Everyone knows that blueberries are good for health. Its berries contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals. The plant prefers to grow in coniferous forests. But many gardeners want to plant this plant on their site. In order for it to grow and develop, it is necessary to create conditions familiar to it. Growing blueberries in your garden is very simple; the main thing is to know all the intricacies of planting and caring for the plant.
Despite the fact that blueberry picking requires a person to constantly be in an inclined position when picking berries, everyone wants to enjoy the berries. Blueberries are a plant that is not afraid of either frost or heat. In most cases, it grows in the middle zone, but sometimes you can find this plant beyond the Arctic Circle. Since she likes to be adjacent to coniferous trees, it follows that she loves fairly moist places with high acidity of the soil.
Thus, before you grow blueberries from seeds at home, in order for the plant to feel good, develop and bear fruit, it needs to create an environment similar to its natural one. Despite the fact that a garden type of shrub will be grown, its growth conditions should not differ in any way from the growth conditions of a wild plant. When planting blueberries, you should not make the mistake of planting them in the shade of trees. This bush loves light, so the area where it will grow should have partial shade and a small pond nearby. These conditions can be created artificially, for which the bush will thank you with a generous harvest.
Blueberries in a pot
What do blueberry seeds look like?
Blueberries have dark blue flesh that can contain up to 40 small seeds (usually less). This is the seed to be planted. They look like small bones. To obtain seed material, you need to select large varietal, well-ripened berries. You can use frozen blueberries bought at the supermarket or buy seeds at the store.
They need to be crushed and placed in a container with cool water. Poor quality seeds and pulp will rise to the surface. They need to be collected and the water replaced. The process is repeated several times. High-quality seeds will remain at the bottom of the container with liquid.
Important! Seeds taken from wild blueberries, as a rule, do not take root in summer cottages. And if they can still adapt to such a place, they will grow and develop poorly.
Then the water is drained, and the resulting seed material is placed on a paper napkin, evenly distributed, and dried. It is recommended to plant the planting material obtained in this way immediately after receiving it and not to store it.
When can the first harvest be harvested?
Berries on blueberry bushes that have grown after planting seedlings usually appear in the 3rd year after planting. If you started the process by sowing seeds, such bushes will begin to bear fruit later, perhaps even after 5 years. You need to collect berries that have a rich dark blue color. They should come off easily; if the fruits hold on tenaciously, it is quite possible that they are not yet ripe.
Berries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days if they are properly processed: you need to rinse the fruits with cool water, lay them out on a paper towel to dry, and then transfer them to a shallow container that is placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
The best varieties for planting
For planting, experts recommend selecting seed material of the following garden varieties of blueberries:
- Bluecrop. One of the first varieties that was bred to be grown in summer cottages. The bush grows up to 2 m and produces a harvest of 10–12 kg. Has high frost resistance (up to –35°C). The berry weighs about 3 g and has a sweet and sour taste. Bushes need regular pruning.
- North Country. The bush grows on average 1.3–1.5 m and produces an early harvest of about 15 kg. The harvest can be harvested from the second half of July. Round berries reach 1.5 cm.
- Herbert. The tall bush (2 m or more) is called the “blueberry tree.” This variety has a later flowering, so it is not afraid of returning frosts in the spring. Fruits in the second half of August. One specimen yields about 10 kg of fruit. Tolerates frost and drought, and also has high resistance to disease.
- Dark night. Low-growing kusa 25–40 cm high. The berries have healing properties and have a size of 9–12 mm. Juicy fruits have a sweet and sour taste.
- Black gold. Low-growing bushes that reach a height of up to 40 cm. Round, juicy berries measure 8–12 mm. They taste sweet with a pleasant sourness.
- Bluegold. A strong and spreading shrub 1.1–1.5 m high. The berries are large - 2.5–3 cm in cross section. Black berries have a sweet and sour taste. The fruits are harvested from July to September. From one copy you can get 5.5–7 kg of harvest. The variety is frost-resistant.
- Patriot. The bush reaches a height of up to 1.5 m. The variety is distinguished by its rapid growth. The fruits are slightly flattened and very sweet, with a noticeable aroma. From one copy they get 5.5–7 kg. The variety is resistant to frost and disease.
Landing dates
Experts recommend the following disembarkation dates:
- Before the cold period, namely in October. For this purpose, dry seed material is used.
- In early spring. In this case, you should plant dried seeds that have gone through the stratification process.
If you use berries from the supermarket for planting, you can simply plant them shallowly in the soil for the winter. The probability of successful germination is low, but why not try if you have planting material.
Landing instructions
Sowing seeds and growing seedlings is not difficult at home. The main thing is to create the necessary soil and moisture conditions, follow the recommendations of specialists on planting and care.
Did you know? The Russian name for blueberries comes from the ability of its black-purple berries to color with their juice - depending on the reagents, they can stain tissue red and blue. Used as a purple food coloring.
Seed preparation
Before planting in the spring, blueberry seeds must undergo a stratification process, which imitates the natural overwintering of seeds in nature . The procedure significantly increases the germination of planting material and better development of the plant in the future. To do this, the seeds are placed in a container with soil at the end of autumn and transferred to a cool place (basement, refrigerator shelf).
