There is a way to get free blueberry plants from store-bought blueberries.
It will give you a sustainable source of fruit for as long as you like. All you need is a blender, some store-bought blueberries, paper towels, a ziplock bag, and a little bit of water.
Use only American blueberries if you are in the United States.
Before we begin, it should be noted that if you are doing this in the United States it will only work with blueberries that were American grown. The reason for this is that the law states all imported food needs to be radiated.
What this means is that a low level of radiation is used to kill off any bugs or pests but this also makes the seeds inviable and therefore unable to be used for this method.
Make sure to freeze the blueberries first.
Another step you should ensure not to skip over is that your blueberries need to have been placed in a freezer for an extended period beforehand. This is because blueberries are perennial and their seeds need to have been put through winter or simulated winter conditions.
Throw them in the back of your freezer for about 3 weeks and the berries will be properly conditioned. Essentially what is happening here is that the blueberries are being tricked into thinking that winter has come, they have fallen to the ground, and now it’s time to reproduce again for next season.
Throw the blueberries into a blender.
So now you have non-radiated blueberries that have sat in your freezer for 3 weeks. Your next step is to put them in a blender. Add a fair amount of water and blend for about 10 seconds. All the seeds should fall to the bottom of your blender.
At this point, you can run the liquid through a strainer to make sure you have gotten all the seeds. Then pour out the liquid but don’t worry the seeds will always remain at the bottom of your jar.
None of the seeds will be damaged by the blender either because they are too small.
Place paper towel inside a ziplock bag.
Next, you will want to create a seedbed for your seeds. Fold some paper towel several times for extra thickness and then put in a ziplock bag. Put a little bit of water on the paper towel. Just enough water so that it is absorbed entirely by the paper towel and there is no extra drippage.
Put your seeds in the seedbed.
The next step is to take the seeds you collected from the berries and place them inside the seedbed. Smear the seeds as evenly as possible over the paper towel. Seal the bag up and put it in a warm and dark location such as a pantry.
Enjoy blueberries in 2-3 weeks
After about 2-3 weeks your blueberries should begin to sprout. At this point, you will want to move them to a soilless potting mix for them to grow. Now, you’ve got some blueberries growing and the seeds were totally free!
Learn more about how to get free blueberry plans in the video below.
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