Growing Blueberries in South Texas

I bought two blueberry plants from Raintree Nursery a couple of years ago. I’m really enjoying having my own supply. This is today’s haul:

The plants are still small, but they’re still young. Blueberries need acidic soil and lots of water. They have a shallow root system. You can solve these issues by planting them in raised beds with irrigation and giving them acidic fertilizers specifically made for acid loving plants.

My blueberries are in one of my vegetable beds. This spring they will be protected from the heat and sun by the corn. Once the corn is out, I’ll plant some squash and that will shade these, too. These plants don’t do well with alkaline soil, heat or drought. Which basically describes my growing conditions. Raised beds are the only option down here.

So, yes. Even in south Texas with our basic soil and water, if you put the time in: you can grow blueberries. Look for rabbit eye. They do best in our conditions (although I am growing Misty and Sunshine blueberries.) Raintree nursery has a large selection of blueberries. Make sure you pick some that are low chill and will blossom at the same time for cross pollination. Like almost every fruiting plant: the berries get better as the plant matures. Plus, never water the day before you harvest. For the best tasting fruit, you should make sure that the plants haven’t recently been soaked in excess water.

Meet you out in the garden, for handfuls of blueberries!

Crazy Green Thumbs

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4 thoughts on “Growing Blueberries in South Texas”

We bought a couple blue berry bushes last year. Right now they are in large pots and are just now putting on leaves. I look forward to having our own berries too! Do you have any problems with deer? I’m thinking of expanding the size of our fenced in little garden so that the blue berries are protected like they are now.

crazygreenthumbs says:

April 22, 2024 at 8:01 am

Sometimes I get deer in my front yard but I mostly get rabbits, mice, squirrels and rats in the backyard, because of the privacy fence that we have. It at least keeps the deer out! I am putting up fencing around my beds this year because of the pest issue. I lose too much otherwise and I don’t want to share with them! Thanks for the comment! I appreciate the visit.

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Blueberries dislike the slightly alkaline soil of the Santa Clara Valley, but perform reasonably well in the slightly acidic soil of portions of the Santa Cruz Mountains above. I was not so keen on growing any because I know how wimpy they are in town, but now that I brought some here from there, they are growing much better. pH really makes a difference.