How To Grow Blueberries In Ohio
Blueberries are a very pop fruit in the Usa because of their unique season, small soft edible seeds, and easy employ in preparation (Figure 1). Blueberries can exist eaten fresh or used to make jelly, jam, pies, pastries, or juice. Huckleberry fruit has many healthful properties. It is depression in calories and sodium, contains no cholesterol, and is a source of fiber. A major constituent of the fiber is pectin, renowned for its power to lower blood cholesterol. Blueberries, similar blackberries and strawberries, contain measurable quantities of ellagic acid, which has inhibiting effects on chemically induced cancer in laboratory studies. Blueberry juice besides contains a compound that prevents bacteria from anchoring to the float, thereby helping to prevent urinary tract infections. Terminal just not least, blueberries have been shown to reduce the effects of glaucoma and improve memory according to reports by the USDA. Refer to the US Highbush Blueberry Quango'due south website for more information: www.blueberry.org.
Should I Grow Blueberries at Home?
Blueberries are a good fruit crop for home gardens since they require little infinite and have minimal spray requirements. At nowadays, blueberry plants are not mutual in dwelling house plantings because the plants crave very acidic soil conditions in order to grow and thrive. Few backyard soils in Ohio are naturally acidic enough to grow quality blueberries. Therefore, to be a successful grower of blueberries, ane must take precautions to check and correct soil acidity before planting. Blueberries grow best in moist, well drained soils with a soil pH between 4.5–five.0 and loftier organic content. Once the plants are established, the acidity level must exist monitored and maintained over the life of the planting. Due to the highly specialized and specific growing weather, the soil must be amended with organic thing, and the pH must be corrected before proceeding to establish the planting. Refer to the sections in this fact sheet on soil preparation for more than information.
Bare-rooted blueberry plants begin to produce fruit in the second or third season; notwithstanding, they do not become fully productive for most half-dozen to 8 years (Figure 2). Container-grown blueberry plants may exist two to three years old and may produce berries during the year of planting. Blueberry plants should non be allowed to bear fruit during the commencement two years afterwards planting or until the plants attain a height of ii.five anxiety. Any blooms that form should exist removed. Allowing the plant to produce fruit volition reduce growth, resulting in a small found. Removal of flowers volition allow more than shoot growth and increase yields in the futurity years. Once in production, information technology will be necessary to protect the fruit from hungry birds before it begins changing color.
| Effigy i. Blueberries, as well every bit blackberries and strawberries, are not but tasty and nutritious, only besides are known to have anti-cancer properties.Photo past Scott Baurer, USDA-ARS. | Figure two. Huckleberry plants with ripening berries.Photograph by Erik Draper, OSU Extension. |
Blueberry Types and Cultivars
There are four types of cultivated blueberries: highbush, half-high or highlow, rabbiteye, and southern highbush. Simply highbush blueberry is recommended for Ohio. Rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries are recommended for the southern U.s.. Half-high blueberries are better suited for extremely cold winter atmospheric condition and may non be as productive as highbush blueberries. At that place are many good huckleberry cultivars available. (Refer to Table ane for recommended blueberry cultivars in Ohio.) Highbush blueberries exercise not require two different cultivars for cross pollination purposes. Withal, bigger berries and higher yields will upshot from cross pollination, thus it is desirable to institute at least ii different cultivars. Using multiple cultivars also allows growers to spread the harvest season and assure proficient crops if one cultivar has an "off" year, meaning a year with low yields.
