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Cranberries and Blueberries
Cranberries and blueberries.
Just bought some of each for the new allotment, considering the pH of under 5.5 down there they should be in ideal soil acidity. Never grown either before, so if anyone else has, are there any secrets etc we should know? -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
#2
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Cranberries and Blueberries
On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 17:41:16 -0000, "Bob Hobden"
wrote: Cranberries and blueberries. Just bought some of each for the new allotment, considering the pH of under 5.5 down there they should be in ideal soil acidity. Never grown either before, so if anyone else has, are there any secrets etc we should know Water from the water but if your tap water has limestone, your kettle or the end of your tap would be a good indicator. Neil |
#3
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Cranberries and Blueberries
"Neil Cairns" wrote in reply to... "Bob Hobden" who asked.. Cranberries and blueberries. Just bought some of each for the new allotment, considering the pH of under 5.5 down there they should be in ideal soil acidity. Never grown either before, so if anyone else has, are there any secrets etc we should know Water from the water but if your tap water has limestone, your kettle or the end of your tap would be a good indicator. They are going in the ground on the allotment after I've dug in some peat so I didn't intent to water much if at all. Are you saying they like lots of water, damp conditions? Yes, the water around here is hard. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
#4
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Cranberries and Blueberries
"Bob Hobden" wrote in message ... "Neil Cairns" wrote in reply to... "Bob Hobden" who asked.. Cranberries and blueberries. Just bought some of each for the new allotment, considering the pH of under 5.5 down there they should be in ideal soil acidity. Never grown either before, so if anyone else has, are there any secrets etc we should know Water from the water but if your tap water has limestone, your kettle or the end of your tap would be a good indicator. They are going in the ground on the allotment after I've dug in some peat so I didn't intent to water much if at all. Are you saying they like lots of water, damp conditions? Yes, the water around here is hard. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London I think Neil was suggesting not to irrigate with hard water. I do know that they like acidic soil and that's about it. My sister grows blueberries and gets a fairly sparse picking from quite a few plants. I believe that is par for the course |
#5
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Cranberries and Blueberries
I think Neil was suggesting not to irrigate with hard water.
I do know that they like acidic soil and that's about it. My sister grows blueberries and gets a fairly sparse picking from quite a few plants. I believe that is par for the course According to the literature, it should be possible to get a reasonable crop of blueberries. "The Telegraph" ran a short article a few months ago and it still might be available on their website. In New England, cranberries are grown in bogs and harvested by flooding the fields at which point the ripe berries apparently detatch themselves from the plants and float up. I'd always assumed that meant they liked boggy conditions. However, where did you get the cranberries from as I'd certainly like to give some a try? Paul DS |
#6
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Cranberries and Blueberries
Bob Hobden wrote:
"Neil Cairns" wrote in reply to... "Bob Hobden" who asked.. Cranberries and blueberries. Just bought some of each for the new allotment, considering the pH of under 5.5 down there they should be in ideal soil acidity. Never grown either before, so if anyone else has, are there any secrets etc we should know Water from the water but if your tap water has limestone, your kettle or the end of your tap would be a good indicator. They are going in the ground on the allotment after I've dug in some peat so I didn't intent to water much if at all. Are you saying they like lots of water, damp conditions? Not especially wet, but they need soft water like rainwater (not tapwater if you are in a hard water zone). Otherwise they are a dream - put them in and forget about them. Almost no pruning needed good crop if you have two or more cultivars. Only problem I have is that the birds will kill for them and they must be netted very carefully. They are even rather pretty in autumnal colour and slightly decorative red stems in winter. Yes, the water around here is hard. Be sure to use a water butt for rinwater then. I expect you have a bit more latitude with them in the ground but for container growing it is important not to add alkaline tapwater or lime. Never grown cranberries. I have a feeling they need annually flooding fields (or that may be a cunning way to harvest them). Regards, Martin Brown |
#7
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Cranberries and Blueberries
"Paul D.Smith" wrote ((snip)) In New England, cranberries are grown in bogs and harvested by flooding the fields at which point the ripe berries apparently detatch themselves from the plants and float up. I'd always assumed that meant they liked boggy conditions. However, where did you get the cranberries from as I'd certainly like to give some a try? From Secretts Garden Centre in Milford, Surrey. Just happened to see them and thought they might be good ground cover ('cause that's what they are) under the blueberries. Might have some in your local GC, some came with a jar of Cranberry Jelly, ours were just 3 pots of plants in a container.(they look very like Thyme) Bit concerned about the flooding etc, and I've just read about using them as pond edging, this suggests wet boggy conditions are preferred. They will have to take their chance with our silt/clay soil as there is nowhere to collect rain on the allotments. I'll let you know how they progress next year. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
#8
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Cranberries and Blueberries
