It seems as though everyone is growing edibles this year, and with good reason. Concerns about food safety, GMOs, organics, cost of food and low carbon footprint - not to mention taste -are motivating the masses. There is nothing finer than a vine-ripened tomato from the back deck or a freshly shelled pea that you just brushed the dirt off of before popping in your mouth.
A personal edible favourite in the Geddes household is blueberries.If you don't already enjoy some of these beauties in your garden, I highly encourage you to take the plunge and start growing.
There are several different varieties of blueberries grown around the world, but predominately on the West Coast we grow the highbush type. Highbush blueberries are slow-growing bushes that can reach one to two metres in height. They are quite different from a lowbush type that you might see on the East Coast.
Popular varieties include Duke, Northland, Bluecrop, Elliot, Jersey and Hardyblue, but there are new types every year including dwarf cultivars, which are great in limited space areas.
The perfect part of the blueberry equation is that they love to grow in acidic soil, which occurs naturally here on the coast. Blueberries also prefer good drainage, but they do tolerate quite a bit of boggy soil in winter time when the plants are dormant.
Like any edible, blueberries are heavy feeders and when you plant your new bushes, make sure to amend the soil well with organic matter. The plants themselves have a tight root system, so you only need to work your organic matter around the plants in bands of several feet.
For years gardeners have been adding peat to the soil, but science tells us it isn't necessary. I would suggest avoiding manure as well because most manure is fairly alkaline and you really don't need to neutralize the soil acidity.
Blueberries can live for years and yearly pruning keeps mature plant size in check. If you do have to re-site your blueberry plants, please do so when they are dormant in late winter.
There are, blessedly, few pests that prey on your blueberry crop, but the No. 1 competitor is birds. Netting is a good solution and it can be draped over a support framework around the plants and it will enable the humans to enter and exit to do the picking.
Mummyberry is a fungal disease that can be spread by wet weather in the early spring. The berries turn an odd tan colour early in the season and should be picked off and destroyed. Try to stay on top of their removal as this disease can really damage a crop.
