Growing Great Blueberries

Blueberries and vanilla ice cream, blueberries in oatmeal, blueberry smoothies, blueberry pie, and the list will go on and on.

If you live in an area where the blueberries grow wild, then with some effort and organization you can get a plentiful supply of this summer delight. A few years back we used to buy them from our neighbours who went picking every year and then delivered them to our door.

You can also grow your own. The biggest problem that people have with growing blueberries is that they thrive in a slightly acidic soil that many other pants, especially vegetables, do not like. Blueberries enjoy a ph between 4.5 and 5.5.

If your soil is suitable then you are set. If not it is possible to grow a dwarf variety in containers.

You can amend your soil to accommodate blueberries which enjoy sandy peat soils with a pH of less than 5. This provides the plant with sufficient moisture and organic matter while allowing for ample drainage.

Drainage is important so you may want to grow your blueberries in a raised bed. Raised beds would also be beneficial for areas where the earth has a ph that is too high. You can fill the bed with soil that has just the right ph for the plants to thrive or amend.

Blueberries will grow in heavier clay soils if those soils provided that the soil is amended to allow adequate aeration and drainage.

You can change the soil conditions to those that better suit your blueberries by adding 3 to 4 inches of peat moss or leaf compost and mix in thoroughly with the top 12 to 14 inches of soil.

Fall is a great time to collect and compost your own leafs; ask your neighbours if you can have theirs as well, if you need them. They may look at you strange but are likely to agree, for a little raking and bagging you can gather your own material and make great compost.

Once you have the peat moss or the composted (read well-rotted) material and add it to and mix it into the top foot of clay soil. This will help you bring the soil pH to below 5.

When you go to the nursery to buy the blueberries, purchase two- to- three-year-old potted plants. They have a better survival chance than cuttings do.

You may need to prune the roots and need to prune the plants back to half of their original size.

Be sure to amend the soils first and then plant the blueberries leaving approximately 4 to 6 feet between plants.

Blueberry pie.

Utensils:

1- 9 inch deep-dish Pie Plate

Ingredients:

1- 4 cups of Blueberries fresh

2- 6 tbsp corn starch

3- 3 tbsp water

4- 2 tbsp lemon juice

5- ¼ tsp allspice

6- 11/2 tsp cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 375 F

Preparation:

1- wash blueberries.

2- Remove any bits (stems, leaves and any mushy berries

3- Combine all dry ingredients in bowl

4- Add lemon juice, water and stir

Pie Crust, I use 2 frozen pie crust, just as I do for strawberry-rhubarb pie, one for top and another for the bottom.

1- add blueberries to bottom pie crust

2- pour liquid mix over blueberries

3- cover with top crust

4- Use fork to poke holes in top crust

5- Put pie in oven, cook for 1 hour

When crust is golden brown, remove, let cool a bit, slice serve and enjoy, vanilla ice cream is a nice addition.

Whether you grow your own, gather them in the wild or buy them from a local grower, blueberries are an excellent food that you can freeze and enjoy all winter long. There is nothing like a blueberry smoothie or blueberries and oatmeal on a cold winter morning.