| Table 1. Suggested highbush cultivars of blueberries for Ohio plantings. | |||||
| Cultivar | Ripening Season | Yield | Fruit Size | Fruit Quality | Remarks |
| Bluetta | Early | Good | Medium | Fair | Vigorous, upright found. |
| Collins | Early | Fair | Large | Good | Hardy, vigorous, upright found |
| Knuckles | Early-Mid | Good | Medium | Good | Vigorous and upright; blooms belatedly to avoid frost. Tolerates fluctuating winter temperatures. |
| Patriot | Early-Mid | Skilful | Large | Good | Vigorous and upright; small to medium height; very cold hardy merely blooms early. Resistant to root rot. |
| Draper | Early on-Mid | Good | Large | Excellent | Productive, vigorous, and hardy institute. It is a new cultivar. |
| Bluejay | Mid | Moderate | Large | Good | Mummy drupe resistant. |
| Bluecrop | Mid | Good | Big | Good, tart | Productive, vigorous, hardy constitute. |
| Bluegold | Mid | Good | Medium to Big | Good | Very wintertime hardy; bushy growth habit; ripening is concentrated. |
| Berkeley | Mid | Proficient | Large | Medium | Productive, vigorous and hardy plant. |
| Herbert | Late | Adept | Large | Excellent | Productive, vigorous and hardy plant. |
| Elliott | Late | Skilful | Medium | Good | Vigorous and hardy establish and mummy berry resistant. |
| Note: New fruit cultivars that may be superior to currently recommended cultivars are constantly being released. Check with your local Extension Educator or your local nursery to obtain information on newly released cultivars for your area. | |||||
Climatic Requirements
In general, the climate throughout Ohio is well suited to the production of blueberries. Northern highbush plants can suffer winter injury to flower buds when temperatures drop below -xx°F; yet, the half-high blueberries will tolerate -35°F to -45°F. Note that one-half-high blueberries grow merely 3 to 4 anxiety tall and then ideally, most of the fruiting area is protected below the snowfall line in regions with significant snowfall.
Site and Soil Requirements for Blueberry Product
Blueberries require full sun (six to eight hours of sunlight per day) for optimum yield and quality. They grow all-time where the soil is very acidic and well supplied with moisture. The soil pH should exist in the range of 4.5 to five.0 and take greater than 3% organic matter.
For soils with high loam, dirt loam, or dirt content, it is strongly suggested that plants exist grown on raised beds, 4 feet broad and 9 inches high for meliorate water drainage. Such beds are not needed on sandy soils.
Soil Training
It is very of import to test soil for pH, lime index (buffer pH), nutrient status, and organic matter content before conducting soil preparation. Refer to OSU Extension fact sheets, HYG-1132, "Soil Testing Is an Fantabulous Investment for Garden, Lawn, and Mural Plants, and Commercial Crops" and HYG 1133, "Guidelines for Choosing a Soil Analytical Laboratory" for more information on soil testing, lab selection, and procedures of soil testing. Your soil should be tested twice: one time before soil preparation and acidification, and once after sulfur and fertilizer have been added. Farther adjustments may then be necessary. Please contact your local Extension office for information on soil testing.
Increase soil organic matter by calculation organic materials such as peat moss, aged forest chips, or foliage mold or humus. Incorporate the materials into the acme 4 to 6 inches at least one year before planting.
Suggestions for Soil Acidification
If the soil pH is above 5.five, employ granular sulfur to lower the soil pH. Refer to Tabular array 2 for general guidelines for the amount of elemental sulfur to apply to 100 foursquare anxiety of soil to exist acidified. Elemental sulfur, too known as soil sulfur, comes in the grade of pellets, granules, or pulverization (Figure 3). The fabric should be well mixed throughout the top 4 inches of soil iii months before planting. Longer periods of time may be necessary if the soil pH is above 6 and the soils contain loftier levels of calcium. In these cases, sulfur application should be made the year before planting, and the soil should exist kept moist but not wet. Soil leaner catechumen the sulfur to sulfuric acid in warm, moist weather condition during the growing season. This process does non occur during the wintertime. Wear gloves when handling any grade of elemental sulfur.
