Blueberries
Dates below are counted from the average last spring frost or the average first fall frost. Enter a ZIP in the calendar for NOAA 1991–2020 station averages, or pick a zone and use the zone table.
When to plant
Soil and site
Blueberries need acidic, well-drained soil. Clemson says to pick another site if the pH is above 6.0, and to apply sulfur only when a test shows the pH is below 6.0 but above 5.5, at least three months before planting. A USDA small-farm note puts the optimum near 4.8–5.2, with 5.5 still acceptable. Test the soil and amend the year before you plant.
Seedlings
The calendar marks the average last spring frost. The USDA note says spring planting starts once severe-frost danger has passed. Clemson plants bare-root bushes in late winter as soon as the soil can be worked, which can be earlier than that frost date, and plants potted bushes in fall on sandy soil. Set each plant at the same depth it grew in the nursery or pot. No single week-before-frost number was published for every zone, so the earlier bare-root window is described here rather than given its own date.
In the garden
Clemson spaces southern highbush 4–5 feet apart in the row and rabbiteye 6 feet apart. The USDA note says in-row spacing is commonly 4 or 6 feet. Minnesota Extension uses about 3 feet and plants in late April or early May, which is tighter than the spacing on this page. Plant at least two cultivars. Rabbiteye needs a second variety for pollination. Remove flower buds the first and second years so the bush grows wood and roots.
Picking
Clemson says fruit ripens over about two months after bloom. With good care, a bush may give about half a pound in the third year. The USDA note says plantings are not harvested until the third or fourth growing season.
Harvest
Clemson says the fruit ripens over about two months after bloom, and a cared-for bush may give about half a pound in the third year. A USDA small-farm note says plantings are not harvested until the third or fourth growing season.
Pick berries when they are fully blue. Clemson says to remove flower buds in the first and second years so the bush grows wood and roots before it fruits.
Preserving
The tested whole-berry canning method lists blueberries. It does not list strawberries. Follow the blueberry directions only for the berries named on that page.
USDA's tested method for whole blueberries is on the NCHFP berries page, which also offers a pressure-canner option. Use the linked tables. Do not apply that page to fruit it does not list.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Berries, whole →Freeze ripe blueberries with the NCHFP dry pack or crushed pack. Wash before using if you dry-pack them unwashed.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Freezing blueberries or huckleberries →Dry blueberries with the NCHFP drying guide, then condition them before packing.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Drying fruits and vegetables →A home freeze-dryer can dry this crop, but USDA has not published a canning-style time for it. Follow the appliance manual for load and cycle length, then store the dry food sealed. Freeze-drying is not a substitute for a tested canning process.
Appliance manual (no USDA process time)
Canning, pickling, and fermenting notes here are summaries of tested USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation methods. Times, pressures, and amounts live only on those pages. This site does not publish home-invented processing times.
Gear placeholders
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- Placeholder: seeds for Blueberries
- Placeholder: canning gear
- Placeholder: home freeze dryer
Dates by zone
These pages turn the same frost offsets into calendar dates for each zone the calendar covers.