Blueberry Orchard today

I give 1 and 2nd year blues one cup of HollyTone/Cottonseed Meal every 6-8 weeks starting in early Feb and again toward end of March and again one last time in mid May. That completes their feeding for the year. Once they reach 3rd year I give 2 cups each feeding.
Also here is the last two of eight northerns I have left. Not nearly as productive and vigorous as my rabbiteyes and SHBs.

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You may very have explained the problems I’ve had with my pink lemonade. I honestly hadn’t noticed it blooming earlier, but that very well could have resulted in freezing losses OR a lack of pollination. My blue berries are sort of out of the way and since I don’t spray them I just don’t pay as much attention to them as my other fruits. Next year I’m going to keep a close eye out to see if they are my first bloomers and if that explains the probelm- either due to freeze or lack of pollinators. Thanks…

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My pink lemonade blooms on the late side well after northern highbush and lowbush. It does not set a lot of fruits and they are small in size.

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thanks maria…sounds just like mine so maybe its just not a very productive berry.

Finally got the 4 bloobs fertilized, gave them about a cup of Hollytone each. Plus added some more pine straw mulch, so that should do it for them a while.

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Sounds good. Yep. I would do same thing again in 6 weeks and then again in early spring 2018. :+1:

My two blue berry plants.Blue Crop purchased for $3 bigger plant in bigger pot when purchased last fall.Elliot was smaller and bought for $1! Now Elliot has outgrown Blue Crop. They are both doing ok I think but Blue Crop is getting attacked by something. Just wanted to show off my blue berry “orchard” :slightly_smiling_face:

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It’s going to be my best year for Bluberries!

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Wow! Those do look terrific!!

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It takes time, but it’s worth it.

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John,
What variety and how long it takes to grow that big?

After five years of growing blueberry, I gave up. Hard to keep the soil ph down with our town’s well water. We don’t have a rain water barrel. I ay try to fix the problem and grow blueberry again in the future.

Cape Cod soil is so good for acid loving plants. The Cape’s hydrengias are so blue.

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It’s been 6 or seven now for the ones over 6 feet, I throw some Hollytone around them once in the spring. Yes I just planted them in the soil when I cleared the woods away so they must like it. They weren’t the tiniest ones either they were twenty to thirty dollar bushes possibly. Never saved the tags, so no clue what they are. I planted a small row last year and those are Duke, Elliot and Elizebeth. Enclosing them with a removable top netting for the winter snow has really kept the birds away and nice and roomy for me to walk in.

I bought the $25 a pot for instant gratification, too. I even planted the last few bluebery bushes in 100% peat. I used ammonium sulfate, Miracid and sulfur. I had 7 bushes for 5 years. None grew taller than3-4 ft.

In my situation, it was the water. Our well water is so alkaline, it causes rings on toilet bowls. I need to install a rain barrel. Otherwise, I won’t win the ph battle.

I still miss Chandler. The berries were large, the taste was good. I like blueberries that taste more sweet than tart.

I remember working out in auburn and the water and ice machines needed special filters because of the hard water. Would coat things like plague on your teeth. Funny the one bush I pulled was a bush marked Chandler. It’s wasn’t, the bush stayed small and so did the berries. I like any Blueberry.

Great looking blueberry plants! Looks like a banner year for us as well.

Why water them at all? You get plenty of acid rain in Mass. Just mulch with pine bark and pine needles. Peat moss, perlite, and pine bark mulch in raised bed. Done.

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Matt,
Don’t forget blueberry has shallow roots and does not like to be dried out. B
It is true, for the most part, spring rain is plenty. It is the summer rain that is not consistent. Watering is needed, definitely esp. for younger plants. Worse, last year we had a drought.

My friend who lives a town away is surrounded by pine trees, her soil is more acidic than mine naturally. Her town water has lower ph. She does not need to work hard to lower her soil ph for her blueberry bushes at all. That’s where all my seven blueberry bushes moved to.

I have several bushes of blueberries growing in the trench filled with pit moss. We have hot and somewhat dry summers, but blueberries usually do not need any watering. The bushes are heavily mulched with oak leaves and when I put my hand under mulch it is wet in there. The pit moss retains the water really well. I also have very alkaline water so I do not want to water them much.

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I never water my blueberries. They do fine with just plenty of mulch.

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To each, their own. After trying all kinds of tricks for five years, I gave up. My blueberries did Ok but not as vigorous as they should. Too much work for what I got in return.

If or when I set up rain barrels, I would try growing them again. No place for potted blueberries, figs have taken those spaces.

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