| Tabular array two. Amount of sulfur in pounds per 100 square anxiety required to lower soil pH for blueberries. | ||||||
| Nowadays soil pH | Desired pH value for blueberries | |||||
| four.5 | v.0 | |||||
| Sand | Loam | Clay | Sand | Loam | Clay | |
| 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 5.0 | 0.4 | one.2 | ane.iv | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 5.v | 0.8 | 2.iv | 2.6 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.iv |
| 6.0 | one.2 | iii.5 | 3.7 | 0.eight | 2.iv | 2.vi |
| six.5 | 1.5 | four.half-dozen | 4.8 | i.2 | three.five | iii.seven |
| 7.0 | 1.9 | 5.8 | half dozen.0 | one.5 | 4.6 | 4.viii |
| seven.v | ii.three | half dozen.9 | seven.ane | 1.9 | 5.8 | 6.0 |
| Source: Midwest Small Fruit Pest Management Handbook, OSU Extension Bulletin 861 | ||||||
Planting Techniques
Figure 3. Pelletized elemental sulfur can be used equally an acidifying amanuensis.Photograph past Gary Gao, OSU Extension.
Leap is the best time to plant blueberries. Soak the roots of bare-rooted plants in water for an hour before planting. It may be a good idea to clip back the plant by half. This tin can be accomplished by pruning off smaller shoots and by heading back the main branches. More and more garden centers carry container-grown huckleberry plants. These plants have a much bigger root mass, thus take a much better chance of survival and getting established. Be certain to pause up the root ball when planting container-grown plants to assure that the plant roots will grow out of the peat medium in the pot and into the soil.
Blueberries abound naturally in sandy to loam soil with a pH between iv.5 and five.ii. The soil must exist moist yet well-drained throughout the twelvemonth. Raised beds can be used to provide a well-drained growing site for blueberries. Some growers may choose to tile their garden surface area to assure proper soil drainage. Blueberries, like other fruit crops, do not like wet feet and must exist established in a soil that drains fairly. Blueberries planted on wet sites probably will not survive.
Blueberries that are fallow can be planted in the jump. Plants that have broken dormancy and are actively growing (light-green buds or shoots) should be held in a greenhouse, a garage, or a dorsum porch until afterwards the terminal boilerplate frost appointment in your area. Remove dormant, bare-root blueberry plants from their shipping container and place them in a bucket of water to soak for about one hr before planting. Mark off the exact location where you lot will be planting each blueberry bush. Highbush blueberries are commonly spaced 3 to iv anxiety autonomously. Earlier flavor cultivars can be planted closer while later on season cultivars should exist further apart. Utilize a shovel or spade to dig holes approximately two to three times the size of the root organisation. This will assure adequate infinite for the root system to fit in the pigsty and will too let you to add peat moss and compost every bit needed.
Once a hole is dug, approximately one gallon of peat or sphagnum moss should exist added to the planting pigsty. This medium should be thoroughly mixed with the natural garden soil during the planting process. The root organisation should exist spread out to fill the hole evenly. Position the root crown evenly at the soil surface and backfill with the soil/peat moss mixture. Be conscientious not to identify plants as well deep or too shallow. Once planting is complete, h2o each bush to promote good root-soil contact that will help go along the root system from drying out.
When planting a container-grown blueberry bush, gently remove the plant from the pot and lightly roughen up the outside surface of the root ball with a mitt pruner. Set up the top of the root ball at the existing ground level and backfill around the root ball. It is likewise critical to comprehend the exposed roots on superlative of the root ball with peat-soil mix to avoid excessive water loss. Water the plant thoroughly.
Fix plants three to 4 anxiety apart with rows x feet apart. Apply iv inches of sawdust or woods chip mulch in a 2 feet wide ring after planting, and maintain a 4 inch depth and 4 feet wide band throughout the life of the planting.
Fertilizers
Fertilizers for huckleberry production are best applied using soil examination results as a guide. In the year of planting, utilize 1/2 to 2/3 pound of ammonium sulfate (or 10 ounces to one pound of 10 10 10) per 100 anxiety of row near four weeks afterward planting. Another option is to apply a fertilizer that is designed for acid-loving plants, such as "rhododendron food." Go on the fertilizer at to the lowest degree 6 inches away from the stems of the constitute.
