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blueberry bushes

Started by Engineer, April 11, 2008, 10:18:16 AM

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maple flats

I have never tried fall planting but in other things it works good, I would give it a try. As far as where it will get it's energy from, the energy is stored in the roots. First the roots will re-establish themselves and then, if in the growing season it will put out new leaves. When I prune for transplanting I do not remove all of the leaves, but leave a few on each of maybe 3-4 good straight healthy looking stems and remove the rest of the stems. I do not pick leaves off, but rather prune the cane to about 6-10" tall, and remove any over the 3 or 4 total. Those that are removed are cut close to the crown. Swamp Donkey is correct, he just states it more clearly. As far as what moonhill says, those are low bush blueberries and I do not have any experience with them. I refer only to highbush blueberries. I am going to try propigating my bushes either in the spring 2009 or the following by removing the canes down to about 2-5" tall and physically devide the root crown and re plant both halves. With proper watering I think it will work but I have never seen any info on it. I will experiment with several and if a high % survive I will do enough to fill any and all voids in my current rows. This will need to happen after I install drainage tile because many of mine died from being drowned either in a wet spring or in a very wet summer. Blueberries like lots of water but do not do well if there is standing water around them for more than a few hours. I have some areas that have standing water for days when we get a real wet spell.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

JimMartin9999

OK.  there have been bits and pieces about growing blueberries.
Would someone familiar with  at least south central NY care to tell us how  to buy at a reasonable price and cultivate blueberries.  High or low bush?  Are they planted in the woods?  How much shade?  Indicator plants?  Does elevation play a role here?
Jim

isawlogs

 Jim , I have some blueberry bushes here , I am further north then you , They are planted in full sun and do well . I dont have the names of the plants I have but not here with me but will make a point of going to see the tags on the bushes , as I know they are still there . I have three different varieties and some do better in production then others , I was told then that I needed atleast two different types for pollination weather this is true or not ...  :P  Dont know .. we got three only to see if their was better or not .
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

maple flats

Blueberries will grow any place in NY or even colder climates where the PH can be gotten to 4.2-5.2. Blueberries should not be grown in the woods nor in the shade, but only in full sun. If your natural PH is over about 6.2 you will have a hard time getting low enough and should consider container planting because you have free lime in the soil meaning there is lime that will raise the PH shortly after you acidify the soil. PH is so critical because blueberries can only take up nitrogen in the ammonium state and they are very heavy nitrogen feeders. In NY I would only suggest highbush blueberries except some of the highest elevations where the soil is very sandy such as on some of the upper elevations on peaks in the adirondaks. I bought mine in 1982 from a company in NJ called A G Ammon Nursery Inc , 1610 Route 532, Chatsworth, NJ 08019, United States, (609) 726-1370.  They at the time were the largest propigador of blueberries in the world. I bought 1 yr rooted cuttings because I was young and poorer than I am now. I planted them into a concentrated bed for 2 yrs and then set them out into the field 4' on center and in rows 10 ft apart. I wish now I had gone 11 or even 12' aisles because I must use small tractors to tend them. to grow blueberries you should prep the soil 1 yr ahead, till it , get a soil test and add sulfur as needed. Once you plant you should use little or no sulfur because it is toxic to blueberries. The year of planting you should water them often enough that they do not dry out, about every 2-3 days in hot dry weather. The following yr you would either get a soil test and sent it to co operative ext. and follow their recommendations or lacking that fert. with ammonium sulfate at the rate of 1 oz/bush/yrs of age up to 8 oz/yr. Only fert. in the early spring before growth starts or when the bushes get bigger you can split the fert. 1/2 early and the second half up til about june 1. Fertilizing later gives us northerners too much late growth which results in winter injury. Farther south they fert up to about july 10. As the bushes mature you should prune them allowing 2 new canes to develope each year until you have 14-16 canes. After that you would let 2 new grow and remove the oldest 2 each season keeping about 14-16 canes. To be practical you leave more than 2 grow in any year but reduce them to the 2 strongest and most up right 2 when you prune next. Pruning is best done in Jan-March. This being said, I am far too busy then doing my maple syrup and I do all pruning from May-Aug. Those prunned in mid to late summer do not respond well until the following year, but I have found that pruning at this time is better than not pruning at all. I might also mention that you should be sure to keep all other trees that try to grow in the rows removed and not get behind like I did for years when I was working 80-90 hrs a week before i sold my business and theoretically retired. Now I am playing catch up, removing the trees that grew very fast with the heavy fertilizing. Especially when I cut a young tree but did not kill the stump and it regrows, often multi stems and on a good root system. However, i have finally gotten 42 of my 52 rows done. Just 10 more 300' rows to go, but that comes next year.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

