DON’T SAY ‘I CAN’T GROW BLUEBERRIES,’ says Lee Reich, whose PhD explored factors affecting the growth of Vaccinium corymbosum, the highbush blueberry. “Follow the prescription and you can.” So what exactly is Lee’s Rx? It’s covered in his latest book, “Grow Fruit Naturally,” along with detailed how-to on every imaginable home fruit crop (in pots or the ground) from kiwi to pawpaw, citrus to pomegranate to plain old strawberries, apples and pears, 31 kinds in all. You can get his blueberry tips on the jump page—along with the chance to win one of two copies Lee shared with me to offer to you. I’ll even let you know what’s going on in the photo up top.
Lee Reich and I have been writing about gardening for a similarly long time, connecting off and on throughout our careers. The last time I saw him? Saturday, during my Garden Conservancy Open Day, when he just walked up the driveway, quite to my surprise. His books “A Northeast Gardener’s Year” and “Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Attention,” both published around 20 years ago, are longtime favorites of mine, and the newest, “Grow Fruit Naturally,” has Lee’s characteristic fusion of solid science; practical, nature-inspired common sense, and a consistently considerate relationship with the environment.
Growing Blueberries
TO BE PROLIFIC fruit producers, blueberries do have special soil requirements, Lee acknowledges, but he manages to provide that and get more than 180 quarts of fruit each year from 16 highbush types in his home garden (which he calls a “farmden,” as in half farm, half garden) in New Paltz, New York, across the Hudson from where I garden.
Me? I grow lowbush (Vaccinium angustifolium) and highbush types, both Eastern native species, for their spring flowers, red fall foliage (below) and the fact that they are favorites of birds (and unfortunately my local army of chipmunks). I never eat a single berry.
Lee takes things a bit more seriously. His prescription for success includes these steps:
Identify a sunny spot, and then adjust accordingly to also provide very acidic soil that is well-drained but moist, infertile (“Yes, you read that right,” writes Lee) and high in organic matter. If drainage is a problem, consider raised-bed planting.
Start with a soil test (blueberries like the pH in the 4-5 range).
If the pH needs adjustment, use sulfur to acidify the soil. (Pelleted is cheaper and easier to apply than powdered, he says, but either one used according to what your test indicates.) Add the sulfur to the soil of the planting hole, and also spread it around the area that will be the eventual root zone of the plant as it grows.
Lee mixes in a bucketful of peat moss to amend each hole at planting time. Because peat is a non-renewable resource and under intense scrutiny from environmentalists, who advise against its use, I asked what else we might try.
“What’s needed is some long-lasting form of organic matter that isn’t rich in nutrients,” he explained. “Thoroughly rotted sawdust is another possibility. Probably very old compost would be okay too because much of it would be stabilized organic matter that would release nutrients only very slowly. Back to the peat moss, though; this is only a one-time application.”
After planting, water well (a practice that will need to be kept up particularly in the plant’s first few years in the ground; Lee’s blueberry garden is on drip irrigation). Mulch to a depth of about 3 inches with wood shavings and chips, pine needles, autumn leaves or sawdust.
Lee replenishes the mulch each fall, after leaf drop—and also feeds the plants at that time with soybean meal at the rate of 1 pound per 100 square feet. He retests the soil pH every few years, and adjusts with more sulfur as indicated.
Starting at four years old, the strict dormant pruning regimen begins on highbush plants, because stems aged six years or older are not good fruit producers. In late winter, the oldest stems (they will be about an inch thick) are cut out to the base (photo above shows how the base of a mature plant looks after pruning, with a good mix of older, younger, and middle-aged stems remaining).
After more than 20 years of following these practices, Lee’s bushes are still prolific—and as I said, he even gets to eat the fruit. That’s because of the last step in his Rx: the blueberry gazebo (top photo, seen in winter).
What a coop is to predator-prone chickens, the gazebo—netted top and sides—is to blueberries. A delicious solution.
