Yummy Blueberries

I buy Blueberries from supermarkets, and they are expensive, due to the high cost of manual labour to pick them. So when I saw Blueberry plants in my local plant nursery about 4 weeks ago, I thought, give them a go, so bought two.

The variety is "Sunshine Blue" and although being very small already had lots of unripe fruit when purchased. Here is a photo, taken today:

The stems covered in fruit are as I bought it, the stems without fruit are new growth.

Now, the most interesting thing, that prompted me to post this report: the fruit doesn't all ripen at once. They ripen progressively. Each day I have been going into the garden and picking a few that have turned blue. Today picked five.

This is really great, as I will have a snack every day, apparently over about 3-4 months. Sunshine Blue is a dwarf variety, "only" growing to about 1.2 metres, but I am amazed to think about the abundance of fruit on a plant that size.

Here is some information about Sunshine Blue:

https://www.gardenexpress.com.au/product/blueberry-sunshine-blue/

One of the key factors with this variety is that it will tolerate less-acidic soil than most varieties of Blueberry. That's good, because I didn't have a clue when planted them. Only afterward, read about the acidity requirement, so scattered some potash of sulphur around them, and some pine needles. They are growing, so must be reasonably happy with the soil condition.

They are shallow-rooted, and I have drip irrigation, and have planted them near the drippers. This will be another plant to report back on, in say, another year. 

Tags: general