Blueberries Are The Jewels of Gardening

Personal gardening this year is booming. More and more peopleare realizing that they can control what additives or chemicalsare put into their food supply. Besides the nutritional andhealth benefits, gardening is just plain fun. The work can betedious and tiring, but the rewards are in the harvest - youexperience a thrill during the "growing" season as your menuplans include "just picked" and couldn't be any fresher fruits,vegetables, and herbs. Home grown flowers adorn your table andeven children can pick and enjoy tossing a sun warmed cherrytomato into their mouths, instead of candy or other sugar-ladentreats. There is one fruit that can be grown with a lot of successwherever you might live. In fact, certain varieties can even begrown in containers on a patio, porch, or deck. Blueberries havecome into their own because of the beneficial properties theycontain. You can find "wild" blueberries in forests and alongwaysides when you go camping, hiking, or fishing. These aretasty morsels that will get your inspiration headed to pies,tarts, cereal toppers, french toast, etc. In the local stores, they can run up to $5.00 a pint when theseason is early. However, if you freeze your bounty from oneyear to the next - and they do freeze beautifully - you canfeature "blueberries" at your Easter celebrations. If you choosethe early or mid-blooming varieties, you will have edible blue-berries quicker, to add to breakfast, dinner, and even picnics. Blueberries thrive in acidic soil, much like azaleas, andrhododendrons. A quick trick if your soil may not be justperfect, add your used morning coffee grounds to the base ofyour blueberry plants and you will see them thrive and blossombeautifully. Low bush blueberry plants make excellent and veryedible land- scaping plants. They are one of nature's "gorgeous"members - you will be very impressed. You can purchase your blueberry plants from reliable nurseriesor through garden catalogs, but now is the best time to orderthem. Read the planting instructions carefully, and remember, ifyou care for your plant, it will last many, many years. They aredefinitely a "keeper" and will reward your choice with luscious,juicy, deep blue berries that enliven many recipes. Blueberries are one of the top sources of antioxidants, whichare translated into cancer prevention and a reduction in celldamage in your body. It has also been studied as to blueberriesbeing rich sources of anthocyanins that help ward off heartattacks and can even slow macular degeneration. Blueberriescontain vitamin C and are about 40 calories for an entire cup ofthese berries. They taste great, are nature sweetened, and theyadd lunch bucket enjoyment to carry lunches or even snackchoices for car trips and extra energy when you are hiking orwalking in your favorite park or forest area. Blueberries are fun, healthy, and even kids won't turn themdown. Fresh off the bush or in a bowl of cereal, you have aberry that delivers what today's families can't find inprocessed or packaged foods - freshness, easy to grow, and adelight to serve to family and friends. It's almost blueberry time - what are you waiting for?
Somethingto think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009