Blueberries

[Terry Coombs]

  Picked up a couple of plants yesterday , and am pretty sure we're going to have to make the soil more acidic for them . Planting area was formerly oak/mixed hardwood forest . It's been recommended to use sawdust as a mulch to help with that , along with peat moss . I'm wondering if the "litter" from my wood cutting and splitting will work for that . Some chainsaw chips , some bark , some just chips from splitting . There's also a good amount of composted/partly composted stuff from previous years that I can use .

[Drew Lawson]

Have you tested the pH? Oak tannin tends to acidify soil over the long term.

As I understand it, it will depend on the species. Oak tends to acidic, maple to neutral. No clue about others. Pine needles are acidic, but I don't know about the wood.

My blueberry attempts all failed, but I think that can be chalked up to the huge walnut stump across the fence. May try again this spring.

I need to prep some bush space anyway, since apparently Ohio finally dropped their ban on sales of currants. Unfortunately, I only picked up on that after spring shipments were finished for this year.

[songbird]

elemental sulphur powder is a quick change. of course rains will leach it away if you have the site elevated and drainage is away.

all the organic matter you can use will tend to make things more acidic (DNA/RNA are acids after all and so too are the results of decomposition aka humus/humic acids)... but mainly they are good for longer term buffering.

your other sulphur compounds are often useful but i try to avoid adding things that may bring along other contaminants.

bark is very good humus builder. leaves/leaf mold looks exactly like peat moss after a few years in the ground. chainsaw chips may not be the best depends upon the oil you use for lube.

all the partially composted stuff will be prime.

songbird

[derald]

Where I live in FL, so-called "improved" blueberries ("misty", "gulf coast", etc.} are grown commercially above grade in 100% pine bark and fed with pelletized slow release highly acidic "citrus" or "azalea" fertilizers applied very early each season. Some few of the growers also apply a liquid called "humic acid", to the apparent advantage only of its vendors. However, they remain True Believers....

[Pavel314]

I've never had any luck with berries. I've tried blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, but none produced enough berries to make it worthwhile. I adjusted the soil pH and followed the rest of the suggestions but no luck. The strawberries did well for a year or two but my hip gave out this sprin g and now they're overrun with weeds.

Stone fruit don't do well for us either. Although we get lots of apples, pe ars, and an occasional quince, the plums and apricots wither and drop off t he trees before they ripen.

[songbird]

Pavel314 wrote: ...

yeah, strawberries do need to be kept after to keep them productive. and if you have deer/chipmunks/birds/ etc. they all like to get at them.

i keep trying because some years they produce so well that i can give away jars of jam and have people who want the fresh berries. plus we love strawberry short- cakes at least a few times a season.

being a relatively early fruit of the season makes the work worth it.

none of the plastic fruit shipped in tastes like much of anything in comparison.

i have no experiences with any of these to suggest anything other than talking to someone locally who knows your climate and what specific varieties may suit.

songbird