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

"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

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)

"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

"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

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

and aldi have cheap soft fruit from Thursday as well I believe.

DD

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.

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)

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.

"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

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.

In article .com,
(La Puce) wrote:

You need to have a ph of 5.5 which is very hard to achieve

That is the conventional wisdom. Mine flourishes in a pH of a little
under 7. I do feed it with rhododendron fertiliser though.

Another bit of conventional wisdom is that you should have at least two
different varieties to ensure pollination. My one bush groaned under the
weight of it's crop this year.

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

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

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?