Blueberries

Baby Blueberries

Most of my adult life I have always had some kind of garden, even if it was just a tomato plant on an apartment balcony. Over the years, my gardens have become bigger, and with a lot more variety. I am a huge fan of organic produce, but not a huge fan of the high prices of organic food. With the drought in California, there is no doubt that the prices of all produce, and food in general, will rise even higher. For me, the cost of watering my fruits and veggies is less than the cost of buying organic produce at the store, plus I know it is absolutely fresh. There is the initial cost of planting beds and such, but afterwards the costs of producing your own fruits and veggies goes way down if water-conserving irrigation methods are used.

Among the many food items I grow, blueberries are among my favorites. Blueberries are a Native American fruit produced on a shrub. The leaves are green in spring and summer and a fiery red in the fall. They get clusters of bell-shaped flowers in spring that give way to sweet, tasty, cancer-fighting berries in the summer.

I started growing blueberries a few years ago with a couple bushes from Home Depot and a couple more online. Those bushes have grown to about five feet high and have provided me with tasty summertime fruit. I wanted even more, so last year I ordered three more bushes online. Although blueberries are self-fertile, meaning they don't need a pollenizer to produce fruit, adding other varieties for cross-pollination can help increase yields.

If you choose to grow blueberries in California’s High Desert, make sure that whatever variety you pick will grow in USDA zone 8 or Sunset zones 10 or 11. If you live elsewhere, match up the hardiness of the plant with the zone that it will be planted in. When checking out the various offerings online, I noticed that there were a few varieties that work well in my climate zone, but even more that don't. I ordered my new plants from www.Gurneys.com. The variety I chose is called 'Elizabeth', which prefers USDA climate zones 4-9. Elizabeth produces enormous berries with a mellow-sweet flavor that is a favorite of leading chefs according to Gurneys' description. The bushes should grow to about six feet, and produce berries from mid-July through late summer.

The High Desert's natural soil is alkaline, and blueberries need an acidic soil. A lot of amendments, such as peat moss, compost, and sulfur, can be added to the native soil to help create the desired pH range of 4 to 6.5 depending on the variety of blueberry. I find it much easier to grow them in large containers or raised beds with a quality soil mix.

 I find my blueberries tend to prefer a little shade during the hot summer afternoons. In containers, they can be moved them from place to place, but if you prefer to make them part of the landscape, choose a spot that offers a little filtered afternoon shade and some wind protection.

Blueberries need well drained, but moist soil. If growing in containers, make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom. Irrigation is best done with a drip system, soaker hose or hand watering, making sure to thoroughly wet the root zone without making it soggy.

In the early spring, blueberries should be fertilized. I fertilize mine with Blueberries Alive from www.gardensalive.com, which contains all of the necessary nutrients specific for blueberries. There are plenty of fertilizers available in stores and online, which are formulated for blueberries and other acid-loving plants.