lee reich’s blueberry-growing how-to
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 below—and 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 O.K. 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 my garden, 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–or read this later interview about successful fig growing with Lee.
- Buy the book now: “Grow Fruit Naturally” (or any of Lee’s other books)
‘grow fruit naturally’ by lee reich
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 [NOTE: The giveaway is now closed; comments are always welcome.]:
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 were drawn at random after entries close at midnight Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
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
(Disclosure: Links to Amazon are affiliate links, which yield a small commission.)
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
Karen lyles says
Count me in…I use nylon net over my blueberries
Judy says
I’d love to grow blueberries! count me in!
Alice J says
I am just installing a potager garden now and trying to decide what berries will be grown. We had no fruits or berries at all in our old garden. Count me in please – I am eager to see the book!
Nancy DeVault says
I would love to grow figs. Count me in!
Sue says
I garden in western Washington and grow apples, plums, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. I would love to own a copy of Lee Reich’s book!
Patricia Lee says
I have never had any luck with blueberries in the ground here in north central Washington state, so planted one last season in a large pot in a sunny location. So far, this spring it looks fabulous. Will see if I get berries!!
margaret says
Hi, Patricia. Be sure to follow the soil-care details, and also consider having more than one variety, because they are only partially self-fertile…meaning you get more and bigger fruits if you plant more than one variety.
Barbara says
We just planted 4 new blueberry bushes and it seems like the 3 we planted a couple years ago are actually going to produce this year.
Lana Read says
We have been growning low bush blueberries of 6 years now adding their right amount of sulfer to thier roots , as well as compost matter. We have have been picking our blueberries when they are ready to eat, and they are absolutely delicious and very good for you too!!!!
margaret says
Lana, congratulations on your success! Thanks for saying hello.
Tracy says
Hi, i don’t grow any fruit…yet! So, I’ll havce to be just “Count me in.” But with a cool book like Lee’s, I’d start.
kathny says
Instead of peat moss, I wonder if coconut coir would work?
In my garden, I grow strawberries, blueberries, apples and grapes. This year I’m also planting honeydew melons and watermelons too.
Hannah says
I have two dwarf varieties of blueberries in pots that are now under netting, a patch of strawberries, two dwarf apple trees, a Meyer lemon, and a fig that somehow managed to to survive this last brutal winter. I almost dug out the fig but there is finally a tiny shoot starting to emerge. It feels like a modest victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Jay Gardens says
Lee’s “The Pruning Book” is one of my favorites. Would love to add another Reich book to my collection.
andrea says
Grow: blueberries, raspberries, black raspberries, currants, apples, peaches, strawberries
Hope to Grow: apricots, plums
Thanks for the giveaway!
Adam says
I am just starting to establish blueberries around the parking area in the front yard. We live in Southern Oregon. I could use the book.
Maryjane Parry says
I live in Zone 10-11 SW Florida…count me in !!!!What kind of blueberries can I grow?
Thank you!
Maryjane Parry says
I live in SW Florida, Count me in!!!! What kind of blueberries can I grow? Thank You!
Julie Zeh says
I wonder if coco coir would be a good replacement for peat…
Cyndee Socci says
I grow 4 varieties of blueberries along my driveway in Queens, and they are producing mightily. I followed the advice about acidic soil, mulch, and for the first 2 years, removed the flowers so they wouldn’t produce, but instead they grew stronger stems and roots. This year, the bird net goes up – crop looks great. Count me in!
Joanne Toft says
I have order a blueberry and a raspberry bush to grow in pots. This is my first year of growing fruit. Excited but know I need more information to make this work. So count me in!
susan says
count me in… we’ve planted blueberry and have strawberry to start this sprng
Louise says
I have wrongly pruned blueberry bushes it seems. I have loads to learn. I love blueberries!
But I planted my fig in the ground and wrapped it. I followed Cornell extension’s directions. My area of the Catskills got snow this morning. So I suspect I’ll remove the protection when weather has not been near freezing for a bit.
susan says
count me in, please!
Danielle Diakoff-King says
I live in zone 9b napa ca and right now I have two blueberries. One is dormant and I forgot the variety. But the other one ‘misty’ variety put on buds just at the end of fall and it is full on flowering right now. I’m kind of shocked and I don’t know if this bush is just confused or if my crop this next year will be ruined because it’s been freezing for a few weeks now at night. Idk! It says its an early variety but this is a little weird.
margaret says
We have been minus 3F and plus 52F in the last week where I live. This is becoming more the norm the last few years than unusual. I suppose it’s no wonder that the plants are also confused. I know that ‘Misty’ has a very low “chill requirement” (can fruit up even in areas with very short winters). I notice online that others have experienced this.
paul manhart says
no luck with blueberries thus far,,but will keep trying!
Sara says
We are definitely putting in blueberry bushes and raspberries this year! (It’s been several years of talking about it)
We currently have rhubarb that does beautifully throughout the summer, few strawberries that never quite seem happy, a peach tree much beloved by the squirrels, and a dying pear tree. I’d like to replace the pear and put in a cherry tree. We also have crab apples that I’ve used in years when I got a little carried away with canning.