In the second year and succeeding years, utilize i to 1.5 pounds of ammonium sulfate (or 2 to three pounds of 10 ten ten) per 100 anxiety of row each yr for fertility and acidity maintenance. Use 0.5 pound of the ammonium sulfate at flower, and the remaining 0.5 pound 4 to 6 weeks subsequently. If the plant leaves become chlorotic, apply 2 to 3 ounces of ferrous sulfate or iron chelate around the base of operations of the plants each twelvemonth. Fertilizers such as rhododendron food can also be applied during the second and succeeding years if ammonium sulfate is not available.
Watering
Blueberry bushes have very shallow root systems and are very sensitive to water fluctuations. If water is limited any fourth dimension while the fruit is forming, berry size and total yield will be adversely affected. The leaves are leathery, and the plants practise not wilt when dry, merely begin dying a branch at a time. Blueberry plants crave at least 1 to 2 inches of water per week. Using a soaker hose is an excellent way to deliver water to blueberry plants. During the growing seasons, supplemental watering is essential to obtain good yields of high-quality fruits. Information technology is important to maintain a moist soil into the late summer after harvest. Bloom buds for next yr form in late August and September, so drought stress at this time will reduce yields the following yr. Much less water is needed in the fall. Make sure the soil is moist simply not soaking wet. There is no need to water the plants one time the leaves drop in late fall.
Pruning
Huckleberry plants unremarkably do not need much pruning for the beginning three years. Remove minor and spindly shoots at planting. Remove blossoms that announced in the twelvemonth of planting and 2nd yr subsequently planting to stimulate vigorous growth.
Information technology is important to know the anatomy of a blueberry bush before attempting to prune blueberries (Effigy 4). During the fourth year, the dormant plants should be pruned in mid-March. At this fourth dimension, remove dead and weak branches and thin, concluding wood with small buds. Prune interior crossing branches to admit low-cal to the middle of the plant.
In the subsequent years, remove a few older branches to strength new shoot growth from the crown. The tall growing branches can be headed back, and thin branches removed. Blueberry flower buds are produced at the shoot tips and downwards on concluding year's shoots. (Figures v and vi). Huckleberry bushes tend to produce smaller berries when they are overloaded with fruits. Hence, information technology is important not to have too many flower buds.
| Figure 4. Diagram of a huckleberry bush.Reprinted with permission from theHighbush Blueberry Production Guide, NRAES-55.NRAES, PO Box 4557, Ithaca, New York 14852-4557. world wide web.nraes.org. | Effigy 5. Diagram of a blueberry stem with buds.Reprinted with permission from theHighbush Huckleberry Production Guide, NRAES-55.NRAES, PO Box 4557, Ithaca, New York 14852-4557. world wide web.nraes.org. | Figure 6. A well pruned "Blue Crop" plant. Delight note the proficient annual growth and abundant flower buds at the tips of the shoots.Photograph past Mark Longstroth, MSU Extension. |
Mulching
Generous use of mulches such as sawdust, forest chips, or peat moss volition help control weeds, conserve moisture, and keep roots cool. Increased organic matter from decomposing mulch will help improve the soil structure and nutrient uptake for the blueberry bush-league. Replenish the mulch every bit needed to go on the mulch depth at two to 4 inches. When forest chips or sawdust are used as mulch, boosted nitrogen will need to be added at the rate of ane pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of mulched expanse.
Harvesting and Storage
Figure 7. Blueberries should just be harvested when they are fully ripe.Photo provided by USDA-ARS.
