So before I ask the question, yes I know that there is no simple formula here. I know the plants you’re growing matters, the soil type, the humidity, mulch or no mulch etc etc. all matters. But what are the general guidelines for growing established in ground fruiting bushes like blueberries, honeyberries, raspberries etc. During their first two years I was watering somewhat regularly depending on the conditions outside but now that they’re well established, I question if I need to water much at all at this point.
So my question isn’t so much, tell me exactly how often to water but how exactly do identify when I should water for maximal fruit production? I’ve heard checking the top 2 inches for moisture is one trick but many of these bushes have root systems that reach well over a foot in depth.
The simple option is wait until wilt. The more established the longer the time. I find even in my dry climate first year perennial only needed to be watered once a week. After 4 years you may not have to water some perennial at all. My ivy and crabapple never get watered.
Several manufacturers for the agricultural industry make sensors that are placed at depth and then transmit to computer peripherals. Davis Instruments is one example. If this is out of your budget, then you’ll need recommendations from members here that live and grow those plants in your locale.
Getting little fruit is common with certain kinds of trees where I live. While we generally get a bunch of apples that could be eaten in our neighborhood our crabapples go to the birds and squirrels. You cannot let a strawberry fully ripen here even with netting because squirrels will get them before you. A home grown strawberry not ripe is still mountains above the store bought ones though. Trees are pretty drought resistant other than dwarf rootstocks. When things get complicated is with things like strawberries. Brambles and trees require little to no water after a few years in ground. Something like strawberries you will lose all if not all of your strawberry plants pretty quickly in the event of no watering where I am.
We have had no rain to speak of since late June, so much of my weekly watering for raspberries, blueberries, and honey berries was mainly to keep the plants producing fruit as long as they had berries to ripen. Ever other day and watering deep seemed to be required for production. Once the fruit is picked; however, you need to think about fruit buds for next year. You have to keep watering most of summer to meet that requirement for all berries. At least once weekly and deep watering if your berries are well mulched. If we accidentally get a big shower I might skip a week
Dennis
Kent, wa
My method is to use “sentinel” plants to gauge the level of drought in my garden. These are one or two plants that start to show signs of wilting before all the rest. When I see that, I water everything, of course that is if there’s no rain in the forecast. If there’s rain coming, I wait another day
I’m sorry, but that seems to me like a terrible waste of water. Are you talking about mulched plants. I used to grow fruit in S. CA a few miles inland where seasons were hot and dry. I would give mulched trees a deep watering about once every two weeks. My soil had lots of organic matter mixed into it increasing the amount of available water and I realize all soils are different but here the standard rec for healthy plants during drought is to provide the equivalent of an inch of rain water per week. That’s a one size fits all type of rec, which means you can improve on it with improved soil and mulch.
I’ve never grown fruit in the desert so can’t speak for that, but I remember in the high desert of N.Mex. the irrigation canals only provided water one or two days a week.
I’m experiencing drought right now and have only gotten an inch of rain in the last month and same in July- It hasn’t affected any of my peach or apple trees yet and I’m harvesting huge peaches at the moment. My lawn looks terrible- haven’t bothered to mow it for over a month and it only needs it near plants I’m watering. .
Some water stress in the 2-3 weeks before harvest tends to elevate brix and overall flavor, although in my climate drought is also accompanied by more clear sunny days which also has to elevate brix. .
So, they say water 1 inch per week. That’s fine for a sprinkler because you can put a can under underneath the spray and see if you get one inch. But how do you measure it if you use a soaker hose?
Im about to start using a soaker hose (for my vegetable garden). I imagine I’ll just be doing some trial and error, sticking my finger in the soil, etc
All the berry plants mentioned in the original post are not particularly drought tolerant. I get better growth and production with proper watering. I don’t like carrying gadgets around the garden so I use my finger. It also lets me know if soil has proper structure, loose, well draining etc. Blueberries tend to have mat like roots that don’t run that deep. Wider than deeper on old plants. So I tend to watch those plants a little closer. Good luck with it.
