Blueberries

Blueberries

• pointsevenout 13 years ago
  Decided to try to grow a patch of blueberries.
  Blueberries love acidic soil at 4.5 on the PH scale. Unfortunately my soil is 7.0 (dead neutral).
  So I'm going to have to build an acidic soil on top of my existing soil. Just finished roto-tilling up the area to be used. It will be two rows of 6 plants placed six foot on center in row with a ten foot strip between them.
  Will keep any weeds and grasses put out by spraying until planting time for the berry plants this fall.
  In the mean time the two planting strips will get a three foot wide addition of acidic humus, shredded evergreen bark and peat moss. That's 84 cubic feet of each addition. Also some soil sulfur and cottonseed meal.
  Will 'till the soil conditioners into the rows and cover with a landscape fabric. Soil testing will have to be done half way through summer and adding anything needed. Tested again for 4.5 on the PH scale before planting.
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• pointsevenout 13 years ago said:
  PLAN 2!
  Acidic soil is going to cost too much to plant strips of blueberries in the soil.
  We are going to pots to cut the cost. More later.
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• pointsevenout 13 years ago said:
  Three more pots set up with soil for blueberries.
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• pointsevenout 12 years ago said:
  Twelve large pots with soil for blueberries set up. Now to find whom to order from. Going to have fifteen plants total. All northern highbush with the largest berries that can be found. Selected northern highbush because of the longer chill requirement.
  Don't want those with a low chill requirement because they might bloom too early and get caught with a late frost.
  We get 1100 hours/10 year averaged chill, which is fine for all northern highbush.
  I don't know what kind of blueberries our existing three plants are. Mother got them from somewhere and they were languishing in the ground soil. Soon as I got them in the acid lovers soil they started leafing out all over and I think growing too. I'll have to do a closer inspection.
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• pointsevenout 12 years ago said:
  Waited too late to get any additional blueberry plants ordered for this year. But the pots are ready for next year.
  Our three plants are really taking off. Had to spray them with an insecticide for Japanese beetles since I shooed them off the grape vines.
  Took a picture but will have to bonus it onto the grapevine trellis pictures recipe.
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