Blueberries

Before you buy blueberry bushes, make sure you read this detailed quick guide to help you with your planting.

1. Make sure you have two varieties of blueberry plants so that they can cross pollinate. This will help them grow berries well and fast. You have an option of getting two varities from these three: highbush varieties that can grow more than 6 feet tall, lowbush varieties that are generally shorter than 2 feet, and half high varieties about 3 feet tall.
2. Make sure you get bushes that will thrive in your area. You can do this by reading the apt “zones” these berries grow by reading their labels.
3. Blueberries grow best in areas where the sun is out for at least 6 hours. In hot climates, make sure you help protect the growing bushes during the heat of the day.
4. Before planting the bushes, make sure the soil is slightly acidic. To do this, mulch the soil with pine needles or pine barks.

1. When digging the planting hole, make sure you dig 4 to 5 inches deeper and 2 times wider than the pot.

1. Water the bushes thoroughly. Water growing bushes two to three times a week but make sure you don’t overwater them. For grown bushes, you can water them once a week but make sure you do so with more or less an inch of water.
2. For growing bushes, make sure you clip 2/3 of the blossom. This may seem counterproductive but doing so will make the plant focus its nutrition towards the roots.
3. Make a small fence to protect the plants from small animals in your area. Make sure you also drape some net over them to prevent the birds from attacking the bushes.
4. On the second season after planting the bushes, fertilize the bushes amply. You can try using Miracid for this.

Related articles

• Berry Beneficial: Tips on Picking and Baking Blueberries (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
• Healthy Wild Blueberry Bran Muffins (thismamacooks.com)

 

You must be very excited about planting in your new garden. Here are 5 of the best vegetables you can grow:

Carrots - What vegetable garden would be complete without your best carrots? They are superbly easy to sow and cultivate. The best tip I have seen for sowing carrots is to mix the seeds with some coarse river sand in just a small jar. Shake them well until they are well mixed and then poke a hole with the size of your index finger in the lid. Then, slowly pour this mix along the drills that you have prepared and cover over. Too easy, right?

Sweet Potatoes - If you are going to grow sweet potatoes, then they aren't hard. Simply cut a chunk off a shop-bought variety – ensuring that the chunk exhibits a few eyes and then plant below the surface the same as a potato. They are definitely a bountiful crop that you will be rewarded well for planting these in your new garden.

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Taster Pack: Two 2kg Potatoes plus 4 Patio Planters, £15.99

Grow your own Potatoes from only £3.99!

Jersey Plants Direct have a fantastic range of easy to grow first and second early, main crop and speciality Potatoes available in fantastic value packs.

You can even grow them if you haven't got much space, as some of the value packs and starter kits also come with handy potato planters in a range of sizes, perfect for small gardens, patios and balconies. The planters have a flat ventilated base and handles for easy lifting. Each one will hold 3 seed potatoes, and they are also suitable for other types of fruit and vegetables, such as strawberries or tomatoes.

When to Plant your Potatoes

The different potato crops are referred to as first earlies, second earlies and maincrop. As a rough guide, if you planted your seed potatoes in mid March, you'd be digging up your first earlies in 10-12 weeks, your second earlies would be ready within 12-14 weeks and your maincrops would be ready to harvest in 15-20 weeks.

The Taster Pack is perfect for gardeners who want potatoes throughout the summer, as it contains a mix of first and second earlies and maincrop potatoes, plus 4 patio planters all for just £15.99!

Jacket Potatoes, Roast Potatoes, Mash, or Chips?

Each variety of potato is different, so bring out the best in your potatoes with this handy potato cooking guide!

Winston	POT001J	POT002J	PBG013J
Arran Pilot	POT001K	POT002K	PBG013K
Pentland Javelin	POT001B	POT002B	PBG013B
Maris Bard	POT001L	POT002L	PBG013L
Rocket	POT001M	POT002M	PBG013M
Casablanca	POT001N	POT002N	PBG013N

Maris Peer	POT001E	POT002E	PBG013E
Carlingford	POT001P	POT002P	PBG013P
Charlotte	POT001D	POT002D	PBG013D
Smile	POT001Q	POT002Q	PBG013Q
Kestrel	POT001H	POT002H	PBG013H
Nadine	POT001S	POT002S	PBG013S

Desiree	POT001G	POT002G	PBG013G
Maris Piper	POT001T	POT002T	PBG013T
Pentland Squire	POT001U	POT002U	PBG013U
Blue Belle	POT001V	POT002V	PBG013V
King Edward	POT001F	POT002F	PBG013F
Cara	POT001W	POT002W	PBG013W

Speciality Potatoes: Try something Different!

Try this variety pack of four speciality potatoes for only £9.98. Each 0.5kg high quality seed potato pack contains approximately 6-7 potato tubers, to produce around 5kg (11lbs) of tasty potatoes.

The speciality potato packs include:

Edzell Blue (second early/ maincrop): Tubers that have a bright purple skin and white flesh with a floury texture.

Shetland Black (second early):An unusual and great novelty potato.

Highland Burgundy (early maincrop):Slightly sweet taste with a floury texture.

Pink Fir Apple (late maincrop): Best eaten as chunky chips or in their skins.

These variety packs will be dispatched during March.

Jersey Plants do FREE DELIVERY on EVERYTHING and NO VAT!!

Image via Wikipedia

Part of a parterre in an English garden

Buy first class bedding plants and much more besides from Gardening Direct. One of the leading online suppliers of bedding plants, we can deliver them direct to your door at best value prices.

Choose from a wide variety of plants, vegetable seeds and gardening accessories - everything you need for your garden!

Spring Bedding Plants: Planting Guide

Spring bedding, which is also sometimes called winter bedding, is great for getting instant colours in your flower beds early in the spring. You can either fill the whole flower bed with bedding plants, or use them to fill the spaces between larger plants (read on below).

How to Grow Spring Bedding Plants from Seed

Seeds should be started inside in January or early February, ready for flowers to start blooming near the end of March. At the beginning of March, plant the seedlings outside so that their root systems will be well established enough for blooming. For the most reliable results, choose pansies or other hardy annuals which can survive a late frost.

How to Grow Spring Bedding Plants from Plugs

Plugs are plants that are more mature than seedlings, and if they are old enough they can be planted in the garden for immediate blooming in March. Alternatively, you can buy plugs that are younger plants, and plant them earlier to get them blooming in time.

How to Grow Spring Bedding Plants from Bulbs

In general, bulbs should be planted in late summer or early autumn to produce flowers in early spring.