Bob Hobden wrote: Bit concerned about the flooding etc, and I've just read about using them as pond edging, this suggests wet boggy conditions are preferred. They will have to take their chance with our silt/clay soil as there is nowhere to collect rain on the allotments. My friend has them in pots on her lotty and has rested the pots in deep containers so that they take the water as they need it. She also uses green felt to cover the top of the pots around the plant held with little stones to keep the moisture in as much as possible. She doesn't have a massive crop, but the berries are huge and delicious. Ho! And why can't you collect rain on your lotty? |
#9
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Cranberries and Blueberries
"La Puce" wrote ... Bob Hobden wrote: Bit concerned about the flooding etc, and I've just read about using them as pond edging, this suggests wet boggy conditions are preferred. They will have to take their chance with our silt/clay soil as there is nowhere to collect rain on the allotments. My friend has them in pots on her lotty and has rested the pots in deep containers so that they take the water as they need it. She also uses green felt to cover the top of the pots around the plant held with little stones to keep the moisture in as much as possible. She doesn't have a massive crop, but the berries are huge and delicious. Thanks Ho! And why can't you collect rain on your lotty? No roof. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
#10
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Cranberries and Blueberries
Bob Hobden wrote: No roof. A water but will collect lots you know. I thought not a first and a friend gave me 2 huge plastic but which he got from the jam making factory. There's always water in them. You've made me want to have a cranberry bush now. Just went to get my turkey (the first in 12 years as well) and bought 300gr of cranberries Howes variety from the USA @ £3.95!!! Blueblisteringbarnacles!! It's mad out there and I'm sure a trip to the lotty would have been nicer .... a cheaper too. |
#11
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Cranberries and Blueberries
Your pH sounds like it may be alright. If you have to water with hard water
it may raise the pH some, but if you find that to be the case, you can add something to lower it again. Both grow wild in Alaska and parts of Canada, but the blueberries are tarter than the tame ones, and the cranberries are the low bush variety. Blueberries need to be watered every other day or so while producing, every 2nd or 3 day the rest of the time. I know a grower who waters 1/2 one day and the other 1/2 the next, and it is an on going thing. You need to be sure they get 1 to 2 inches a week, but make sure the soil is kept moist. If you could like a copy of my information, send me your E-mail address and I will pass it on to you. I put the info together when I was planning to grow them myself. Dwayne "Bob Hobden" wrote in message ... Cranberries and blueberries. Just bought some of each for the new allotment, considering the pH of under 5.5 down there they should be in ideal soil acidity. Never grown either before, so if anyone else has, are there any secrets etc we should know? -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
#13
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Cranberries and Blueberries
Paul
Try http://www.dorset-blueberry.com/ they are commercial farmers of Blueberries who also sell plants. The nursery is run by the Treharne family, Jenifer Trehane writing the RHS Plant Collector Guide - Blueberries, Cranberries and other Vaciniums. I have three varieties of Blueberry - Chandler, Duke and Sunshine blue, the latter being evergreen. I grow them in pots due to my soil. Cranberries I grow in a hanging basket, with the liner punched lightly halfway up to create some boggy conditions. Growing well, but not fruited yet. Clifford, Doncaster, S Yorks |
#14
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Cranberries and Blueberries
La Puce wrote:
Bob Hobden wrote: No roof. A water but will collect lots you know. I thought not a first and a friend gave me 2 huge plastic but which he got from the jam making factory. There's always water in them. You've made me want to have a cranberry bush now. Just went to get my turkey (the first in 12 years as well) and bought 300gr of cranberries Howes variety from the USA @ £3.95!!! Blueblisteringbarnacles!! It's mad out there and I'm sure a trip to the lotty would have been nicer ... a cheaper too. The space is better devoted to several delicious varieties of cabbages. Blueberries have the remarkable American characteristic of tasting exactly like artificial flavouring, and cranberries are just plain silly: if you want cranberry sauce for your Christmas goose (turkey? don't make me laugh!), the supermarket will oblige. Cranberries are grown, across the Pond, on what are rightly called "cranberry barrens": nothing else will grow there. The flooding is the harvesting: flood the field and hassle the plants, and the berries, unlike others, will float, so the machine can scoop them up. Our recipe for the sauce emphasises their sourness: the bottled stuff is just a kind of jam, and what's the point of that? -- Mike. |
#15
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Cranberries and Blueberries
On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:21:37 -0000, "Mike Lyle"
wrote: La Puce wrote: Bob Hobden wrote: No roof. A water but will collect lots you know. I thought not a first and a friend gave me 2 huge plastic but which he got from the jam making factory. There's always water in them. You've made me want to have a cranberry bush now. Just went to get my turkey (the first in 12 years as well) and bought 300gr of cranberries Howes variety from the USA @ £3.95!!! Blueblisteringbarnacles!! It's Sniped Because of the price for a small punet of blueberries at the supermarket I decided to grow my own, l had a bumper crop this year and they were nice in fruit salad but I enjoyed them more on my morning corn flakes.I now have 8 large pots of 4 varieties in my fruit cage so will with luck have some for sale next year. My seeds came today 14 varieties of tomatoes Peppers 3 auberge ne 2 Melon 1 Cucumber1 plus Hampton court Black Hamburg grape to follow. Roll on Spring. Neil |
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