Depending on your soil, blueberries can be difficult to grow. Or, maybe I should rephrase that and say "depending on how much effort you want to put into them", they can be hard to grow.
We have a beautiful blueberry farm down the road from us. They sell the bushes and several years ago, I bought a couple. Long story short, while everything else seems to grow out of control in my yard, I could not get the bushes to grow. When I went back to the farm to get some advice, I was told the bushes need constant feeding with organic matter and that I would have to consistently test the soil to make sure the ph was right. In the end, I decided it was too much work and pay to pick my own off their farm.
I'm trying to think about where you live and am wondering if people grow blueberries successfully there. I grew up in Southern Iowa and never knew anyone to grow blueberries, so I'm not sure if they'll work in your area or not. However, I'd think you'd have an easy time with raspberries or blackberries if you could put up with the thorns. What about grapes? They'd grow well there.
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I have several bushes on the side of my house and they do produce after a few years now. I don't really know how to care for them...but tend to treat them like the rest of my yard and they do just fine.
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They like acid soil and have to cross pollinate. If your soil isn't acidic, you can amend with peat moss. I remember looking at one gardening site that would help a person figure out which varieties would grow best in their zone - I'm sure a lot of them can do that. Most of them like to get cold in the winter, and they can certainly do that where you live.
Blackberries are no-brainers. Plant thornless varieties for easier picking. Raspberries are super-easy, too.
Strawberries are loads of fun and produce quickly, which is nice while you're waiting around for everything else to produce.
We put in six blueberry bushes in the fall, so we'll see what happens this summer. Our area produces alot of berries, so I'm thinking the climate is right. I'm just going to try and relax about it and see how they do. Dave already mowed over one, which upset me HUGELY. Now I have tomato cages around them all until they're a bit sturdier, just for visibility.
Kerri
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Blueberries grow best in a bog. Literally, like a peat bog. If you want them to grow well, the best thing to do is to take a spot where you want them, put TONS of leaves and peat moss in a large hole, and let it sit for about 6 months (so now would be a great time to start as the next time you want to transplant is going to be this coming season). They need tons of water, tons of ogranic matter, and nearly acid soil. I have one bush that does really well and I put my oak leaves under it each year. Oak leaves are perfect because they are naturally acidic and they are a great mulcher. So the blueberry has taken off from the treatment. I actually need to prune it this spring. LOL! Smaller blueberries usually have a ton more flavor, so don't just go for the bushes with the big berries either. I used to pick only large berries, but then I found a farm around here with tiny berries that are SO tasty! And I have turned everyone I know on to them. lol...
I have a ton of heirloom raspberries that I took from my grandma's house (some of this root stock is 40 years old!) those I just let loose on one end of the yard, but they are not doing so hot this year. I am going to try to research what kind they are so I can treat them more the way they need to get more from my berries.
Strawberries... plant them in a bed that you don't mind taken over. Really, they end up being a pain after a year or two. I have mine taking over a whole bed. They are easy to move, but they propogate like rabbits.
Blackberries, I have never heard of them having trouble in the states. lol... Just put them in, and they go to town.
Currents... they are great, but get the red kind. I bought two black current plants two years ago because Alex wanted variety, and no one eats them. They are SUPER sour.
That is all I have.
Val
Edited to add: Kerri, you could pretty easily dig a small trench around each bush (not too close, don't want to hurt the roots) and put mulched leaves in there... then water it really good and you will get a burst of good root growth that will help with the next seasons berries.
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Val, what about pine needles, they are acidic, no?
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Val, what about pine needles, they are acidic, no?
I do not remember exactly but I think I heard (read?) that pine needles have somewhat "disinfecting" effect on the plants around them. That's why you don't see too much shrubbery in a pine forest.
I'll have to google that when I am not tired I might be way off.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mamabear
Around here the wisdom is to throw your coffee grounds under your blueberry bushes to help the acidity.
I get coffee grounds from my local starbucks (I don't drink coffee) and put them in my compost with the chicken bedding, and all the leaves that I haven't shoved under various bushes and trees. I think it will make some nice rich compost in the spring. I will remember to add some to under there.... I wonder what kind of blueberries I will get with this rich, acid compost? I may have to prune next year too.
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I believe (am not sure, so always ask) that they are a bare root bush. If that is true, then the best time is fall, when they have lost their leaves and are concentrating on root growth and becoming dormant. But I could be wrong, so make sure you check with a pro first... when I was a pro, I was in another state. So sometimes my info is way off.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brooken
Is there a certain time of year to put in blackberry bushes? I'm thinking the easiest one is the one I'd try, lol.
DUH! You said BLACKBERRIES... no they are pretty much a weed. You can put them in any time and they will take over. If you put them in in the late fall, you may watch the entire top of the plant die, and then in the spring they will just come right back up. The hardiest ones have large thorns, the less hardy ones have smaller and some no thorns. The berries with no thorns are bred this way. Rubius berries (the family to which blackberries, raspberries, thimble berries, cloud berries, marion berries, and more belong) have thorns in the wild. So the less thorns they have, the less equiped they are to live in nature by themselves. Thus they are less hardy and may need more work from you to keep them healthy and alive. If the pay out is worth it (not getting pricked) then go for it... but I have never found it so.
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