Tips for Growing Blueberries

Feeding - Blueberries don't need to be fed heavily if they are kept well mulched. A fully grown blueberry bush needs around a pound of cottonseed meal each year to produce heavy yields.

Protecting Blueberries from Birds - If birds are getting into your blueberries, build a frame that will support a netting about six inches from the plant. If you just drape a net over the plant, the birds will still be able to reach it.
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The Blueberry Journal

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Dwarf Blueberry Shrubs
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I bought a dwarf blueberry shrub from Minter Country Garden, so when I say I am growing blueberries on my balcony, make note - these are specialized plants, rather than the regular blueberry plant. As such, I thought it would be a good idea to write down the information that came on the label, to keep a reference to what kind of blueberry plant I am growing, and its specifications.

Blueberry Jelly Bean - A Taste of Jelly Beam

Jelly Bean is a charming little puffball of a blueberrry producing a prolific crop of large, flavorful blueberries mid-summer. The gorgeous foliage of Jelly Bean features uniquely elongated leaves that range from brilliant to darker greens with highlights of red in cooler climates. Try a mini-hedge along the a pathway, in the landscape or in decorative patio containers. 

Fruit Season: Mid-Summer

Berry Size: Medium to Large

Flavor: Sweet/Like Homemade Jelly

Shrub Habit: 1' - 2' Compact, Spherical Mound

Spring Color: Bright Greens

Fall Color: Rich Green with Red Leaf Margins

Planting & Care Notes: Full Sun * Acidic Soil (incorporate peat moss or organic matter into soil). * Good Drainage * Fertilize Early Spring (granular or liquid acid fertilizer) * Moderate watering

Pruning: This blueberry produces new canes each fall and spring. Once fruiting is complete, prune canes that have fruited leaving new canes to the next season. Annual pruning promotes plant growth and berry production.     .
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April 19, 2014
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I'm really excited about the dwarf blueberry bush I bought for $25. That's it in the above top left picture. I hope it works out well. It's supposed to grow one to two feet high in a compact spherical mound. In the container on the above right I planted a row of cucumbers close to railing (I'm going to try and grow them upwards) and I also planted two rows of carrots in the same container.  .
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June 19, 2014
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Top: Blueberries -- Bottom: Raspberries

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The raspberry plant (above - bottom left) is struggling more than the blueberry plant (above - top right), although there are a couple of raspberries on the one plant, and so far, I see no blueberries at all. I suspect that since these plants are perennials, they won't really produce until the next year.
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July 25, 2014
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Raspberries looking healthy again... but now the blueberries are hurting!

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In a strange turn of events, my raspberry plant which I was sure was going to die last month has perked right up with signs of new life. But now my blueberry plant is suffering the death look in almost the exact same fashion as the raspberries were last month. Neither of these two plants produce enough fruit worth mentioning. I hope they both survive and work out better next year. Time will tell, but for this year, they were not worth the money. ($60 between the two of them!)
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April 7, 2015
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... But I don't think I'm get much from these raspberry and blueberry bushes I bought last year. Gesh! $60 between the two of them, didn't get more than a few berries to eat of off them, and they're toast by the next year.
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Dead Blueberries (Left) and Condition Critical Raspberries (Right)

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Those things were such a waste of time, effort and money, I think I might just take them completely off the "garden cost list" and write them off as a mistake of nature. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)
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April 22, 2015
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We've had some nice weather lately - in the low twenties celsius - and it really helped to give the garden a kick in the pants. Below is the still very dead blueberry bush, which will soon be pulled and replaced with a tomato plant, but the raspberry bush looks like it's struggling to make a comeback!
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Dead Blueberry Bush (Left) and Struggling Raspberries (Right)

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