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

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

"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

"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

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

"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

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

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

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

In article , (Bob Hobden)
wrote:

are there any secrets etc we should know?

My Blueberry experience differs from a lot of the things written in the
books.

Water: They do OK in a large (18" cube) container that is rarely watered
except by our local 30" of rain.

Soil: I did put some peat in the container together with a load of
garden compost but the pH has crept up to around 6.5 - not seriously
acid

Pollination: My solitary "Bluecrop" produces excellent crops.

Birds: It's not essential to net the bush - some years, the birds ignore
it.

I do feed mine with an "acid" fertiliser and top up the container with
garden compost, autumn leaves etc from time to time.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/