Anyone grow blueberries?

[fishin coyote]

I didn’t think I had a bird problem. I knew the birds got a few but not enough to make a difference, I was wrong. When I netted the bushes my harvest tripled.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I didn’t think I had a bird problem. I knew the birds got a few but not enough to make a difference, I was wrong. When I netted the bushes my harvest tripled.

Hmm, interesting! I could see that being the case. I might start with pie plates, CDs and fake owls first. Netting seems like a bit of a pain.

 

[masseyrider]

Hmm, interesting! I could see that being the case. I might start with pie plates, CDs and fake owls first. Netting seems like a bit of a pain.

Birds are not fooled or intimidated for long.
When farming I grew a block of dessert grapes.
The first year of harvesting I bought a couple propane cannons and bird squawkers.
The cannon works on a timer and sets off 3 shotgun plus loud bangs in succession.
Worked great the first day. Second day they were suspicious. Still spooked but...
By the end of the week they were landing on the bangers. When they went off the birds would fly up 10-20 feet and settle back down on the banger once it completed it's cycle.
The Squawkers play recordings of stressed and injured birds. They can tell.
$4K wasted.
So I used to walk around with my Remington 870. They would take off for the far side of the vineyard.
No matter how many I shot the numbers never really changed.
At an auction I bought roles of mesh to cover the first 50' of each row where the damage was worst.
I didn't secure it at the bottom.
Big mistake. They just flew underneath.
If they like what you are growing they will get to it.

 

[JPRambo]

This is what I use for bird netting. I bent 3/4" EMT (electrical conduit) to support it above the bushes

 

[Phil Timmons]

anyone try container blue-berries? Thinking like blue water barrels?

 

[jymbee]

Probably more luck than management but for years we've harvested more berries from our main 4 bushes (4 small additional added a few years ago) that we can eat ourselves.

Birds are definitely a consideration in our case so I built this contraption (pictured in the right/background) to completely cover the bushes. Works great:

We give away gallons of berries every season and allow some guests to come pick at times:

I struggled with the netting at first given it snags and tangles so bad this product bought on Amazon changed all that. Worlds above the cheap stuff and hardly ever snags.

 

[ponytug]

Hmm, interesting! I could see that being the case. I might start with pie plates, CDs and fake owls first. Netting seems like a bit of a pain.

I think how elaborate your barrier needs to be is dependent on your level of local predators.

Skip the pie plates, and flashy tape. The birds just laughed at that. I really think that netting is the way to go, and I also use the commercial woven netting like @jymbee. It is much tougher and last for years.

I've seen PVC and bent EMT hoops, as well as as trellises. We had trouble with the bent PVC, but I would admit our site is problematic (slopes). In the end, I drove a couple of T-posts and put PVC pipe over the T-post for the verticals, which let me wrap the electric netting around the posts. You can run the vinyl coated wire or clothesline as a support. We have electric fence around the netting, with an 8" plastic strip at ground level to force the squirrels up into the electric fence. Yes the predation level is high here.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Phil Timmons]

need some drone netting. (joking)

That is how they are doing road cover in East-Uke-West-Russo-Stan.

Or whatever that mess is called, now.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

anyone try container blue-berries? Thinking like blue water barrels?

It's doable. Main thing is getting the moisture and PH right. I have about 20 still in 3 gallon pots I had meant to replant early spring but the time got away from me. About 5-6 have fruit on them now. I plan to harvest them in about a month or so. Had thought about staging a few on our patio in pots. I think they'll do fine.

If your blueberries are not thriving, I'd suspect water or PH primarily. If outside it recommended PH range the roots shut down and won't deliver nutrients/water etc to the plant. So the horticulturist say. I believe it.

 

[71bronco]

I built a permanent structure with 4x4s on corners and 12'x16' with 2x4s with chicken wire on top.7' tall. Every year before they get ripe we screw 2x4s on the corners down to the ground and 12 x16 2x4s on the ground and wrap 8' tall plastic mesh all the way around. leave a door in a corner. Birds don't get any and we get lots off of 5 bushes.
We leave the top up all year and take the sides down when the blueberries are done for easier mowing.

