Was wondering if olpea or any other locals had tried them. If so what varieties do you like and what issues have you had? I’m not even a big fan of fresh blueberries but love them in baked goods. Thanks for any input.
Hey Borer,
I’ve tried blueberries, but have to admit not been that successful at them. Part of my problem is that I didn’t have the soil right before I planted them. I thought I could change the pH of the soil fast enough it wouldn’t matter, but it didn’t turn out that way. MO soil has a pretty high CEC which means it’s hard to adjust the pH.
I think I planted about 10 different varieties and have about 1/2 of them left.
All that said I know blueberries can be very successfully grown in MO. The largest blueberry farm in MO is only 3 miles from my peach orchard. It’s called “The Berry Patch” and it’s the largest blueberry farm in MO.
I will mention they use drip irrigation. As you know we can have some pretty hot dry summers and my thought is that blueberries won’t tolerate the heat without some water because they are shallow rooted.
Hmm it’s sounding like I might just be better off going to the berry patch lol. Thanks for your insight and for talking me out of more plants. If I liked them fresh I might be willing to work hard for them but I don’t and I won’t.
If you’re making blueberry pies, muffins & pancakes, then you’ll want to try the lowbush varieties selected out of Maine & Nova Scotia (Vaccinium Angustofolium). These include:
-Wild lowbush blueberry (patches available for purchase from Fedco; plant in spring or fall)
-Brunswick (Raintree)
-Burgundy (Raintree)
These are your classic “Down East Maine” pie blueberries. Same as you’ll find along the Appalachian Trail, too. One of the few fruits truly native to North America. Small in size but unsurpassed in flavor. They are short, but plant them in raised beds of peet moss, and they’ll multiply via underground runners. They love full sun but can tolerate part shade. They are super cold hardy. Virtually indestructible once established in nice acid soil. Just keep the rabbits & varmints from nibbling at them.
I love to cook with fruit. i have to add some of these low bush types. They would feel at home here.
Some huckleberries too.
If you add a lot of peat moss and add some sulfur from time to time, I do not see it is going to be a problem. It is very hard to find any native soil that acid to grow blueberry. I can think about the pine barren region in south NJ, but that is mostly decayed vegetation and near the waterway.
They can also be grown in containers.That’s what most of mine are in.Pine bark mulch and peat moss are all that’s needed. Brady
I use containers and raised beds. Both work very well!
Also western MI is all sand and producers the largest amount of Northern High Bush berries in the USA… Acres and acres of blueberries can be seen there.
What do you all think of grafting onto farkleberry (V. arboreum) and then not having to worry about soil issues like pH?
I saw the article where (Oregon State University?)was doing that and was first growing Farkleberry(Sparkleberry)into a single stalk,so I wanted to try it.I’ve had two plants for a couple years and they have kind of a floppy,thin stem growth habit,so I’m not sure how they were able to get the single,thicker trunk to happen.I’m still going let these grow and maybe try grafting as they get bigger. Brady
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