6 Tips For Bigger Blueberry Harvests!

Hi guys, welcome to the garden. As you can see, there are lots of blueberries on these plants, is well and truly the start of the blueberry season. And with that, I thought it was only fitting to do a six top tips for bigger blueberry harvests. So, tip number one, I am a science teacher, so this one's very close to home, and that is pH. More specifically, the soil's pH. So blueberries, these guys are acid-loving plants. That means they typically like a pH of around four and a half to five and a half. They're slightly acidic, and that's really important for them because it allows them to absorb nutrients. Things like iron are very important for blueberries because that's what they actually use to make their leaves green, this pigment called chlorophyll. And if they have more of that, they can get more energy, which means more photosynthesis, which means more glucose. Glucose is sugar. More berries, more growth. Incredibly important. So there's two ways you can achieve an acidic soil. The first way is by the actual potting mix that you use. So I use an ericaceous soil for these guys. That means they are already a low pH. And to maintain the pH throughout the growing season, I will also use a soil acidifier. So because these guys are in pots, they typically lower in level every year, so I top dress them. When I do that, I'll ensure I use a slow release feed that also contains things like sulfur, and that is the other way. So sulfur can also be added to lower the pH throughout the growing season. Tip number two, watering. I exclusively use rainwater to water our blueberries, not because I'm cheap, but because the rainwater is ever so slightly acidic, which will just help maintain that soil pH, just like we mentioned previously. The water from the mains is actually slightly chlorinated due to them trying to remove things like harmful bacteria. So whenever you get a chance, use rainwater. Sticking with the idea of watering, we also need to know about watering frequency. Blueberries, just like any other fruiting plant, they will take up a lot of water. So in periods like we have at the moment where there is lots of sun, lots of heat, I typically water the blueberries anytime between two to three times a week and drop that if there is a little bit of rain. Tip number three, feeding. Anything that grows requires food. Those guys will need carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. These guys, on the other hand, they need nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, also known as NPK values. So why do they need these? They need the nitrogen because that will help them build their amino acids, which is needed for proteins, which is needed for growth, essentially giving the plant its vigor. They need the phosphorus for their root development under the soil, and also flower and fruit production. Lastly, potassium. That's kind of a master of all trades in the fact that it keeps the plant healthy and prevents diseases. So it's really important that we get a balanced amount of these three. I've always seen the best way to achieve this is with something like this slow-release fertilizer, Fish Blood and Bone. This I will add at the start of the season just to ensure it gets a good start. And if it's ever looking a bit laggy throughout the flowering and fruiting season, I'll top it up with a liquid feed. Tip number four, multiple varieties. We have four varieties here. On the very left here, we've got Spartan, then we've got Jersey, then we've got Patriot, which was our new addition, hence it's a little bit smaller. And on the end, in the blue pot, we've got Blue Crop. Having multiple varieties ensures for something called cross-pollination. That's when the pollen from one plant gets transferred to the flower of another plant, which is actually, there's a lot more than you think. It means that firstly, there's gonna be more seeds within the fruit. When it's small and unnoticeable like blueberries, that's not an issue. But what it does mean is the plant will then resource, allocate more of its nutrients towards the berries, which means more berries, bigger berries, and sweeter berries too. Tip number five, pruning. When you've had a branch that's had a good amount of fruit on it, starting to get a bit old, as you can see by their kind of graying stems and brittle branches, what I would advise is at the end of winter, kind of January, February time, to come along, thin these out at the base, to encourage new shoots to grow, which can bear a lot more fruit, just like this one here. Tip number six, netting. If you do those previous five things that don't net your plants, you're never gonna see any of your harvest, particularly if you have blackbirds waiting for your little lapse of judgment. So as soon as these berries start to go blue, I'll put these full mesh bags that cover the entirety of the plant over the plants. These are really good because they ensure that not only the birds can peck them and take them, but they stop any pesky insects getting them on as well. Hope you enjoyed these six tips, and if you've got any of your own, please feel free to share them in the comments.