Posted on 02/01/2012 5:32:19 AM PST by orsonwb
Complete planting guide for blueberries including state specific varieties, harvest dates, nutrition facts, planting, watering, fertilizing, pruning, insect and disease information...
(Excerpt) Read more at howdogardener.com ...
No kiddin!
We just plopped ‘en in a planter, as we would any other plant and they were terrible.
Strawberries too!
An interesting article ping
Really? I know that the best place to look for wild blueberries is in an area that has been burned over. I would have guessed that blueberries liked high pH because wood ash would tend to alkalize the soil.
I planted three blueberry bushes last year and am adding three more this year. Slowly but surely I am landscaping with trees and bushes that produce something edible....in addition to having a nice-sized garden (spinach, kale and lettuce are still producing in my cold frame).
You might be interested in the Weekly Gardening thread here on FReeRepublic: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2838873/posts
Pine needles are also good for maintaining a low ph soil.
Bttt
In Western Washington State, blueberries grow wild - they are called huckleberries - the only differences between cultivated blueberries and huckleberries are size and seed count. Huckleberry is smaller and has one less seed. Also there is a larger variety with grows high in the Cascades.
How does one get added to this weekly post? I have never seen it before.
Blueberry ping!
One year I had the pine trees trimmed on my property. All branches went through the wood chipper and then on the blueberry beds. I had enough blueberries that year to even share with the birds!
Guess where my Christmas trees end up now!
An interesting site and a welcome change from politics.
A mature blueberry bush is one of the easiest plants to maintain.
They don’t need insecticide. Fungus was rarely a problem. They seem to thrive in crappy soil (thin soil that has clay underneath - very common in Connecticut). The bushes really don’t need to be pruned. Except for flower-to-fruit time, they are pretty tolerant of drought.
Just spread pine needles under the plant once a year. Cover the plant with netting after they’re done flowering to keep the birds away. Then you get a two month supply of berries.
I had blueberries at a previous home that I owned. I also had apple trees, pear trees, cherry trees and concord grapes. My present property doesn’t have the full sun that blueberries require. Otherwise, I’d have planted them long ago.
Hmmmmm and the alkaline water . . . Sigh.
OK, back to the drawing board.
Now to find the proper mulch etc.
Yeah, once I read it doesn’t tolerate alkaline water I gave up on that idea.
Drat those birds.
I planted two bearing bushes last year—I’m in Burlington County NJ where the blueberry was first cultivated commercially. I figured I’d lose some to birds but I’d still get most of them—that’s what always happened with our raspberries.
The birds ate every single one. Gonna have to do the netting like you said.
I’ve read different things about the pine needles—that they may not acidify the soil as was previously thought. The argument went that pines just tend to grow in naturally acidic soil. *shrug*. I don’t know myself. But I tend toward the natural, organic style of gardening so I’d rather mulch with pine needles than dump sulfur in my yard. I take it you had good success with pine mulch?
Just go to the thread and click on reply (to JustaDumbBlonde) and ask her to put you on the ping list.
;-)
Oh wow....so the pine needles definitely worked for you?
I read some website that said pine needles were useless to modify pH. Sounds like in your case it worked like a charm. I shoulda never let that site talk me out of it.
Thanks, I want to plant blueberries and this will help.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.