Thanks for the post Scott :-)

Lowes in Claremore has Bluecrop and Blueray right now. They've also got Grapes, Packman Broccoli and Onions right now. Not much else yet.

Spring is coming y'all. It's not totally here yet but IT IS COMING! LOL

Neither Lowes or HomeDepot have much in their garden depts yet in Moore.

Scott - should I be seeing buds on my blueberries yet? Should I fertilize yet? I planted them in 3/4 peat and 1/4 our sandy soil last fall. Mulched them with about 4 to 6" of pecan shells, then caged them to protect them from the deer. We had a wet winter so I didn't water them much. I'm hoping for rain this weekend, but should I water saturday since it's beginning to warm up?

Hi - I'm new, live in northeastern Osage County. I'm also learning that soil preparation is the key to anything, of which I've lacked in doing. Now for the problem...I have 4 blueberry plants that have been planted now, going on season 3. They are approx. 1 ft tall & scraggly looking. Is there anything I can do to boost them along before they croak? Any advice would be great!

Knock on wood - my blueberries (2 Blue Crop, 1 Elliott) are doing fine, with buds, about 2-3' tall. I need to do a bit of pruning of crossing branches, but that's about it. They are planted in straight peat. They, too, will be 3rd year plants, and I will remove most all berries this year in hopes of getting a nice crop next year.

As soon as they start to leaf out a bit, I am going to fertlize them with Espoma Holly Tone for acid-loving plants.

I purchased my 2-year old plants last year at Walmart (Blue Crop) and Lowe's (Elliott) for $10 each, so doesn't appear the price has gone up, Scott. They grew nicely last year and I did remove all of the berries as suggested.

Wish me luck, and I hope you're right about them being easily grown. I think the key issue is soil and maybe water comes in second. They do tend to give you an indication when they need water - the leaves lose their shiny appearance. I know when I see it, but try to water them regularly. They are shallow rooted like azaleas, and I have to do something about that this year because they are in large containers, with more depth than surface area. I want to try to find some plastic pots similar to azalea pots that are wider than they are tall because I think they would work better for blueberries. I could just find some plastic tubs for them and they would probably be less expensive.

Lots of thoughts; much less experience, but experimentation is at least one of the mothers of invention, right?

Susan

Paula, I don't think they will need any water unless we go a couple of weeks without rain and they are budding out. I don't think they need fertilizer until they are budding out also. I doubt they will bud out for at least 2 (likely at least 3) more weeks unless the temps stay up.

Susan, this year I suggest leaving about 5 blooms on each plant to get a taste and learn how they grow and when they ripen. I don't think the plants will be hurt at all by leaving a few. It sound like yours are doing great.

Regina, all I can suggest is to put about 4 to 6 inches of fine pine bark mulch on top of them, keep the roots damp with acidified water, and give them some "Miracle Grow for Acid Loving Plants" at small amounts monthly. You will know if it is working by having healthy leaves in late May and getting some healthy shoots in the late summer. I'd say it is 50/50 at best, but the thick layer of fine mulch might be a difference maker.

I am up to 50 plants now and so far so good. I will try to take pictures and post them when they start blooming.

Thanks everyone for good info!

Gosh, Scott, I didn't realize you were growing such a large number of blueberries! Bravo for you! Do you plan to market them?

My only concern at this point is about harvesting a few from Elliott because I have read that the fruit is not ripe until it turns pretty black. Otherwise, supposedly it is not palatable. At that point, it will be get them off before too ripe, it seems to me. This will be a real test for me. I haven't read this about Blue Crop.

So, I should cut the blooms off rather than waiting to cut the fruit off? I didn't know this last year, so they were actually producing fruit altho I did remove them early when they were very small and before they ripened. Do you think this might have affected the fruit production this year?

Hope I am not asking too many questions.

Susan

Susan,

I keep about 10 lbs for me, give away 10 lbs, and sell the rest. So far, the "rest" was maybe 30 lbs last year and none before that. They are so expensive to grow the way I do them that I will try to pay my expenses each year by selling some so that the ones I eat will be free. It only costs me the 10 hrs of work each year per lb I eat, LOL.

With my Elliots, I think I have had a difficult time picking them at the correct time, maybe because of my poor discipline. By that time of year I am usually tired of picking them (Elliots are last to mature) and my Elliots have mostly just started making a lb or so per plant. They have been pretty sour at times, but I like them that way to some extent.

I pinch off the blooms with my fingers. Actually, I take my hand and grab the cluster and pull them all off at once. It seems to work. I have done some after they turn into tiny green berries, but I don't know if that hurt the plants to wait like that or not.

Good luck. I always go overboard with the things I enjoy growing (pecans, blueberries, tomatoes, peppers). I have over $1000 invested in my blueberries so far, so I hope to recover some this $$$ this summer or my wife will start getting impatient with me! The plants are loaded with fruiting buds ready to open so I am optimistic.

Mine are bursting at the bud seams to open, I noticed today when outside working in the garden. I fertilized some of the emerging bulbs today, sowed a bunch of seeds in containers, and cleaned up parts of the garden...whew! I am seriously out of shape!

I knew Elliot was later than the Blue Crop, and the buds have not yet started to swell on it. I hope it won't be too late to use as a pollinator for Blue Crop. I may pick up another one soon.

I am growing enuff I hope for our own use. They are soooo expensive at the market. And, my granddaughter and I love them on cereal, in pancakes, in desserts, you name it.

You do grow a bunch, Scott, and I hope you have a great year with your crop.

Susan

Last year I think I sold mine for between $3 and $5 per quart depending on time of year and the quality of the berries. This at my small local market where I feel guilty charging a lot. For blueberries I made an exception and charged what they were worth IMO. When at their best, they are so good that $5 is a steal.

I put them into pancakes and cereal, and mix them into chocolate and pour over ice cream. The best way is straight from the vine to my mouth. Last year I ate everyone I dropped or that was knocked off the bush. By the end of the morning I would eat half a pound. My stomach would hurt and the acidity made my teeth hurt. Wonderful!

I need to post pictures of each variety I have weekly during the next 3 months. Not likely to happen, but it would be a good learning experience for me and everyone else that is getting started.

My Goodness, by accident, I'm doing right!
I have 5 in huge pots, and 2 in the ground. I put cages and mulched with pine needles last fall, I pulled it back this week, and they're budding out fine. It does seem the potted ones are growing better than the ones in the ground, neither is pure peat, but heavily ammended with peat.
Scott, do you have trouble with them drying out? or do you have a drip system?
Last year was their first year, and what few berries I had, I ate standing by them!! Hopefully, this year they will bear more. Ive already bought the Miracle Grow for acid plants, so will do as you suggested on fertilizing.

I have had a couple die and a couple almost die during their first summer in the ground, all because I missed a few too many days in a row watering while out of town. I have watered as much as about a dozen times during a year to as little as 5 times during a year for established plants. I had some soaker hoses under mine, but abandoned them for hand watering with a hose and fine sprayer to get the mulch more uniformly wet. It takes me a couple of hours to get them all watered this way, but I know I am doing it right that way at least.

This year I added pine mulch on 25% (12 to 15 plants) of mine, pecan shells on 25%, pine needles on 25%, and nothing yet on the other 25%. It takes one full pickup truck load to do each of these 25%, so it can get expensive if I have to buy everything. The mulch is the key to keeping the roots cool and moist.

A lot of mine are growing almost entirely (roots and all) above the original grade due to the peat moss and mulch being added. This makes it hard to keep them moist.