2 Apr 2011

Buddies ...

I'm well behind in the sowing stakes and the weather has been very mild for March (at least in London) so whereas fellow gardeners have got off to a flying start, I'm still drawing up plans of what I can grow in the available space.

I don't have a greenhouse so all my sowing has to be on the kitchen windowsill (not much room), on the balcony (until recently, a pigeon roost) or outside (still a few frosty nights).  So I'm going to unashamedly  show off* some more blossoming fruit:  these are a few of the many fruit buds on my blueberries.  We've got four blueberry bushes in total, growing in huge pots as they like acid soil.


These are second year bushes, and we had a small quantity of fruit last year (briefly seen, before the children swooped) so this year, the nets are out and the hopes are high!

You might like to know...

  • Blueberry bushes are very easy to grow, needing only to be planted in ericaceous soil.
  • Fertilise in the spring, after the leaves have emerged from the buds, with an ericaceous fertiliser, such as used for azaleas or rhododendrons. 
  • Net in the summer as the fruit forms.
  • Prune when the plant is dormant in the winter months.  Fruit grows on second year wood so to encourage a bushy habit and more fruit, some pruning is needed.

(*Please excuse the split infinitive, it just doesn't read well when grammatically correct!)

3 comments:

  1. That looks like a good potential harvest. I've just got the one pathetic looking blueberry bush and harvested a grand total of four berries last year! It needs some attention I think.

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  2. Oh dear, how old are your blueberry bushes? I think they hit their stride fully in the third year but need to be fed and pruned. Bet it was Chloe that had the four berries, though! xx

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  3. I love blueberries but I don't grow them at the moment, are there any self fertile varieties? I will look into it x

    Very pretty flowers! x

    ReplyDelete

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