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Post by steev on Oct 18, 2011 2:00:29 GMT -5
I can't see the size of the pots; is it a 5 gallon or 15 gallon or what?
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 18, 2011 15:14:43 GMT -5
25 gallon plastic pots inside of clay pots.  |
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Post by canadamike on Oct 18, 2011 21:09:10 GMT -5
We had a huge bog around where I lived that is a UNESCO protected area, and this is where blueberries are. NOrth side ofthe house can still mean 6 hours or more of sunlight in the morning, as with my dad's cherry bushes, but also morning sunlight...afternoon sun can mean anything in terms of time depending on trees, it is not about hours but true sun exposure for a crop.
MIne had only a few hours. Large trees can be around with their canopy as long as minimum requirements are there...it is all about that...
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Post by olddog on Oct 20, 2011 10:46:32 GMT -5
heard it was ericoid? Here they do grow them in full sun, and use injecters with sulfuric acid to grow them in the alkaline clay. I like the sulfur idea, and pine needles and am going to try that. Thank you, Holly. I just have one plant so will see how it goes. I did read somewhere that the northern ones are understory, which you verified, and the southern ones grow more in the open, but will check on that. Time, time , time goes too fast, esp, when the short-term memory goes, and have to look up everything thrice. Olddog
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Post by steev on Oct 20, 2011 14:35:21 GMT -5
Before they became common nursery plants around here, I had a client in the Berkeley hills whose yard was a west-facing, rising slope, no shade whatsoever (although in the very moderate Bay Area climate ). He had two dozen varieties of blueberries growing very productively there.
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Post by wildseed57 on Oct 26, 2011 19:55:48 GMT -5
I did have six nice size plants that I had started a couple years back, they were doing just fine and were just starting to produce a good crop of berries. Then my Sister took in a stray dog and decided to keep it, all went well till last month and the dog decided to dig up and eat every bush I had planted, so now I will have to start over and buy some more plants. I wish the dog could have chewed up the goji berry plants insted of the blue berry bushes, but no she just had to eat the blueberry bushes. I might just stick to growing berry bushes that have thorns, maybe some red currants to go with the black ones I have. I just hope the dog leaves my peach and plum trees alone.
George W
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Post by steev on Oct 26, 2011 20:38:58 GMT -5
I think black currant sauce would go well with dog.
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Post by wildseed57 on Oct 26, 2011 21:15:16 GMT -5
I thought about that, but my sister would rather roast me than the dog.
George W.
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 26, 2011 22:12:58 GMT -5
George, Steev meant vole. You know he would never eat dog with currant sauce. Dogs a curse or a blessing, darned if you know what you are going to get when you take up a stray. Meet Adolph. A stray. A lousy specimen as a cat. He is a completely useless cat. Note scratch on nose, well, you should see the other guy. There's 5 of them out there now. Digging in the beds, fighting, sleeping...well you get the picture. But at least they don't eat blueberries! Attachments:
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Post by gray on Nov 26, 2011 19:55:54 GMT -5
I live in blueberry area of NC. Many farms. Many upicks. Really is a waste for me to grow them but I do. 60 bushes in my blueberry patch. Less than 3 miles from my house are two upicks with the prettiest bushes you have ever seen. 20 year old bushes with gobs of berries. My bushes are only 3 years so I still pick some at the other places. One lady has 4 acres of bushes. Planted in a bottom. Thats a wet spot. They do great. Biggest juiciest sweetest berries you can imagine. We have lots of wild bushes also. When they are in the shade my experience is they are not as sweet as ones grown in full sun. You really need full sun and good fertile soil. Our soil is acidic but everyone here still puts a shot of sulfur on each bush every year. They love sulfur. Also consistent water. Remember blueberries are like an azalea bush.
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Post by steev on Nov 29, 2011 19:59:42 GMT -5
Actually, I meant dog; don't ask your sister to cook it.
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Post by Al on Jan 4, 2015 13:28:04 GMT -5
I have 5 blueberry plants all different varieties, 4 of them in containers & they will probably stay in containers; eventually big Air-pots as these seem to keep root systems happy for longer, & of course I can use an Ericaceous compost. The oldest bush is in the ground & was looking more miserable every year despite lots of compost in the planting hole & a sprinkling of sulphur chips, some years I probably let it get a bit dry, not surprisingly it hardly fruited & some years dropped its leaves early. But last year I dumped a load of sulphur chips around it & a big sack of old coffee grounds from a college canteen, apparently coffee grounds are acidic & full of plant nutrients, I also watered frequently & the old Earlyblue is now a picture of health & gave a handful of berries. So with another sack of coffee & plenty of water I hope for a good yield next season, it is a bit peculiar having a strong smell of coffee in the air for a few weeks. Maybe there are other beverages our plants would enjoy? E.g. Red Bull, Coca Cola, these are barely fit for human consumption!
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Post by philagardener on Jan 4, 2015 13:57:37 GMT -5
Maybe there are other beverages our plants would enjoy? E.g. Red Bull, Coca Cola You might have to limit how many blueberries children are allowed to eat!  |
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Post by Gianna on Apr 22, 2016 22:34:34 GMT -5
Time to bump the blueberry thread again. 
I grow about 70 plants, 12-15? varieties, all in pots. I want to get back down to 50. Native soil is close to pH8, so pots is the only way to go. In my part of SoCal, the winter chill is about nil, so the only plants that are successful are Southern Highbush with a winter chill of about 300 or less. The 300's are often marginal, but you never know till you try them. 1-200 is better, but that is limiting. Sweetcrisp is the stand-out variety here in terms of flavor and texture.
We are still in a drought, and growing berries has been a struggle since out water district was forced to switch from reservoir water to well water - and it's horrible. My plants started declining even though I was acidifying the water (sulfuric/battery acid). I realized I had to switch to collecting my own rain water which I was able to do this past winter, our rainy season. I have about 4,000+ gals saved. The plan is to mix that with some acidified tap water (2/3 rainwater:1/3 tap) to get me through to the next rains... maybe next Oct/nov.
I've been watering them with rainwater since an odd storm passed through last August. And the plants have responded wonderfully. They are green and lush and thriving after a few years of malaise.
Right now the berries are getting ripe, and heading into prime picking season. That lasts usually into June, but not sure that will happen this year because they all bloomed so early. Flowering started last November.
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Post by philagardener on Apr 23, 2016 5:23:12 GMT -5
I have long wondered about the public water systems from which we drink. My houseplants much prefer rainwater, but in some places out West (like CO) it's even against the law to collect it from your downspouts. Glad to hear you have a solution that works for you!
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