It is known that breeding blueberries is a job that can make you a good profit, primarily because of the excellent taste and great popularity of this berries. There is currently a huge demand for these fruit in the market. But blueberries are plants that require acidic and well-drained soil, which can sometimes be difficult to satisfy. That’s why we decided to introduce you to a plant that represents an excellent replacement for blueberries. We think of juneberries that are very similar to blueberries, but they do not require the quality of the land that is needed for blueberries. Therefore, we will present you some of the benefits and advantages of juneberries. So, let’s start.

Juneberries are also known in some areas as “saskatoon berry”

It is characteristic for ​​Canada. This plant is grown on plantations throughout Canada for wholesale. The problem is that the current market of juneberries is actually not big . In Europe juneberries have their cousin serviceberry. We must mention that juneberries in the United States are cultivated very little. On the other hand, there are a number of plantations in Canada, more precisely, they are planted on 900 plantations with a total area of ​​3200 acres.

Juneberries are fruit that is really suitable for cultivation in many climatic conditions. They very well sustain frosts, and even when they have flowers. They bloom in mid-June, as their name says. As for fruits, they can be harvested after 45 to 60 days after they flourish. As we said earlier, they are very suitable for many types of land. For example, you can cultivate them on acid soils with Ph from 4.8 to 8.0, but they are also good for sandy or rocky soils. The only problem for them is too much humid soil. It is precisely this adaptability to different types of soil that has an advantage over blueberries.

Their origins are from North America, especially in Canada. The climate of these areas that is most suitable for these plants. They like cold and dry weather, without much precipitation. If it is grown on a wet basis, then certain diseases such as powdery mildew and fungal diseases can occur, especially on young plants.

The mature fruits of juneberries are quite similar to those of blueberries. They are small, the color is dark purple and it is best to eat them while they are fresh, but they are also good if you leave them in the fridge, because they do not lose shape and taste, which is slightly weaker than the taste of blueberries.

When we talk about nutritional values, juneberries are great for everyone, but because of their properties, they seem to have been made for athletes.

An ordinary fruit of juneberry contains 18% sugar and 80% water. If we compare them with blueberries, they have a higher amount of calcium, natural fiber, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. This makes them excellent for everyday usage and great for health.

It should also be noted that they have a higher amount of iron than blueberries, and they also have many vitamins such as vitamin A, C, E and B-6. They also have numerous compounds that are very useful, such as thiamine, pantothenic acid, riboflavin and others.

The most important things that you need to pay attention to when cultivating these berries are weeds. June needs no other plants in the area where they grow at least two or three years. The best solution is to use a black fabric mulch which is some kind of cover and is an excellent anti-weed agent. In this way you will surely protect your planting and you will not have problems.

If you decide to plant juneberries, you will need to take care of the proper width of the rows as well as the distance between each plant. When we talk about the distance between the rows, it is necessary to be 10 to 12 feet, while the distance between the plants needs to be 4 feet.

As we mentioned earlier in the text, at present, the market of these berries is small, so it is difficult to find seedlings, but it is not impossible. There is a nursery in Canada where they can be found.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County is leading a project that enables testing of some types of juneberries. Four plantations signed contracts with them and in that way enabled the testing of a number of plants.