Just before he left here Saturday, Lee had a question for me: “So what will you do with that potted fig on the patio this winter, Margaret?” I’ll put it in the unheated garage with the Japanese maples, I replied about the plant I just bought this spring. Oops! No, says Lee, the fruit doctor. Guess the next chapter in “Grow Fruit Naturally” I’ll be reading is the one about figs.
- Buy the book now: “Grow Fruit Naturally” (or any of Lee’s other books)
Win a Copy of ‘Grow Fruit Naturally’
TO ENTER TO WIN A COPY of Lee Reich’s new “Grow Fruit Naturally,” all you have to do is comment by answering the question:
What fruit do you grow—or wish to grow—in your home garden? Any tips or tricks to share?
Don’t worry, you can simply say, “Count me in” and your entry will be registered, in case you’re feeling shy. Two winners will be drawn at random after entries close at midnight Tuesday, June 12. Good luck to all!
Which Blueberry to Grow?
- Highbush (V. corymbosum), Zones 4-7; to 7 feet tall, but less with pruning
- Lowbush (V. angustifolium), Zones 3-7; a suckering groundcover up to 18 inches high; mow or cut to the ground every few years to renew as desired
- Half-high varieties (hybrids between the previous two species), under 4 feet
- Rabbiteye (V. asheii, a Southeast native), Zones 7-9; suckering shrub to 15 feet tall, heat-tolerant
Extra Help from Lee’s Website
- Lee’s fall blueberry-care ritual: soybean meal, sulfur and wood chips
- Lee’s early spring pruning tactics for high and lowbush blueberries
- On netting highbush bushes for bird-protection
Lee’s Favorite Fruit Sources
I HAD TO ASK LEE REICH, whom Barbara Damrosch calls “the Pied Piper of fruit growing,” where he shops for fruit plants. Here are some of his favorites:
- For common tree fruits, Cummins Nursery, and Adams County Nursery
- For berries, Nourse Farms and Indiana Berry
- Especially for blueberries, Hartmann Plant Company
- For a variety of fruit, especially uncommon ones, Raintree Nursery and One Green World
- For nuts, Burnt Ridge Nursery and Nolin Nursery
I have 4 blueberries recommended for so Wi, added the amendments , fence, water, and haven’t had any berries in 3 years. Ready to give up, but maybe this book will inspire me to reassess. We have abundant raspberries, wonderful grapes, and have planted a mini orchard of apples, pears, cherries, plums, peach, apricot . I hope eventually to feed ourselves, friends, and the local food pantry, also lots of birds. Big dreams, small harvest so far
I love Lee Reich, “Weedless Gardening” in particular. Ironically, I was just considering blueberries after a friend told me her daughter grows prolific blueberries in pots in NYC! I grow strawberries in a newly (second year) constructed strawberry staircase form of raised bed that reaches a height of 5 feet, and allows the berries to hang over the “risers” as the plants are planted on the “treads”. So far it’s working. I transplanted the plants I had in an established flat bed, and had far fewer bug eaten berries. I net it from the birds and squirrels which is very easy to do with just two shot bamboo poles in the corners of the top bed at the height in the back, and two longer poles in the bottom bed corners in the almost ground level front. I designed it after a strawberry wedding cake bed I saw while visiting the Elizabeth Cheney Mansion gardens in Oak Park Il, a great place to see some impressive culinary garden design.
Yikes, Sorry, this is supposed to be about blueberries!!! I would love Mr. Reich’s blueberry book. thanks, Cathy
I am growing blueberries,raspberries,blackberries, and strawberries. Thanks for the chance to win!
I would love to have blueberries to eat off my bushes in the Poconos…the deer get them…sometimes I get a few from the side that overhangs the lake. I am going to be reading that book whether or not I win it!!
figs, blueberries, scupernogs, an ancient plum and peach tree and a few old apple trees that were once the source for apple brandy all grow on the old cotton plantation that i have been blessed to call home. i dream one day of restoring the orchard with heirloom apples and have my try at making apple brandy.
