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blueberry
I am thinking of planting a row of cheap blueberry bushes on my
allotment, If I were doing them in pots on the patio I would pot in ericacious compost. What would work best for planting in the ground? The hole being filled with ericacious compost may be a good start, but how would I maintain an acidic soil in future? Thanks DD |
blueberry
"dirt dibbler" wrote
I am thinking of planting a row of cheap blueberry bushes on my allotment, The hole being filled with ericacious compost may be a good start, but how would I maintain an acidic soil in future? Hi, DD. Here are some links to sites that give good advice on growing blueberries. I grow mine in pots of ericaceous compost and use ericaceous fertiliser. I was going to plant some on my new allotment, but apparently someone dug up (stole) some blueberry bushes from a neighbouring allotment!! You need to make sure your soil is acid before you plant (add lots of peat) and maintain the acidity by adding appropriate mulches (pine needles, peat). Where are you located, is your soil acid? Hope these website help: http://www.suffolkblues.co.uk/growers-notes.html http://berrygrape.oregonstate.edu/fr.../blueberry.htm http://www.dorset-blueberry.com/cultivation/index.asp http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1422.html http://www.botany.com/vaccinium.html http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html http://www.blueberry.org/ http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/crops/blueberry.shtml http://berrygrape.oregonstate.edu/fr...berry/cultivar ..htm http://virginiaberryfarm.com/Fruit_b.../blueberry.htm |
blueberry
dirt dibbler wrote: I am thinking of planting a row of cheap blueberry bushes on my allotment, (snip) You need to have a ph of 5.5 which is very hard to achieve on the lotty. I sink my pots in the ground and only use rainwater from my water butt. I mulch my pots too to keep the moisture in and don't forget to keep the birds away. I've bought two more blueberries from Crocus.com at 4.99 each. A bargain and dreaming of crumbles now ;o) |
blueberry
"La Puce" wrote dirt dibbler wrote: I am thinking of planting a row of cheap blueberry bushes on my allotment, (snip) You need to have a ph of 5.5 which is very hard to achieve on the lotty. I sink my pots in the ground and only use rainwater from my water butt. I mulch my pots too to keep the moisture in and don't forget to keep the birds away. I've bought two more blueberries from Crocus.com at 4.99 each. A bargain and dreaming of crumbles now ;o) Crumble? Muffins surely, and they need a couple of days to mature too. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
blueberry
"dirt dibbler" wrote I am thinking of planting a row of cheap blueberry bushes on my allotment, If I were doing them in pots on the patio I would pot in ericacious compost. What would work best for planting in the ground? The hole being filled with ericacious compost may be a good start, but how would I maintain an acidic soil in future? You need first to test the pH of your allotment soil, my last one was 7 our new one is well under 6 and will be OK for Blueberries as it is. If you have over 6, and worse, over 7, then you can't put them in the soil directly and I would suggest a raised peat bed. Put boards around the bed you intend using about 30cm high and fill with ericaceous compost/peat/manure and plant the berries in that. If you sink it below the surrounding soil level you will get water coming from there into your bed and changing the pH upwards. A friend has done this in order to grow acid lovers and it's worked very well for years. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
blueberry
Bob Hobden wrote: "dirt dibbler" wrote I am thinking of planting a row of cheap blueberry bushes on my allotment, If I were doing them in pots on the patio I would pot in ericacious compost. What would work best for planting in the ground? The hole being filled with ericacious compost may be a good start, but how would I maintain an acidic soil in future? You need first to test the pH of your allotment soil, my last one was 7 our new one is well under 6 and will be OK for Blueberries as it is. If you have over 6, and worse, over 7, then you can't put them in the soil directly and I would suggest a raised peat bed. Put boards around the bed you intend using about 30cm high and fill with ericaceous compost/peat/manure and plant the berries in that. If you sink it below the surrounding soil level you will get water coming from there into your bed and changing the pH upwards. A friend has done this in order to grow acid lovers and it's worked very well for years. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London Thanks all, for the info. Incidentally, I bought my first two bushes from woolies, at just under a fiver & buy one get one free, I consider that a good deal, although they are very small twigs at the moment. Just waiting for them to replenish the shelf before I have a few more, same offer is on other soft fruits as well. DD |
blueberry
and aldi have cheap soft fruit from Thursday as well I believe.
DD |
blueberry
Bob Hobden wrote: Crumble? Muffins surely, and they need a couple of days to mature too. Sure - never made some though and the muffins my kids wants I find they taste of chemicals. I like bluberries with strawberries. Looks posh and with creme fraiche, divine. And in crumble ... anything is thrown in. |
blueberry
dirt dibbler wrote: Incidentally, I bought my first two bushes from woolies, at just under a fiver & buy one get one free, I consider that a good deal, although they are very small twigs at the moment. Just waiting for them to replenish the shelf before I have a few more, same offer is on other soft fruits as well. Call me picky but I would never ever buy fruit bushes, climbers and bedding plants from Woolies let alone Aldi, Lidle etc. Under a fiver you get fantastic bushes, 6/8 stems on them, buds and good root system from crocus.com or a good fruit bushes specialist, nursery, garden centre etc. If you want greeting cards and pencil cases, you go to wollies ;o) |
blueberry
La Puce wrote: dirt dibbler wrote: Incidentally, I bought my first two bushes from woolies, at just under a fiver & buy one get one free, I consider that a good deal, although they are very small twigs at the moment. Just waiting for them to replenish the shelf before I have a few more, same offer is on other soft fruits as well. Call me picky but I would never ever buy fruit bushes, climbers and bedding plants from Woolies let alone Aldi, Lidle etc. Under a fiver you get fantastic bushes, 6/8 stems on them, buds and good root system from crocus.com or a good fruit bushes specialist, nursery, garden centre etc. If you want greeting cards and pencil cases, you go to wollies ;o) Point taken, It's a shame the days of woolies having a proper garden dept. are gone, long gone. |
blueberry
"La Puce" wrote after Bob Hobden wrote: Crumble? Muffins surely, and they need a couple of days to mature too. Sure - never made some though and the muffins my kids wants I find they taste of chemicals. I like bluberries with strawberries. Looks posh and with creme fraiche, divine. And in crumble ... anything is thrown in. Try these... http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/b...s,1274,RC.html After they are cooled seal them in a tin for a couple of days to mature, wonderful. -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
blueberry
Bob Hobden wrote: Try these... http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/b...s,1274,RC.html After they are cooled seal them in a tin for a couple of days to mature, wonderful. You are! We were talking about it tonight around the table. I just hope I'll get a better crop than last year. We get a lot of birds on our plots. I'll need to get in touch with a landscaper friend in Virginia. Last year he sent us 'waffer thin' pecan nuts. They just cracked open effortlessly in my hand. |
blueberry
The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words: Try these... http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/b...s,1274,RC.html After they are cooled seal them in a tin for a couple of days to mature, wonderful. IRTA " After they are cooled seal them in a tin for a couple of days to mutate," -- Rusty Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk Separator in search of a sig |
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Steve Harris wrote: That is the conventional wisdom. Mine flourishes in a pH of a little under 7. I do feed it with rhododendron fertiliser though. (snip) On your ground directly just under 7?! I've always been worried to try it. At home I've got under 6 (did a proper old fashion test at college), and I find everything very much at home but would never try to pot out the blueberries nor the rhodo and the little camelia, both are presents, for fear of loosing them. It's only recently that I've wondered if indeed I could be wrong. How often do you feed? |
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