SwampDonkey

Good information mapleflats. I'm going to pick from the thread and print off a blueberry info sheet for dad.  Don't worry, it couldn't be any more disasterous than what he has dealt with. His seem to winter kill a lot and they don't grow much foliage. I think it's PH because the ground around this area has natural lime in the rock and water, but the water in his area has natural sulfur in it to. It's in the tap water. :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

maple flats

Swamp Donkey,
Generally if you have natural lime in the soil you must get some big containers, which could even be set in the ground, then put a mix of good soil, peat moss and sand, about one part each and grow the bushes in this. You could remove the bottoms but do not compromise the sides. The sides will allow a proper PH to be maintained within. Up your way you should only apply the fertilizer very early in the spring, as soon as the frost is gone so it will be used up long before the ground freezes again to give the bushes new growth time to harden off. Your dad should be able to grow good blueberries. Each plant will yield about 8 full quarts each year after they are 8 yrs old. You should check on varieties for your area, i am only familiar with what does well in my area. There are a few varieties that were developed in Nova Scocia.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

logwalker

What about growing blues on the west coast? Any info about them? Are they the same bushes you are discussing?  Joe
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

SwampDonkey

Same genus, but when I was on the BC west coast it was Alaskan blues they harvested mostly. An Alaskan blue tastes like a bog cranberry, they even can them out there. I think they called them black huckleberries in BC. They do have a couple species of  blueberries in BC, oval-leaved and velvet leaved. But they seem to prefer the black huckleberry V. membranaceum for taste. In BC, if the berries of the Vaccinium genus are not blue, it's a huckleberry. They have a red huckleberry as well which grows on high bushes with green branches, versus the bog cranberry that is also red. ;D

I like our wild ones here in the east the best. I couldn't get used to huckleberries, since the taste said cranberry to my brain. They are alright with the Christmas stuffing and dried like raisins (Cranaisins) though.  :D :D

Then there is the creeping snowberry, which grows like a bog cranberry, but is white. I am wondering if it is some cultivar of this that Ocean Spray is calling white cranberry. Same genus. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

maple flats

The west coast does grow blueberries but you would do best getting them from a grower in your area. After that my suggestions will work because they would still be highbush, I just am not sure on specific varieties.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

Onthesauk

I've got 19 highbush blueberry bushes in the garden,  here in NW Washington.  I think there are about 5 different varieties, (I bought them very small for $1.00 each and lost the tags over the years.*)  We've got heavy clay soil so I worked in lots of fresh sawdust before I planted and mulch them with about 4 inches of sawdust every Spring.  I put 18-18-18 on once or twice each Spring.  We have just started harvesting the last week or so and with the different varieties are able to get berries over nearly a two month period.  The only problems we've had is that I have them planted a little too close together, I'm not real good a pruning them and we have a bear that just won't stay out of them.

We have a number of commercial growers in the area but hard to beat going through the garden morning and evening eating a handful of fresh blueberries.

*  A number of commercial outlets for starter plants up in the Bellingham/Lynden area.
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logwalker

I went out this morning expecting to pick and every last ripe berry was gone. Must have been the birds. Very disappointing.  >:( >:(
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

maple flats

I planted my bushes in rows with 4' in row spacing and 10 between rows. Where I have gotten them properly pruned and kept them good that is enough spacing. I also have 10 rows left (300' rows) out of my 52 total rows where I have not caught up yet. On those rows the bushes touch each other across the aisle and it is hard to navigate to pick. When I started this year I had 24 rows to go. On the 14 I did this season I had to prune extremely heavy and cut and remove trees as well. Some of the biggest trees were over 6" diameter but most were 5" and under. The trees got a foothold before I retired when I was working 70-90 hrs/week and cuold not keep up with them. The 28 rows not mentioned above were cleared uot last year and the year before. On the cleared rows I run my Weed Badger every 2 weeks to maintain them in good condition.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

SwampDonkey

Just bringing up this thread to thank those growers who contributed to successfully growing blueberries. Dad has had good luck following some of the information I pulled from this thread and the bushes have really taken off. Some growth on the plants from the rootstock area are 3 feet this year alone. And he has been picking berries for a couple years. When he first started out in the blueberry growing they looked very sick and had a lot of die back.

