Blueberries?

jose bagge · Mar 7, 2011

I have a piece of ground about 120' x 30' that i had sunflowers in last year...thinking about putting in blueberry bushes. i've read a bit about them...anyone doing blueberries? look like they're about $9 a 2 gallon bush out here...what could you expect to get off of 20 or so bushes 1st year?

redtom · Mar 7, 2011

Don't know anything about them except they need acid ground and lots of water. The farms around here all have a pond on site for ample water and are sandy.

glennster · Mar 7, 2011

i have about a dozen blueberry bushes along my creek. yup they like acid soil. there is a sulphur powder that you sprinkle around the bush, about a cup per plant. also, there is a miracle grow for plants that prefer acidic soil, its the blue jug.

Mike (WA) · Mar 7, 2011

Most of the blueberries around here are in peat soil- very acidic. But I have 3 bushes in clay, and they do very well. They don't seem to mind wet feet- one commercial farm I know of used to harvest part of the property with kids wearing bathing suits and wading between the bushes.

Best to talk to extension service about soil types.

larry@stinescorner · Mar 7, 2011

I had berrys the first year ,but the birds ate all of them,you may have to cover with a net to get berrys,Ihave to

Joe Watkins · Mar 7, 2011

I grew about 10 highbush blueberry plants when I lived in northern Wisconsin several years ago. I had them for about 8 years. I fertilized them with Miracid, an acid fertilizer and they all produced very well. They attracted birds, expecially robins, and I had to cover the plants with black netting to keep the birds out. However, one year a very young robin, he still had his white spots on him, got under the netting and pretty much wiped out the blueberries on 2 of the plants. It was only when he was screaming and yelling to get out that I noticed him. Between the birds and the netting which pulled berries off when I lifted the net, we had very few berries to enjoy. It's important that you have at least 2 different varieties of blueberries growing together so that they can pollinate each other. A single variety growing alone normally does not produce many berries.

Jeff-oh · Mar 7, 2011

Do a soil test to make sure you have the correct acidity else they probally will not do well.

Contact you local Ag Extension office for help.

Jeff

RalphWD45 · Mar 8, 2011

Joe: I don"t know where in Northern Wisconson you were, but Mom grew up in LongLake, about 20 miles South of Iron River Mich. She said that blue berries grew wild there, and they had to have an adult along, with a gun, because the Black Bears were competing for the berries. Of course this was in the 1920"s ( I think they call that area Nicollet Nat Forest now! Seems like blue berries should do right well up there.

4 bottem · Mar 8, 2011

Have a lot of bushes. Acid soil and water as mentioned before are important. I spread about 6" of white cedar sawdust around all the plants that seems to do the trick to keep acid and moisture at the proper levels.

Joe W. · Mar 8, 2011

You are right about that. The native blueberries are low growing plants about a foot or two high and produce wonderful tasting sweet small berries. There are areas within both the Nicolet and Chequamegon National Forests where blueberries attract pickers from all over. I was with the Chequamegon National Forest and quickly learned where the good pickings were. Yes, bears are there and also enjoy good picking so you need to be attentive. I grew the highbush kind of blueberries which are 3' to 4' high, not native, and produce berries the size of pennies and nickles.

bruster · Mar 8, 2011

It might take 2 or 3 years before the bushes really begin to produce a large amount of berries. Keep the ph range at their "Sweet spot", don't let them sit in water, but they like moist soil
Birds and deer are my biggest problems, so I have 12 bushes in a fenced in area

Anonymous-0 · Mar 8, 2011

Birds can be a tremendous problem. They can even defeat netting. Requires constant vigilance. Brother planted a few and eventually gave up fighting the birds.

greygoat · Mar 8, 2011

Where are you located Jose? Blueberries are a
"Northern" crop, and grow wild, here in
Wisconsin. Biggest problem for me is lots
of wood ticks where we pick, Black River State
Forest, near Black river Falls, Wisconsin.
Can anyone comment on how they do in the South?

Blueberries?

jose bagge

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redtom

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glennster

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Mike (WA)

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larry@stinescorner

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Joe Watkins

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Jeff-oh

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RalphWD45

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4 bottem

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Joe W.

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bruster

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Anonymous-0

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greygoat

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