If you are looking for delicious fruit that is healthy and will improve your health, then you are in the right place. Blueberries, in addition to being healthy, are also very easy to grow and care for. So today we will reveal a secret how to grow a large amount of blueberries in your garden.
Blueberries include several species of flowering, fruiting shrubs within the Vaccinium genus, all native to North America. Relatives within the Vaccinium genus include the bilberry, cranberry, huckleberry, and lingonberry.
Blueberry bushes have pointed, oblong leaves that are leathery to the touch and turn a brilliant red color in the fall. The flowers appear in clusters of small, white, bell-shaped blooms in the late spring, leading to deliciously edible berries that ripen from green to a deep purple-blue.
Cultivated blueberries are continually being bred for higher yields, heat and cold tolerance, and better pest resistance to suit a wide range of hardiness zones. Still, the blueberries that grow wild in the forests and fields are often preferred: wild berries are smaller, but many people find them the sweetest to eat.
Blueberries are best planted in the early spring, and the shrubs have a slow-to-moderate growth rate. Three-year-old shrubs might produce a small harvest, but a meaningful harvest can take as long as six years.
There are four types of blueberries: highbush, lowbush, hybrid half-high, and rabbiteye.
Health benefits
1. Low in calories and high in essential nutrients
A cup of blueberries gives you 3.6 grams of dietary fiber, and 24% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C. You will also get 36% of vitamin K.
2. Antioxidants
Antioxidants in blueberries prevent cell damage and prevent premature aging. Eat blueberries and stay young! These antioxidants will also help you prevent and treat cancer. Drink blueberry juice to reduce DNA damage by 20%.
3. Blueberries prevent blood cholesterol damage
A study has shown that you can lower your blood pressure by 4-6% by eating a 50-gram portion of blueberries every day for 8 weeks.
5. Blueberries optimize brain function and memory
How to Grow Blueberries
The right spot
Therefore, we recommend that you think carefully about where you plan to plant blueberries in your yard.
For those who live in apartments and are limited by space, we recommend that you get a dwarf blueberry that grows 2 feet high and plant it in a container.
Blueberries need enough room
A blueberry bush needs 6 feet of space. If you plant a few bushes, make sure there’s 2.5-3 feet space between the bushes.
Planting
Plant blueberries in spring, and you will harvest blueberries in July and August.
Mulching
Sawdust is perfect for blueberries. You can also use pine bark, rind mulch, and grass clipping. You need 2-4 inches.
Pruning
Prune big bushes to strengthen the branches, and remove any dry bits. You should also remove the branches near the root.
Fertilization
Unlike inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers damage the plant. You can use bloodmeal or cottonseed.
