(Steve Harris) wrote in
:

In article ,
(Chris French and Helen Johnson) wrote:

It won't rot, the UV light will probably degrade it, but that's a
longer term process.

Form my experience of nylon tents, 12 weeks of cumulative exposure in a
medium sunny part of the UK seriously weakens them. Polyester is
allegedly better but it will be some years before I can confirm that.

To be honest as long as it stops the birds picking them I don't really
care....
The material was going to be binned anyway so no loss there and once the
fruit has ripened and been picked it can come off and be washed or
whatever...

I saw some kind of green netting use for climbing plants today while at the
garden centre....Maybe next time I will get a small amount of that....
It was the plastic type so should be perfect for use out in the
garden...And it seemed quite tough just in case the birds get a bit
boisterous....B-)

(Steve Harris) wrote in
:

How young/old is the plant?
1-2 years

About the same age as mine....
And although the crop isn't huge I do have some...
About 30+ berries in all

Did any buds appear?
No.

Hmmmm.....

But if a few of your fruiting
plants are having problems
Broad beans, tomatoes, land cress, all flowered fine.

I don't pretend to know much here....
But someone mentioned that blueberries like an acid soil....
Perhaps this could have made a difference?

Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?

In message , Rick McGreal
writes

Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?

You have a garden full of Rhoddies ?

You do a pH test on the soil.
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html

Chris French and Helen Johnson wrote in
:

Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?
You have a garden full of Rhoddies ?

B-)
Something a little more scientific is what I was thinking of!

You do a pH test on the soil.

Can you buy litmus paper at garden centres?
Or I suppose now there will be better, probably electronic, versions around
now....
I'll see if I can see one at ours

"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?
You have a garden full of Rhoddies ?

B-)
Something a little more scientific is what I was thinking of!

You do a pH test on the soil.

Can you buy litmus paper at garden centres?
Or I suppose now there will be better, probably electronic, versions
around
now....
I'll see if I can see one at ours

Hi Rick,

You can buy a very simple kit at your gc. Basically its a small testube that
comes with a capsule (like a vitamin pill). Into the testube you put the
contents of the capsule, into that a little of your soil and add some water,
the kits come with full instructions and are around 2euro here. The water in
the tube turns green here, which means I have alkaline soil, there is a
colour chart on the packaging for you to compare. Its very simple, gives no
ph readings etc but it tells you basically what you need to know. A tip I
recieved was to take a teaspoon of soil from about an inch below the top
from several parts of the garden, mix all of em together and use a little of
this mixture in the tube, I was also told to use rain instead of tap water,
but then we have very limy water here from our own well so that may have
been the reason for that.

Happy testing
Shan

In article ,
(Rick McGreal) wrote:

But someone mentioned that blueberries like an acid soil....

They're in ericaceous compost in a large wooden box

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

In message , shannie
writes





"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?
You have a garden full of Rhoddies ?

B-)
Something a little more scientific is what I was thinking of!

You do a pH test on the soil.

Can you buy litmus paper at garden centres?
Or I suppose now there will be better, probably electronic, versions
around
now....

Litmus wouldn't be much good, but if you have kids at secondary school
they could probably cadge a bit of Universal indicator paper.


You can buy a very simple kit at your gc.

You can also get pH meters as well.

. A tip I
recieved was to take a teaspoon of soil from about an inch below the top
from several parts of the garden, mix all of em together and use a little of
this mixture in the tube,

I'd disagree with that. pH can vary around a garden, it is better to
test individual soil samples from different parts.

I was also told to use rain instead of tap water,
but then we have very limy water here from our own well so that may have
been the reason for that.

If rain water has been collected from a roof etc. there is no guarantee
that it is neutral either.... Distilled is best if available.
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html

"Chris French and Helen Johnson" wrote in
message ...
In message , shannie
writes





"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?
You have a garden full of Rhoddies ?

B-)
Something a little more scientific is what I was thinking of!

You do a pH test on the soil.

Can you buy litmus paper at garden centres?
Or I suppose now there will be better, probably electronic, versions
around
now....

Litmus wouldn't be much good, but if you have kids at secondary school
they could probably cadge a bit of Universal indicator paper.


You can buy a very simple kit at your gc.

You can also get pH meters as well.

. A tip I
recieved was to take a teaspoon of soil from about an inch below the top
from several parts of the garden, mix all of em together and use a little
of
this mixture in the tube,

I'd disagree with that. pH can vary around a garden, it is better to
test individual soil samples from different parts.

Quite right, I do apologise I meant to write bed instead of garden, my
error, thanks

I was also told to use rain instead of tap water,
but then we have very limy water here from our own well so that may have
been the reason for that.

If rain water has been collected from a roof etc. there is no guarantee
that it is neutral either.... Distilled is best if available.

