Blueberries
BLUEBERRIES
Plant in ericaceous soil. pH 4.5 – 5.5 (get Ph testing kit to test soil in garden – and check the ericaceous compost is what it says it is). You have to change soil every two or three years or so and ‘root prune’. Keep soil acidic.
Likes a lot of water. Keep moist but not wet - they don’t like standing in wet. Use rain water if possible as tap water is alkaline. Water well especially from time buds appear.
Feed once a month with ericaceous feed (seedweed feed fantastic). Esp. slow release.
Put in sunny spot. Move around garden if like.
If weather forecast says frost, put bubble wrap round on position on earth.
Bury pot in winter to keep it warm.
For first couple of years you don’t need to prune. After that, remove a third of dead wood. Prune in spring
In terra cotta pot the temperature fluctuation is less, not overheated in summer. You could plant in plastic but lets heat out. Plastic keeps moisture in but heat out. Terra cotta keeps heat in, moisture out so with terra cotta watch it’s always moist. For a 5 ft plant, a 50 cm pot is big enough, as blueberry doesn’t have spread-out roots.
Plant two or three and you get cross-pollination, so you get more fruit from each one.
Ideally, well rotted horse manure or leaf mould mixed in the compost, as these are full of micro-organisms and bacteria.
If you plant one early, one mid and one late type you stretch the season.
Net to keep berries from birds.
Varieties: choose hardy ones.
‘Spartan’ is a good one, very hardy, self-fertile.
A heavy cropping one is ‘Dixie’; flowers late but crops early, good for north where growing season short, retains freshness longer.partly self-fertile.
Tophat is self-fertile, heavy-cropping.
‘Nelson’ very hardy and self-fertile. ‘Sunshine blue’ heavy fruiting but dwarf.
Plant in ericaceous soil. pH 4.5 – 5.5 (get Ph testing kit to test soil in garden – and check the ericaceous compost is what it says it is). You have to change soil every two or three years or so and ‘root prune’. Keep soil acidic.
Likes a lot of water. Keep moist but not wet - they don’t like standing in wet. Use rain water if possible as tap water is alkaline. Water well especially from time buds appear.
Feed once a month with ericaceous feed (seedweed feed fantastic). Esp. slow release.
Put in sunny spot. Move around garden if like.
If weather forecast says frost, put bubble wrap round on position on earth.
Bury pot in winter to keep it warm.
For first couple of years you don’t need to prune. After that, remove a third of dead wood. Prune in spring
In terra cotta pot the temperature fluctuation is less, not overheated in summer. You could plant in plastic but lets heat out. Plastic keeps moisture in but heat out. Terra cotta keeps heat in, moisture out so with terra cotta watch it’s always moist. For a 5 ft plant, a 50 cm pot is big enough, as blueberry doesn’t have spread-out roots.
Plant two or three and you get cross-pollination, so you get more fruit from each one.
Ideally, well rotted horse manure or leaf mould mixed in the compost, as these are full of micro-organisms and bacteria.
If you plant one early, one mid and one late type you stretch the season.
Net to keep berries from birds.
Varieties: choose hardy ones.
‘Spartan’ is a good one, very hardy, self-fertile.
A heavy cropping one is ‘Dixie’; flowers late but crops early, good for north where growing season short, retains freshness longer.partly self-fertile.
Tophat is self-fertile, heavy-cropping.
‘Nelson’ very hardy and self-fertile. ‘Sunshine blue’ heavy fruiting but dwarf.