Growing Blueberries At Home – It’s That Easy

They are not only the perfect addition to your cakes: blueberries are also very healthy. We’ll show you how to easily grow them at home.

The bluish color of blueberries is almost as distinctive and attractive as their unique taste. This delicious berry grows on a medium-sized shrub. If you’d like to have a plant like this in your garden yourself, stay tuned and learn how to grow blueberries at home.

Thanks to its taste, the blueberry is one of the most popular berries. This is why it is so popular as an ingredient in all kinds of recipes .

Apart from that, however, it also has many health benefits to offer.

The bilberry is also called the blueberry and is closely related to the red lingonberry – both belong to the heather family.

Properties of the blueberry

The blueberry as well as the lingonberry are very nutritious fruits. Particularly noteworthy are the high levels of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, iron and calcium.

Blueberries are particularly characterized by their high proportion of natural coloring agents with an antioxidant effect.

Therefore, blueberries have the following health benefits for humans:

• Antioxidants, anthocyanins and carotenoids have a positive effect on the formation of bones and teeth. Not only do they facilitate the absorption of iron and help in the formation of red blood cells, but they also neutralize substances that are harmful to health.
• Potassium supports the functioning of the muscle and nervous system.
• The dietary fiber promotes the regulation of the intestinal flora.
• The high vitamin content strengthens the immune system, which in turn prevents diseases.
• Due to their many vitamins, they are particularly recommended for pregnant women.

• Its antiseptic effect is important for fighting infections caused by germs.

How to grow blueberries at home

After this introduction, there should be no doubt that growing blueberries yourself would be a good idea.

So what steps and preliminary considerations are necessary for this? In the following we give you some tips and guidelines for successful blueberry cultivation.

The flowerpot

The type and size of the pot depends on the stage of growth the blueberry bush is in.

If you want to grow the plant from a seed yourself, a small container will do. However, if you are using a plant that has already been grown, you will of course need a proper pot.

While your blueberry bush continues to grow, you will eventually have to transplant it into a larger pot or outdoors.  Because in the third or fourth year the shrub can take up a volume of up to 60 or 70 liters.

The earth

The blueberry bush prefers acidic soils, preferably with a pH of around 4.5. To do this, you can use natural additives like compost, sulfur, or peat. Ground cottonseed or pine needles have also proven to be good fertilizers.

Steps to Follow

• First, put a piece of kitchen paper in a small container and pour some water over it. Then distribute the blueberry seeds on top.
• Take with your hands  gently  a seed by one and it stuck in the ground. Cover the seeds well.
• Give them water every day and keep the humidity high.
• Put the pot in a light and sheltered place.
• The soil should always be well loosened both in the pot and in the ground . This is the only way to guarantee a good oxygen supply and drainage.

• After planting, you can also spread mulch made from oak leaves and pine needles on the soil . This will help prevent weeds, retain moisture, and acidify the soil.

Special care for the blueberry bush

Try not to plant too many seeds in one pot, as the blueberry bush needs a lot of space to grow. In addition, the soil must be moist enough for sowing.

When the plant has grown a little, you should move it to a larger pot or directly outside. The roots must be well moist so as not to be damaged.

We therefore recommend placing the plant in a bucket of water for about 10 minutes before transplanting it.

Of course, you should keep the soil around the plant well moist even after transplanting.

We would like to give you one last tip: If you want to grow blueberries at home , it is better to choose a cool season. It is a plant that can adapt very well to cold, even extreme temperatures.

The blueberry bush, on the other hand, cannot tolerate heat well. In summer you should therefore take special care of the plant and avoid direct sunlight.

As you may have noticed, the blueberry doesn’t have any special requirements to thrive. 

If you also consider the many uses and the great health benefits, you too will be convinced to grow blueberries yourself. Gardening is also a great way to pass the time.