Blueberries
 

Â* Picked up a couple of plants yesterday , and am pretty sure we're
going to have to make the soil more acidic for them . Planting area was
formerly oak/mixed hardwood forest . It's been recommended to use
sawdust as a mulch to help with that , along with peat moss . I'm
wondering if the "litter" from my wood cutting and splitting will work
for that . Some chainsaw chips , some bark , some just chips from
splitting . There's also a good amount of composted/partly composted
stuff from previous years that I can use .

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety - and armed .
Get outta my woods !

Blueberries
 

In article
Terry Coombs writes:
Â* Picked up a couple of plants yesterday , and am pretty sure we're
going to have to make the soil more acidic for them . Planting area was
formerly oak/mixed hardwood forest .

Have you tested the pH? Oak tannin tends to acidify soil over the
long term.

It's been recommended to use
sawdust as a mulch to help with that , along with peat moss . I'm
wondering if the "litter" from my wood cutting and splitting will work
for that . Some chainsaw chips , some bark , some just chips from
splitting . There's also a good amount of composted/partly composted
stuff from previous years that I can use .

As I understand it, it will depend on the species. Oak tends to
acidic, maple to neutral. No clue about others. Pine needles are
acidic, but I don't know about the wood.

My blueberry attempts all failed, but I think that can be chalked
up to the huge walnut stump across the fence. May try again this
spring.

I need to prep some bush space anyway, since apparently Ohio finally
dropped their ban on sales of currants. Unfortunately, I only
picked up on that after spring shipments were finished for this
year.

--
Drew Lawson I had planned to be dead by now, but
the schedule slipped, they do that.
-- Casady

Blueberries
 

Terry Coombs wrote:
Â* Picked up a couple of plants yesterday , and am pretty sure we're
going to have to make the soil more acidic for them . Planting area was
formerly oak/mixed hardwood forest .

elemental sulphur powder is a quick change.
of course rains will leach it away if you have
the site elevated and drainage is away.

all the organic matter you can use will tend
to make things more acidic (DNA/RNA are acids
after all and so too are the results of
decomposition aka humus/humic acids)... but mainly
they are good for longer term buffering.

your other sulphur compounds are often useful
but i try to avoid adding things that may bring
along other contaminants.


It's been recommended to use
sawdust as a mulch to help with that , along with peat moss . I'm
wondering if the "litter" from my wood cutting and splitting will work
for that . Some chainsaw chips , some bark , some just chips from
splitting . There's also a good amount of composted/partly composted
stuff from previous years that I can use .

bark is very good humus builder. leaves/leaf mold
looks exactly like peat moss after a few years in
the ground. chainsaw chips may not be the best
depends upon the oil you use for lube.

all the partially composted stuff will be prime.


songbird

Blueberries
 

On Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at 6:21:29 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
Â* Picked up a couple of plants yesterday , and am pretty sure we're
going to have to make the soil more acidic for them . Planting area was
formerly oak/mixed hardwood forest . It's been recommended to use
sawdust as a mulch to help with that , along with peat moss . I'm
wondering if the "litter" from my wood cutting and splitting will work
for that . Some chainsaw chips , some bark , some just chips from
splitting . There's also a good amount of composted/partly composted
stuff from previous years that I can use .

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety - and armed .
Get outta my woods !

I've never had any luck with berries. I've tried blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, but none produced enough berries to make it worthwhile. I adjusted the soil pH and followed the rest of the suggestions but no luck. The strawberries did well for a year or two but my hip gave out this spring and now they're overrun with weeds.

Stone fruit don't do well for us either. Although we get lots of apples, pears, and an occasional quince, the plums and apricots wither and drop off the trees before they ripen.

Blueberries
 

Pavel314 wrote:
....
I've never had any luck with berries. I've tried blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, but none produced enough berries to make it worthwhile. I adjusted the soil pH and followed the rest of the suggestions but no luck. The strawberries did well for a year or two but my hip gave out this spring and now they're overrun with weeds.

yeah, strawberries do need to be kept after to keep
them productive. and if you have deer/chipmunks/birds/
etc. they all like to get at them.

i keep trying because some years they produce so well
that i can give away jars of jam and have people who
want the fresh berries. plus we love strawberry short-
cakes at least a few times a season.

being a relatively early fruit of the season makes the
work worth it.

none of the plastic fruit shipped in tastes like much
of anything in comparison.


Stone fruit don't do well for us either. Although we get lots of apples, pears, and an occasional quince, the plums and apricots wither and drop off the trees before they ripen.

i have no experiences with any of these to suggest
anything other than talking to someone locally who
knows your climate and what specific varieties may
suit.


songbird