In midsummer, forest blueberries can be collected as an aromatic fruit treat in between on shady walks in the forest. However, collecting in the forest can be dangerous.

The special location requirements of forest blueberries

Forest blueberries grow mainly in bog areas, where you should watch out for swampy areas and protruding roots when walking. However, berries picked in the forest should never be eaten unwashed on site, as they can be contaminated with pathogens of the fox tapeworm, which is also dangerous for humans. If you want to cut forest blueberries to avoid this danger in the fenced garden, you will have to replace a lot of soil material in most cases. Forest blueberries, like cultivated blueberries, need acidic soil with a pH between 4.0 and 5.0 for healthy development. You can obtain this by digging more wide than deep at the planned location and filling it with peat and similarly acidic soil substrates.

Forest blueberries compared to cultivated blueberries

Even with the best care, you will never be able to get the large harvest quantities from the wild blueberry plants as you can from the specially cultivated blueberries. Since forest blueberries usually do not grow much higher than 40 centimeters, the amount of fruit that ripens on the branches is relatively limited. On the other hand, the fruits have a more aromatic taste than the larger cultivated blueberries and have the juice that stains the tongue and fingers blue, which is characteristic of blueberries. In contrast to the sun-loving cultivated blueberries, you should rather plant forest blueberries in partial shade. Once properly planted, forest blueberries do not require any additional watering or pruning, unlike cultivated blueberries.

Forest blueberries as an easy-care ground cover

Due to their extremely moderate growth, even in the long term, and the natural willingness to reproduce, blueberries are suitable for use as an inexpensive ground cover in shady garden areas and on slopes. If you find good conditions, wild blueberries will propagate in the following ways:

  • self seeding
  • lowering
  • root suckers

They shield the light from the ground and thus prevent the emergence of tall weeds. As a pleasant side effect, the fruits can be harvested right around the house in midsummer.

tips and tricks

Forest blueberries are rarely available as plants in specialist garden shops. But before you use wild plants from a piece of forest, you should definitely ask the forest owner or the responsible forest office for permission.

Category:

Vegetable garden