took the plants back to the nursery to get a diagnoses. A soil test revealed that the soil was too alkaline and that we needed to increase the acidic level in the soil. Luckily, we caught it in the nick of time. We nourished our plants back to health by transplanting them in an organic acidic potting mix soil, peat moss, and organic matter. In the fall I added fish bone meal to help the root system through the winter. More details on the soil recipe here.

In the spring, I pruned the blueberry bush, added a layer of peat moss and organic matter, and waited while Mother Nature did the rest. It took a year for the plant to recover and to produce a great harvest.

A Quick Recap For An Awesome Harvest

Make sure to check the soil ph level every year. This is a simple and a inexpensive pH test kit that you can purchase at your local nursery. You want to make sure the pH level is between 3-5.5 in order for the plant to receive nourishment from the soil. Fertilize in the fall. Prune the blueberry plant in early spring, add a layer of peat moss and a layer of organic matter too. Water the plant to maintain a moisture in the soil but not too wet. Place plant in full sun, with afternoon shade.This has been my experience with blueberries and I hope it helps you.

Tips for storing blueberries after harvesting:

• Once picked, don’t place the berries, still warm from the sun, in a closed bag or container. Leave the container open so moisture doesn’t form in the container.
• Don’t wash berries until just before using, to prevent berries from becoming mushy.
• Chill berries soon after picking to increase shelf life. Store your fresh blueberries in the refrigerator as soon as you can, without washing them, in a covered bowl or storage container.
• If refrigerated, fresh-picked blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days.
• Freeze berries in freezer containers without washing to keep the skins from toughening. Place berries one layer deep. Freeze, then pour the frozen berries into freezer containers. Because unwashed blueberries freeze individually, they can be easily poured from containers in desired amounts.
• Remember both frozen and fresh berries should be rinsed and drained just before serving.
• Just before using, wash the berries in cold water.

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Happy harvest.