It had been raining for three solid days when we did ours and we just left a
clean glass in the garden and used the water that collected in that.
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html

In article , Rick McGreal
writes
Chris French and Helen Johnson wrote in
:

Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?
You have a garden full of Rhoddies ?

B-)
Something a little more scientific is what I was thinking of!

That *is* scientific. If your soil grows things that can only survive in
acidic soil, your soil is acidic.

It may not be precise, but it's scientific!
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Chris French and Helen Johnson wrote in
:

Litmus wouldn't be much good, but if you have kids at secondary school
they could probably cadge a bit of Universal indicator paper.

B-)

Ok...I only got a 'C' in chemisty (And it was a bloody long time ago!) so I
got the wrong type of paper!

You can buy a very simple kit at your gc.
You can also get pH meters as well.

Is it worth getting one?
Will they last if kept in safe in my toolbox?

In message , Rick McGreal
writes
Chris French and Helen Johnson wrote in
:

Litmus wouldn't be much good, but if you have kids at secondary school
they could probably cadge a bit of Universal indicator paper.

B-)

Ok...I only got a 'C' in chemisty (And it was a bloody long time ago!) so I
got the wrong type of paper!

Ok i'll let you off :-)

You can buy a very simple kit at your gc.
You can also get pH meters as well.

Is it worth getting one?

Depends on how often you intend measuring the pH - for general gardening
no I don't think it is. YMMV.

hey should be easier to use to get a reliable result.

Will they last if kept in safe in my toolbox?

Should do.
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html

Rick McGreal wrote:

: But someone mentioned that blueberries like an acid soil....
: Perhaps this could have made a difference?

Yes.

Ericaceous compost in pots is a good solution.

: Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?

PH meter - but the chances are high that it isn't terribly...
--
__________
|im |yler http://timtyler.org/

Chris French and Helen Johnson wrote in
:

Ok...I only got a 'C' in chemisty (And it was a bloody long time ago!)
so I got the wrong type of paper!
Ok i'll let you off :-)

Gee, thanks! B-)

Is it worth getting one?
Depends on how often you intend measuring the pH - for general
gardening no I don't think it is. YMMV.

I really doubt I would ever really do it at all....

Tim Tyler wrote in :

: But someone mentioned that blueberries like an acid soil....
: Perhaps this could have made a difference?
Yes.

Thought I remembered reading that....

Ericaceous compost in pots is a good solution.

Thats what I may do next year....
Or rather this year.....
When the fruiting has finished and its near time to prune I will transfer
it to a tub of some kind...
At the moment its where I plan to extend my potato patch to....So it really
needs to move...

: Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?
PH meter - but the chances are high that it isn't terribly...

Well....I think that since they are right next to where my potatoes are I
think they won't be for very long!

Do blueberries like to have lots of room for their roots to grow?....Should
I get a large pot to put it in? (15-18" pot is what I am thinking of)

On 19 Jun 2003 16:06:17 GMT, Rick McGreal
wrote:

~Tim Tyler wrote in :
~
~: But someone mentioned that blueberries like an acid soil....
~: Perhaps this could have made a difference?
~ Yes.
~
~Thought I remembered reading that....
~
~ Ericaceous compost in pots is a good solution.
~
~Thats what I may do next year....
~Or rather this year.....
~When the fruiting has finished and its near time to prune I will transfer
~it to a tub of some kind...
~At the moment its where I plan to extend my potato patch to....So it really
~needs to move...
~
~: Anyone know how do you tell if your soil is acidic?
~ PH meter - but the chances are high that it isn't terribly...
~
~Well....I think that since they are right next to where my potatoes are I
~think they won't be for very long!
~
~Do blueberries like to have lots of room for their roots to grow?....Should
~I get a large pot to put it in? (15-18" pot is what I am thinking of)
~
I garden on chalk, so no chance of growing them in the garden!
I have mine in a mix of ericaceous compost AND ericaceous John Innes
in 18" plastic pots you can get at B&Q for about 8 quid or so. I
repotted from 13" terracotta pots 18 months ago and though I didn't
see much difference last year when they were re-establishing, this
year they've taken off and I've got the biggest crop I've seen on the
main bush, with the new baby one (bluecrop) covered too.
(For some reason the pots are also full of self-set foxgloves! Guess
they prefer acidic conditions too)

I water with ericaceous feed frequently, and I admit to using this
plue tap water (very hard) instead of rainwater, as I figure the feed
will more than offset the hardness. Seems to work!

Highbush blueberries can, if grown in ideal conditions, reach 8-10'
tall, so having a bigger pot is best. The thing that gets me is that
they are supposed to throw up stools from the base like blackcurrants,
and you're supposed to cut out all old wood every now and again. Mine
have *never* thrown up any new basal shoots, so I will be attempting
to take cuttings soon from the worst condition old bush and then
chopping it back to ground level to rejuvenate it.

I did email a uk based blueberry supplier for help on this but got no
reply, typically.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!