I have one blueberry bush I put from a pot into the soil last year. Today, before reading your blog, a local nursery announced blueberry bushes on sale. I am going to get another and hope for berries. Thanks for all the info on growing them.
I have 2 fig trees and 4 dwarf citrus trees all in containers, here by the ocean in So. Cal. Looking forward to your post on figs!
Last fall we planted a persimmon, a pear, a fig and 2 apple trees. We also put in some blueberries and blackberries. This fall I am looking forward to planting strawberries and raspberries.
Growing blueberries in Maine, but need to protect them from birds and chipmunks. Count me in!
Blueberries, raspberries, apples, strawberries & serviceberries all live at our house. We’d like more, though…
My Aunt Anna, with her long blonde braids wrapped on her head, harvested buckets of berries. She would’ve loved your blog.
Margaret, your latest podcast made me realize I need to read the blueberry section of this book. Thanks.
I’ve been considering growing paw paw, raspberry and elderberries but I really have no idea what I’m doing. Your book would be a great help. Thank you for a chance at getting one.
I grow strawberries, raspberries, pears, plums (new!) and blueberries. I remember it being a lot easier to grow raspberries as a kid with my grandfather-wonder what I’m doing wrong !
My 12 year old son and I have been experimenting with different types of everbearing strawberries for a few years, and seem to be getting better at it. We have had great luck with goumis and thimbleberries, and less luck with blackberries, raspberries, and currants. We also have 2 green gage plum trees and a sour cherry tree. My folly for many years was the fig. I threw away so much money on fig trees that I couldn’t keep alive for more than a few seasons, I swore I’d never try again. But maybe with this new book….
I could really use this book. We are finally getting some blueberries but we planted them years ago and they are only now thinking of producing berries. The apples trees died several years ago but the sour cherry trees live on. The rhubarb looks terrible this year but I am blaming that on the wacky spring. The raspberries are not thriving and my efforts at raising strawberries is pathetic. I do have hope that the asian pears we planted last year will do better than the apple trees. Thanks for alerting me about Lee’s new book. I found his weedless garden book very useful.
At the moment the only fruit I have is a lovely fig tree. Since last winter never got really cold there are dozens of tiny figs on it already this season I try to keep it fertilized with composted chicken manure; it seems to thrive on that.
Blueberries grow well in northwest Arkansas where I live, and I have been thinking about growing them for awhile now. Would certainly have to have the blueberry gazebo since deer roam freely here.
Would love to win Mr. Reich’s book. Enjoyed his first ones very much.
Well, I have a blueberry bush, don’t know what kind or how to care for it. I planted cantaloupe in my garden this year and I always plant tomatoes for my hubby.
I want to grow blueberries, strawberries, grapes, apples, peaches, plums, pears, cherries, rhubarb, bramble fruits, figs, kiwis, citrus, well, you get the idea.
I have two low bush plants, growing in containers, that are three years old and started producing a decent amount of fruit this season. Thanks for the great info on caring for blueberries. I can’t wait to plant more!
Hi
I grow Raspberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, grapes, & apples.I would love to try blueberries, but am afraid they won’t grow in our clay soil.
I have a little fig tree that has been in my backyard for just over a year and a June apple tree (I don’t know the proper name) too that the squirrels love to eat from. I’m thinking about planting a fruit tree/shrub in the front yard, so I’m sure Lee Reich’s book would be a great resource for me! Thanks!
I grow cherries, elderberries, plums, pears, and raspberries. I want to add strawberries this year.
Nice!
I have a few different types of blueberries in my Virginia garden. Highbush seem to do better than lowbush
We grow red currants, blackcurrants, gooseberries, blackberries, pears and apples. We didn’t like the pears from our tree, so we have tried grafting from our neighbor’s pear tree as their pears are yummy. The red currants gave us fruit the next year after planting, which was great. I would recommend these for everyone to start with. We’d love a copy of Lee’s book. My husband has heard him talk at the NOFA Summer Conference, and really enjoyed his presentation.