Most of my berries are new this year so I can’t really speak much to fruit production as of yet, but I did implement the Davis Instruments soil moisture sensors on each of my drip irrigation zones so I could calibrate watering optimally. I have the sensor buried at about the middle of where I expect the root to be for one plant in each zone (so one blueberry, one raspberry, two honeyberries, etc.)
I’m finding that, attempting to keep below an optimal 30 cb of moisture, typically takes me about one inch once per week on the blueberries and raspberries (which are in containers) and typically around an inch spread equally three times a week for the honeyberries (which are planted in the ground). Plants look healthy (other than the honeyberries which are in their summer doldrums at the moment but I expect that) and I’ve had a decent amount of first year berry production (more blueberries and raspberries, fewer honeyberries) maintaining those moisture levels.
I’m obviously calibrating to the moisture sensor, not to what the plant actually wants/needs, but that’s where I’ve landed.
Obviously your mileage will vary widely depending on type of soil, environmental conditions, rainfall (numbers above assume none – I have a saturation skip when we do get rainfall), etc. I also used a fair bit of DE in the soil mix for the planters and, to some extent, in the ground plantings as well and my sense is that it’s helping to hold water very effectively and reducing my need to water, although I have no scientific proof.
Curious findings:
The planters (with a decent amount of DE) dry out very, very slowly. I could probably reduce below 1 inch per week and still be fine. I don’t know if it’s the DE or being in a confined space or the soil mix that I added, but I’m really surprised how little water they need.
It’s the exact opposite with the in-ground plants. I water and the moisture disappears very quickly. I have three sensors in the ground in different parts of my yard, two of them on opposite ends of the same zone, and they all have slightly different profiles: one loses moisture rapidly over 36 hours, one loses moisture over about 48 hours, and one is probably fine for 4-5 days. As I have relatively little DE and non-native soil for those plantings (to avoid ending up with a massive root ball and nothing else), I’m guessing it’s all about soil composition. The one that dries out quickly visibly seems to have much more sand in the mix than the other two.
Sorry for the long post, but just thought I’d share some of my preliminary data.
Soils that have a lot of peat moss or coco coir as well as vermiculite with little perlite retain water. Perlite is a higher drainage tool and vermiculite is a lower drainage tool. Peat moss or coco coir will be in everything but some more so than others. If you have drought resistant plants or a drought resistant rootstock like M111 for apples it will also reduce the amount of moisture needed. I tried a mix of pure peat moss on a mulberry and mulberries are drought resistant. The soil measured at a maximum soil moisture reading for nearly a year. Even in a pot I could have watered it less than once a season and allow the snow to do the work. Keep in mind I live in CO where it is hot and dry during summers until August. Too much or too prolonged moisture can be bad too because it can cause root rot in adult plants. Seedlings can dampen off with too much moisture.
My mother has a drip hose. She will spend a few hours on a fairly small area. I have a few areas that span much longer than her area and will spend a hour and likely 3x less time she spends in one time with that. She also does it 2x a week while I do it 1x a week and have stretched it out to 1x every two weeks with some minor wilt. During fall when things cool down she cuts it to 1x a week but I will cut it down to 1x every two weeks to 1x every month. I have all my plants in pots while she has hers all in ground too mind you.
That may explain my remarkable moisture retention in the planters… the blueberries are in a mix with a very high concentration of peat moss and the raspberries aren’t far behind. I have no peat moss in the in-ground plantings I monitor for moisture. Interesting.
Raspberries are also very drought resistant. Blueberries grow in Main naturally where it is more wet and soil is extremely acidic. Raspberries grow naturally in places like Colorado where it is more dry. I know places in the mountains where it grows naturally. Raspberries also grow naturally in Rocky Mountain National Park in CO.