Thanks all.  :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Mooseherder

The Wild blueberry patches have really spread since the last time I bush hogged a few years ago.
They are loaded this year.  I'm hoping there are some left when we go back next week. :)
I was careful mowing around 3 large areas.  I also set up a game cam not to far away to see if the wildlife is eating them.  I had set it up when we arrived with new video card.  Replaced the card before we left and brought the first one back with us because it had 38 pictures on it.  I couldn't wait to see what was on it.  Well, the danG thing won't unlock for  whatever reason.  The side do-hickey ain't working. >:(


Mooseherder

Forgot to mention we are eating Blueberry Pancakes right now. :)
They're the store bought variety but are the best so far this year.

We received a call from a distant cousin a couple years back.  Her husband was a Town Manager for a neighboring town.   He asked me if they could pick up the Pine Needles of our Red Pine stand we have along the road.  They were preparing their land for a commercial Blueberry operation and the Pine needles were supposed to be a good way to get proper PH levels.  I said knock yourself out but that I would be asking for guidance whenever I tried growing Blueberries.  I heard this summer that the plants didn't do so well from my BIL.  Maybe it is too soon to tell though.  I hope they are successful.

pineywoods

Mine were all gone by the time we got home from the pig roast. The neighbors finished them off while we were gone. Got a bunch in the freezer, enough to last till next year. Plan on doing a little pruning this winter. Some of the bushes are 10 feet tall. When they get that big, seems like they don't bear as well.
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SwampDonkey

I also found a few wild ones this week on a thinning block, they were just hanging with berries and good sized ones to. mmmmm  I never picked any, as I was working. But they sure looked nice.  ;)

The birds eat a lot of them in dad's garden, including the pheasants.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Magicman

Not blueberries, but we did find two good muscadine vines this afternoon.  There is jelly in the future.   :)
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maple flats

Quote from: SwampDonkey on August 27, 2011, 08:21:30 AM
Just bringing up this thread to thank those growers who contributed to successfully growing blueberries. Dad has had good luck following some of the information I pulled from this thread and the bushes have really taken off. Some growth on the plants from the rootstock area are 3 feet this year alone. And he has been picking berries for a couple years. When he first started out in the blueberry growing they looked very sick and had a lot of die back.

Thanks all.  :)
Glad your dad got things straightened out. What did he end up doing to get them to bare?
Watch the summer leaf color, if dark green things are good, if you he has more to do.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

pineywoods

whatever you do, resist the urge to cultivate the bushes. The root system is only a couple of inches deep. Disturb that and they will be stunted or even die. I let the grass grow around mine and keep it mowed. That will also take care of the root sprouts.
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

SwampDonkey

Maple he added more sulphur to get the PH down and adds a little each spring and mulches and the foliage is healthy green. Had lots of berries this year to. The branches tips don't seem to winter kill now that they are established. He cuts the grass  with weed a whacker because it's too narrow to mow between them, the garden and the blackberries. He's only got 10-12 plants, something to play at. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Jeff

Donk, do you think blueberries would have a chance to survive on my place?
Just call me the midget doctor.
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Ezekiel 22:30

SwampDonkey

Check the PH, might have to bring it down with sulphur to get them to grow. Blueberries in the wild can grow in pure sand or real rocky ground, and in dry barrens. There is usually a thin layer of nutrient rich soil just under the duff. And our dry sand and barreny places get a lot of rain in our climate. It's not desert dry.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Jeff

I mean in the U.P. property
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

SwampDonkey

Too wet and with it being a site dominated by cedar, I would say it would be tough. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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