With increasing consumer demand for edible ornamentals, Vineland says it has been focusing on new technology for growing more potted plants including blueberries.

“We’ve developed a new organic growing substrate suitable to the production of plants in containers, such as blueberries,” said Dr. Youbin Zheng, Research Scientist, Environmental Horticulture, Vineland. “In addition, we’ve also devised protocols for growing potted blueberry plants using granular organic, liquid organic or conventional controlled-release fertilisers.”

The growing substrate and production protocols are effective for blueberries and similar plant species.

Vineland says that growers can now use this information to produce a larger number of edible ornamentals to supply the marketplace so consumers can grow their own in backyards or balconies.

The production protocols will be available free of charge to interested growers by the end of September 2016.

This project was supported by the Canadian Ornamental Horticulture Alliance (COHA) research and innovation cluster and is funded in part through the AgriInnovation Program under Growing Forward 2 (GF2). GF2 is a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The Agricultural Adaptation Council assists COHA in the delivery of this research and innovation cluster.

The following companies have provided research materials: Willowbrook Nurseries, Millenniumsoils Coir, Biofert Manufacturing Inc., Blue Sky Nursery Limited, ICL Specialty Fertilizers and Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors Inc.

For more information, visit: vinelandresearch.com