If desired, you can plant the seeds immediately on the prepared area. If frozen blueberries are used for this, then the stratification process is considered to have already been completed.
Did you know? For medicinal purposes, you can use not only berries, but also blueberry leaves. Its shoots are part of the Arfazetin anti-diabetes collection.
Substrate preparation
Blueberries prefer acidic soils (pH 4–5) that are light in structure. Therefore, a nutritious soil mixture is prepared for planting. To do this, peat, sand (only river sand is used) and fallen pine needles are mixed in equal parts. The resulting mixture is placed in a suitable container for planting. You can use small pots.
Planting process
The seeds are placed in pots with pre-moistened prepared soil using a toothpick. There is no need to plant seeds deep. Before this, grooves are made up to 0.7 cm. Then you need to moisten with a spray bottle. After this, the container is placed in a warm place that is well shaded, since sunlight is undesirable.
Care before transplant
The container with the planting is covered with film to create a greenhouse effect. Every day during moistening, the film is removed for ventilation for 10–15 minutes. The first shoots will appear in a few weeks. After their appearance, the film is removed. For watering use a spray bottle. Moderate regular watering is necessary.
Important! This plant crop loves moisture and does not tolerate dry soil.
But overflow is also unacceptable. To maintain the required level of acidity, you need to water at least once every 30 days by adding acetic or citric acid to the water. Before the weather gets colder, the planting containers are brought into a bright room where the temperature is +5...+10°C. You can put it on the windowsill, but make sure there is the necessary shading. In spring, seedlings are picked. After this procedure, the seedlings are planted in 0.5 liter pots.
When to transplant to a permanent place
Planting in a permanent place is carried out next year, preferably in the spring (March-April). The planting site is chosen in partial shade. Planting is carried out by transferring (with a lump of earth on the roots) into prepared holes. They are dug to a depth of 45 cm and filled with a nutritious mixture of peat and sand with the addition of rotted pine needles or leaves. Regular blueberries are planted according to a pattern of 25x35 cm, tall blueberries - 1x1.5–2 m. The planting is moistened and mulched.
Pros and cons of growing blueberries from seeds
Blueberry culture propagates by vegetative and generative methods. In the first case, green cuttings and layering are used, the bush is divided into several stems with promising roots and buds. In the second propagation option, the seeds are used, purchased or obtained independently of the berries.
Growing blueberries from seeds has several advantages:
- you can use fresh or frozen berry seeds or buy seed distributed by farms;
- if the rules of agricultural technology are followed, blueberry plantations produce good yields;
- In terms of the chemical composition, the berries of garden varieties are in no way inferior to wild forest plants.
Among the disadvantages of growing blueberries from seeds at home are low germination and slow growth of seedlings. You will have to work hard to create conditions for the development of blueberries. It should also be taken into account that it is necessary to use specially bred varieties of garden crops. Wild blueberry seeds are not suitable; such seedlings will not take root on the site.
On a note! To find out what blueberry seeds look like, crush a ripe fruit in a glass of water; small, richly colored seeds will come out along with the pulp.
Care after transplant
Blueberries are demanding on growing conditions. It needs regular moisture, acidic, nutritious soil and mulching is recommended. Blueberry bushes require annual sanitary pruning.
Important! After planting the seeds, the first harvest can be obtained only 5 years after the sprouts appear.
Watering
The root system of blueberries is close to the surface of the earth . It needs to be watered moderately and ensure that the soil does not dry out or become excessively waterlogged or stagnant. When watering, soil erosion should not be allowed. This berry crop loves sprinkling in hot weather. If the soil is not acidic enough, add a small amount of citric acid to the water for irrigation.
Fertilizer application
Blueberries bear fruit well if they have enough nutrients. Therefore, the plant is fed with both mineral fertilizers and organic matter. Young plants are not fertilized. The need for them appears after 2 years of fruiting, that is, from the 7th year of life. Add complex mineral fertilizers for heathers and well-rotted organic matter (humus, peat chips, chicken droppings). Organic components are added to the soil every 3-4 years, and chemical components - annually.
The first feeding is done in the spring, and the second in the summer. As a spring fertilizer, you can use Aciplex (10 g per 10 l). This feeding should be done 2 times with an interval of 10 days. In June, it is good to feed the blueberry bushes with Piafoskan (20 g per 10 l). If there is a lack of soil acidity, it is recommended to add 50 g of sulfur powder under each bush.
Appearance of the bush
Blueberry is a perennial shrub whose height can reach only 0.5 meters. It has a shallow root system of a creeping type, which means that growth must be limited in private areas. This is due to the fact that shrubs may well fill all available space, displacing other crops on the site.
The photo of blueberries shows that the leaf plates are arranged on the trunk like a spiral and are ovoid in shape with jagged edges. The leaves have a light green color, against which the yellowish central vein, through which nutrients flow, is clearly visible.
In early to mid-May, light flowers with a greenish-white tint begin to appear on the bush. They do not have a peduncle, so they grow solitarily.
The five-leaf corolla has 5 cloves and 1 pistil with an ovary on which there are 5 stamens. The flowers have a drooping shape and are actively pollinated by insects, which is why they are considered a very effective honey plant.
