Connacht Gold Garden Centres

They can delay the signs of aging, promote circulatory and urinary health, are good for our brains and our eyesight.

Go into any supermarket though and they're not all that cheap to buy. The upside is they're not to difficult to grow, but they MUST be planted in and acidic soil. The test would be if the hydrangeas in a garden are blue, then blueberries can be grown in the open soil. If the hydrangeas in the area are not blue, it will be essential to test the soil using a pH test-kit, and these are available from garden centres and they are adequately accurate.

If the soil acidity is suitable, the plants can be grown in the open ground and this is the best way to grow them because they can root out properly and take up the nutrients and water they need. If the soil is to limey it will be necessary to grow them in a large tub or pit, using ericaceous compost.

The plants are self fertile but will perform better when planted with a partner. Plants do not produce fruit until they are four years old. Pruning is not needed for the first three years, except to shape the bushes a little. After that, some of the older shoots can be removed at, or close to, ground level, in the same way as for blackcurrants to encourage new shoots from the base. About one in four shoots should be removed in this manner each year to maintain a rotation of new wood, which carries the biggest fruits, and to keep the bushes to a neat size.

The fruits normally begin to ripen in late July and August, depending somewhat on the weather earlier. The first fruits are the largest and juiciest. Ripe fruit is dark-blue with a waxy bloom and it is usually ripe about one week after it turns colour. Prematurely picked fruit does not ripen properly and can be very insipid. The plants need to be picked over regularly during the fruit ripening period. Excess fruit can be held in a refrigerator for up to one month, or frozen or pulped and frozen as pulp or juice.