Growing Canadian blueberries

We plant Canadian blueberries because wild blueberries cannot be grown in a garden. But that does not matter at all because Canadian blueberries have the same beneficial effects on your health as wild blueberries. They improve the body’s defence system but they also act against diarrhea, help with the treatment of diabetes, rheumatism, gout, prevent infectious diseases and even improve your eyesight.

Canadian blueberry

Canadian blueberry belongs to the heather family. The shrub grows up to 2.5 m high and blooms with beautiful white or pink flowers during April and May. The fruits colour ranges fromblue to purple and berries are much larger than common blueberries. They ripen during the summer. Canadian blueberries love acidic soil and if the soil contains a lot of humus, even better. Peat is the most ideal type of soil but you have to add nutrients to it. And of course, make sure it has enough water.

Growing Canadian blueberries

The actual process of growing Canadian blueberries is not so difficult. It is the actual preparation and the planting process that is difficult. Be careful when selecting the soil and where you want to grow your blueberries. The site should be sunny, but little shade will not hurt either. But as with any fruit plants sunlight is important for blueberries. If there is not enough sunlight, the plant bears less fruit and it is less tasty. Preparation of the planting site is also very important. The width of the hole where you want to plant should be at least 80 cm wide and 40 cm deep and the distance between individual plants should be around 100 cm.

Planting and harvesting

Blueberries may be planted all year round, except when the soil is frozen. It is much better to plant blueberries outside in your garden patch or flowerbed, even during autumn, than plant it in a flower box and wait until spring. Use peat in your flowerbed and water well. It cannot be dry. As soon as you pull the plant out of the pot or box, break the root system with your fingers to help the plant to take root. Use fertilizer that gradually releases nutrients before planting. Blueberries are healthy if they have dark green leaves and you notice large gains. You should be able to harvest about 2 kg of blueberries from a single shrub. Blueberries do not ripen all at once. Therefore, be careful not to break off fruits which is not fully ripen. The harvest usually takes one month, which gives enough time to enjoy it.

Canadian blueberries: Photo Pixabay