HAWLEY, PA — In May, Bobby Morgan, co-owner of the Paupack Blueberry Farm in Paupack, gave an informative presentation to the Country Gardeners filled with humor, quips and stories about growing blueberry plants.

To him, growing blueberries is more than just a business; it’s a passion.

“I am half blueberry,” he joked.

He spoke of riding his tractor at the beginning of the season and the joy he felt reaching out to take and eat a handful of blueberries.

According to Morgan, “You know, you get that first berry of the year, the first berry you picked. It’s almost a euphoric feeling.”

The Paupack Blueberry Farm, a 20-acre family-owned farm, is known for its pick-your-own blueberries. They have three fields and different varieties of blueberries that were crossbred, resulting in a much greater harvest season. The blueberries start to ripen in early July, and they go through Labor Day with later varieties. There is also a farm store where visitors can buy fresh, homemade, blueberry-themed products like muffins, jams and ice cream. There are also blueberry bushes for sale.

For the backyard grower, Morgan recommended planting the northern highbush, which prefers cooler weather. Other varieties, like the top hat or rabbiteye blueberry bushes, are better suited for container growing and warmer climates. For these varieties, in winter, you should bring them inside to temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and let them have some sun.

Blueberry bushes are a native plant, very easy to grow, and like acidic soil with a pH of about four-five. If needed, soil test kits are available at the Wayne County Extension Office in Honesdale at 570/616-0880, or the Pike County Extension Office in Milford at 570/832-2800.

When you plant blueberry bushes, try to plant two different varieties nearby for cross-pollination, and to increase your yield as well as the size of your berries, Morgan saiad. Amend your soil with garden soil (not topsoil), peat moss and Pro-Mix. Mix all three together when you plant your bushes. 

To feed or fertilize blueberry bushes, use Espoma Quick Solutions’ ammonium sulfate, Morgan said. This product has nitrogen, which blueberries like, and sulfur, which is acidic and helps keep the pH down. If you just need to add something to make the soil more acidic and lower the pH, you can just use Espoma Organic Traditions Soil Acidifier. If you want one general-purpose fertilizer to feed your plants, use Espoma Holly Tone, he recommended.

Fertilize blueberry bushes in the spring when the soil is moist so that it will be absorbed. If the soil is too cold, the plant isn’t that active, so it’s not really going to take in the fertilizer. 

To prune mature blueberry bushes, look for the biggest stem or branch you can find, take your loppers and cut it to the ground. This should be done in late winter, late February or early March.

Blueberries need sunlight; they need water; they need food; and they especially need mulch. It creates a barrier and protects against extreme temperatures and retains moisture. Although blueberries like moisture, they don’t like to be wet. When it gets too sunny and dry for them, Morgan said blueberry bushes are smart and protect themselves by rolling their leaves up from the bottom side in. This is so the top side isn’t exposed to the blistering sun.

A blueberry bush can take three to four years to bear fruit, but for many, it is worth the wait. When you plant a blueberry bush, for the first two or three years, you should pick the fruit off the blossoms and prune it off a little by cutting off the top few inches. This reduces “apical dominance,” makes the plant bush out, and stimulates root development. After three years, you can just let it go on its own.

In response to a question about bears eating blueberries, Morgan drew a comparison to the Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. He said though they loved picnic baskets and berries, the farm didn’t have a bear problem. Morgan said that once every year or two they had a bear that climbed a fence and came in. He said he did not get much damage from the deer, even in the winter, who preferred to eat the grass.

The Paupack Blueberry Farm is located at 184 Gumbletown Road in Paupack. The website is www.paupackblueberryfarm.com, and they are on Facebook, which is frequently updated. For more information, in late July, call 570/226-9702 or visit info@paupackblueberryfarm.com. 

The Country Gardeners meets on the first Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center, 126 Lamberton Lane in Hawley.