Blueberries do not ripen evenly throughout the cluster and should be picked at least in one case a week. Just fully mature fruit should be harvested since immature fruit are quite acidic and of poor quality (Figure 7). Immature fruit take a reddish tinge, while ripe fruit are a uniform bluish. Fruit practice non develop their full flavor when they first get blue, only require one to two days to develop full flavor. Fruit size will keep to increase up to 35% after berries plough blue as h2o moves into the fruit. Blueberries, unlike another smal fruit, tin remain on the plant for upwardly to 10 days after ripening without a loss in size. Fruit sugar content can be as high as 15% when fully ripe. Fruit flavor and saccharide content will non ameliorate afterwards harvest. Thus, the best tasting fruit are obtained if the berries are allowed to ripen fully on the plant; still, the storage life is considerably shorter when berries are fully ripe.
Blueberries should be rolled from the cluster with the thumb into the palm of the hand. Fruit should exist handled carefully and as little as possible to avert rubbing off the bloom (the lite, waxy finish on the peel) and to reduce bruising that leads to decay. Harvest simply when berries are dry. Hands should be placed below the clusters to ensure that berries are not dropped.
Following harvest, blueberries should not be allowed to remain in the sun. The nighttime fruit heat up rapidly. At this point, decay is the primary source of berry loss. Anthracnose, gray mold, and Alternaria diseases are the 3 most common fruit decay organisms. Disuse is more of a problem with fruit harvested late in the season when a large percentage of fruit are overripe.
The easiest, about effective means of retaining blueberry quality following harvest is to use refrigeration. Low temperatures dull ripening and substantially reduce decay. Blueberries keep best at 32°F and 85% relative humidity. Freshly harvested blueberries will go on for two weeks at 32°F just for only a few days at 70°F.
Insects, Diseases, and Birds
Some potential insect problems in blueberries include blueberry tip borer, plum curculio, blueberry maggot wing, Japanese beetle, cranberry fruit worm, and ruby fruitworm. Disease issues include mummy berry, powdery mildew, twig blights, botrytis blossom blight, leaf spots, phytophthora root rot, and crown gall. However, except for Japanese beetles, none of these diseases or insects are a major trouble in Ohio. Birds tin can be one of the worst pests of blueberries. Netting the bushes may be necessary to forestall losses. For more information near growing blueberries, growers should purchase a copy of the OSU Extension Bulletin 940 "Midwest Home Fruit Product Guide" and Bulletin 780 "Controlling Diseases and Insects in Dwelling Fruit Plantings" from OSU Extension offices across the State of Ohio. Log on to extension.osu.edu for a listing of OSU Extension offices and their contact data. OSU Extension bulletins can also be purchased from OSU Extension's eStore 24/seven at estore.osu-extension.org.
Useful References
Gao, G., R. Becker, M. Brown, Grand. Ellis, S. Prochaska, C. Welty, and R. Williams. OSU Extension Bulletin 940, "Midwest Home Fruit Production Guide."
Ward Gauthier, N., C. Kaiser, T. Barnes, C. Smigell, J. Strang, D. Wolfe, S. Wright, P. Byers, Thou. Demchak, G. Ellis, G. Gao, E. Hanson, R. Isaacs, D. Johnson, and E. Stafne. 2013. University of Kentucky Extension Bulletin, #ID-210. "Midwest Blueberry Product Guide", Lexington, Kentucky.
Welty, C., and Thou. Ellis. 2010. OSU Extension Bulletin 780, "Controlling Disease and Insects in Home Fruit Plantings."
Informational Website
U.s.a. Highbush Blueberry Council (world wide web.blueberry.org)
The authors would like to thank Dr. John Strang, Professor and Extension Fruit and Vegetable Specialist with University of Kentucky for reviewing this fact canvass, and the use of huckleberry harvest and storage information. Our sincere appreciation goes to Mr. Mark Longstroth, Area Extension Educator, Michigan State University, for reviewing this fact canvas and employ of a photo, and Dr. Bruce Bordelon, Professor Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University for reviewing this fact sheet.
Source: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-1422#:~:text=Site%20and%20Soil%20Requirements%20for,greater%20than%203%25%20organic%20matter.
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