I have a struggling peach tree and just found out I have a persimmon on our property.
I’ve squeezed as many fruit trees as I can I to my garden. At the moment, I’m growing avocado, mango, ackee, papaya, banana, soursop, tangerine, lemon (potted) prickly pear cactus (seedlings are still in pots), custard apple, and dragon fruit. All in about 1,500 square feet.
Tips for warm-climate gardeners with small yards (I’m in zone 10): espalier trees to grow in narrow spaces; layer your heights…my ackee tree is ginormous with deep roots, so I planted bananas (short trees, shallow roots) and soursop (espaliered low, medium-depth roots) beneath its canopy. My ginger grows in the shade of the bananas. Also, lots of tropicals do well in pots (I have another mango, lemons, tangerine, dragon fruit on the patio). Most of all, have fun!
I have four highbush blueberry bushes. One in particular has continued to produced berries for over 20 years with barely any pruning at all. Just a yearly additon of manure and some organic fertilizer!
I just put in about 150 blueberries and would love to know how to tend them properly. Count me in!
I grow three kinds of high bush blueberries, black raspberries, and everbearing strawberries here in Maine. Hopes of adding some pear trees soon. Lee’s book is at the top of my wish list, after hearing about it on Ken’s Real Dirt and now your blog and garden show. Love your podcast, Margaret. Cheers!
sour cherries, black currant, strawberries, and rasberries…. No room for more – but would love to do blueberries.
Blueberries for sure, raspberries, and strawberries. Would like to add a lot more like tayberries, apples, pears, and plums but will have to rely on the farmer’s markets for now.
We grow many kinds of fruit, mostly in our newly planted forest garden where we mix varieties of fruit with nitrogen fixing plants/trees, dynamic accumulators, medicinal and culinary herbs. . A partial list includes peaches, apples, pears, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, mulberry, strawberry, figs, and the lesser known goumi, pawpaw, persimmon and jujube.
I just planted a black currant. My daughter would like me to grow gooseberries, too. In the past, I have grown strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, ground cherries and peaches. I think I have tasted only one of each! Alas, deer, squirrels, birds and chipmunks love my garden. I need a fence and a dog!
Hi, I just found your website after doing a search for a japanese clematis variety…your website was recommended by someone at Dave’s Garden, and, gosh, am I happy I found this website! I’m just getting into clematis but my long-time passion is, actually, growing fruit and create edible gardens (for humans and for birds, butterflies, insects, and hummingbirds).
I am a fan of double-flowering (I think it’s called pink profusion?) ornamental fruit tree. My parents had two of these trees, on either side of our porch, growing up. My mother purchased these trees for their ornamental value but, I have to say, these trees produced the most luscious, fragrant, succulent peaches I’ve ever grown and tasted. Yes, the flesh is small, especially compared to, say, a flaming fury or your classic elberta or redhaven varieties…however, this is a perfect cultivar for the backyard grower in terms of fun and creating a terrific multisensory experience (gorgeous hot pink blossoms, sweet, sweet smelling fruit) growing fruit. I mention this fruit because, now as an adult, I would’ve likely overlooked planting this variety as it is not offered in too many places and when it is it is usually offered/marketed, first and foremost, as an ornamental variety.
I’ve grown black tartarian and ranier cherries on mazzard rootstock (with little success); I’ve had better results with black gold on gisela 5 rootstock. I love, love growing peaches, elberta, red haven…any and all peaches, though I have yet to try growing the saturn/donut shaped types and the white fleshed ones. Because Michigan has lots of apple orchards, I’ve avoided growing apples but I’m starting to rethink this…and I’d like to plant some varieties (like Pippin, golden russett) that I really enjoy. I’d also like to establish a wall of espalier apple trees this fall. I’ve overlooked espalier pruning and the more I read about it, the more I understand it and I’m really getting into it. I would like to plant nanking cherry bushes, Shanandoah (sp.) paw paws, elderberries, goose berries, fig trees, arctic kiwis, and different types of brambles in the very near future.
