Blueberries: How to Grow and When to Plant in Your Backyard or Patio Garden!

By CarrieGrowing Food, Growing Guides
Blueberries blog post
Blueberry bushes are a great addition to your garden! These bushes are easy to grow and care for and thrive in acidic soil. You may need to add an acidifier to the soil to help these bushes thrive in your garden. They will not produce fruit until it is a couple years old, but patience is a virtue! Enjoy these tasty berries!
 

How to Grow:

Blueberry bushes are best planted after your last spring frost and 8 weeks before your first fall frost. You can see specific dates for your location using our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web App.

Plant blueberry bush transplants twice as big as the pot that they came in. They are typically not planted in square foot gardening, but it is possible to add them in over at least 2 square foot spaces. Blueberry bushes will require a trellis in the full sun to part shade. Take care to notice what plants are around the area as well, see the companion plant section below. Keep your blueberry bushes moist.

Companion Plants:

Companion planting is a vital part of organic gardening. Companion plants assist in the growth of others by attracting beneficial insects, repelling pests, or providing nutrients, shade, or support. There are also plants that do not like being next to each other. Some plants get too tall and can provide too much shade for your plant. Sometimes certain plants attract the same pests, so it is important to try and separate these. Herbs are especially great companion plants because they help to repel pests from your other plants!

         GoodBad
Banana PeppersOreganoTomatoes (bush & vine)
Bell PeppersParsley 
BlackberriesPotatoes 
Hot PeppersRaspberries 
MarigoldsRosemary 
MarjoramTarragon 

 
See companion plants for 100+ foods in our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web app!

Pests:

Pests can be one of the most difficult challenges you face in the garden. We strive to grow food without the use of pesticide and luckily there are natural solutions for most of these nasty pests! The pests listed below are common pests for blueberries:

Learn more about how to manage pests and attract beneficial insects in our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web App!

Harvesting:

You can begin harvesting blueberries approximately 1-2 years after planting. Blueberries will be ready for harvesting in July or August. Wait until they have turned blue for a few days and then they should be easy to pick.

Cooking & Eating!

Blueberries are fantastic to eat directly off the vine! You can also make blueberry syrup, blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie… the possibilities are endless!

 

Learn more about growing over 100+ different foods, including how to manage various pests in our FREE iOS,  Android, or new Universal Web App!

blueberries