I’m growing blueberries in my urban Chicago garden. I’m having a little more success this year, but my blueberries weren’t happy at all during a recent dry spell and I’ve had to show them more TLC lately! I’d love to grow more fruit, if I can find the space! Thanks!
I have a columnar apple tree in a pot. It was blooming gorgeous in spring, had some tiny fruits developed, now they’ve all fallen off! Yikes. Would love to add berries to the backyard, and some grapes…
I’ve inherited 8 blueberry bushes at my grandparent’s place. Would like to see them flourish, and would like add other fruit to my garden.
We grow blueberries, raspberries, seaberries, paw paw, apple, asian pear, mulberry, kiwi, loganberry, marionberry, and currants, so we will really use this book!
I have 2 dwarf Asian pears that gave me a BUMPER crop last year — learned to can for the first time with all the fruit (chutney, pearsauce, pie filling). Sadly,this year shows nary a one. Could it have been the frost in April? No doubt. But that’s part of gardening, right?
“Count me in” my husband and I recently got a fig tree, and we are taking care of it by making sure has plenty water and sun… we know that in winter time we’ll have to move it inside the house to keep it warm, as we live in NJ and the fig tree does not like cold weather!
I have five 2nd year blackberry bushes that are ready to burst with fruit and the bushes are growing unrestrained and out of control. I’m not sure what I am supposed to do with them (other than enjoy the fruit that the birds don’t get!) Also, one apple tree that the moths get to first so very little fruit. I love, love, love the small fruits and berries. ; P
What fruit do you grow—or wish to grow—in your home garden? Any tips or tricks to share?
We’ve been at this house for two years so I only have 3 Heritage raspberries, 10 Northland and Chippewa low-bush blueberries and two apples (Gala & Yellow Delicious). I also have a baker’s dozen of 2 y.o. potted fig trees that I started from hardwood cuttings (Blue Celeste, Sal’s, Black Marseille, Brooklyn White, Chicago Hardy and one mystery plant that hubby brought home from Lowe’s.
I am not in a position to give advice with 2 y.o. everything, in fact, I really need Lee’s book because the critters have eaten all the little apples, the blueberries, blooms but no fruit set and I totally thought I was supposed to bring my figs into the garage for the winter. I did that last year & had 100% survival; so now I’m really curious about what Lee suggests!
Count me in!
I just planted blueberrys this year. One of the plants has some berrys on it so I’m looking forward to at least seeing them ripen!
I have 7 blueberry bushes that I have purchased from various sources.. none of which I can id so far since they each came with two different tags ( Bluecrop, Bluegold, Brigetta, Chippewa & KaBluey), this is a major argh in my soul but I digress. 4 of the bushes are over 2 yrs old and are in full berry this year, as the birds are well aware. Three of the bushes are a wee bit yellow. This makes me nervous. I hope the book will help me rescue them. thank you!, ps:
I also have 5 Strawberry Plants ( Seascape and Sequoia) . I am trying for the first time this year to grow Watermelon ( Mini Red Seedless, Yellow Doll, Orange Tendersweet & Sugar Baby), Cantaloup.
GIVEAWAY ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED, but you can leave your fruit comments here anytime.
Ans the winner are: Jill and Estyn. Congratulations, and thank you all for contributing. I’d say fruit-growing seems to be a VERY popular topic. : )
We have 4 lowbush blueberries and are looking to get some highbush types. We also have a thornless blackberry and raspberries.
I currently grow several varieties of apples, peaches, pears, asian pears, grapes, red raspberries, black raspberries, and two different varieties of high bush blueberries. I also want to add prune and apricot trees. There is also a large black mulberry tree on our property. Count me in.
I’m always amazed how the birds wait for that perfect moment of ripeness and swoop in leaving me a few blueberries !