Jeff

 

[71bronco]

I'm not at explaining so here's some pictures. The 4 outside corners I'll screw 2x4s and put 12x16 foot 2x4s on the ground. Then wrap netting for the sides.

Jeff

 

[ponytug]

Looks good! Almost like a Torii gate.

Thanks for sharing the construction and photos.

All the best,

Peter

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Yeah @71bronco great system. How old are those bushes if you don't mind me asking?

My blueberry patch is still in it's infancy. I look forward to the day my bushes are well established, happy and healthy. 4 of my bushes were planted in my location 3 or 4 years ago, they might have been 2-3 years old when I bought them, so they are getting there. But each of the last 2 years I have lost 2 bushes. So 4 of my bushes are 2 or 3 year old plants planted this spring. I plan on giving them just a bit more attention this year in hopes that I do not lose anymore. We have had some hot/dry summers over the last couple and I think I didn't water them enough. It is kind of a pain because I have no hose in that area. Now that I have 4 new blueberry bushes, 4 new figs and a blackberry planted over there I need to get a better system. I plan on putting a 55 gallon drum in the back of my SxS. I can easily park uphill of each of these plants and let gravity do the work. I have them mulched a lot better now as well, so that should help. Trying to work smarter not harder.

 

[71bronco]

Yeah @71bronco great system. How old are those bushes if you don't mind me asking?

The bushes are at least 30 years old and all I do for them is spread a little sawdust every couple years.I prune them when they get to large for the cage, every couple years.
When we pick in the summertime we usually fill 2 5 quart buckets every 2 or 3 days. My wife freezes the extra that we don't eat.

Jeff

 

[EscapedSuburbia]

I planted 8 blueberries of a few different varieties last week. My soil pH is 6 so I have some elemental sulfur coming today to bring it down a bit. I know I should have amended the soil before hand but I had a hospital stay and have been out of commission for awhile. My first question is: how soon is it OK to water in sulfur with new plantings? Is it OK to do right away or should I wait until the roots are established?

My second question is about deer. I have heavy deer traffic through my property and one of their favorite routes is right by where I planted the blueberries. I put 2' tall cages around the plants to keep the rabbits out and strung wires across the top to keep the deer from eating them from above. I assume they'll be higher than 2' by the end of the year. Do deer fancy blueberries? Should I plan on higher cages for the first few years?

 

[Torvy]

Our native soil is perfect for blueberries. We planted 4 plants 2 years ago and they did well (all different varieties).

This year we added 4 more, but bigger plants.

They are loaded with berries.

We had the original 4 in netting (t posts with field fence covered in nylon mesh, including the top in mesh).

The biggest problem has been it is too short to work under.

Once the bushes mature, we can probably share with the birds.

As it is, we have wild strawberries and blackberries the birds are welcome to have.

Blueberries want moisture, especially when fruiting, but they dont want 'wet feet' you need good drainage, too. The sandy loam here works well for that as long as it isn't low-lying.

 

[ponytug]

@EscapedSuburbia If it were me, I would be using soluble organic acids, like peat moss, old tea and coffee grounds, oak leaves, pine needles, whatever can be gotten today that is acidic. Sulfur is more of a five year additive, as it takes bacteria/fungi a while to grow and convert (oxidize) it to sulfuric acid.

Does that make sense?

All the best, Peter

 

[jymbee]

I "scalped" the grass around my BB bushes with the string trimmer last Spring and spread this by hand around the bushes. I guess I can't prove a direct cause & effect but the harvest was even more amazing than usual.

Question for other BB growers: Each season of the 8 bushes we have some might produce greater yields than normal, then the next year back to the usual. I've even had one of the bushes do fairly poorly one year and wondered if perhaps there was an issue only to have it bounce back the next season with a bumper crop. No discernable difference as far as anything I did. Do you see see the same thing?

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

I planted 8 blueberries of a few different varieties last week. My soil pH is 6 so I have some elemental sulfur coming today to bring it down a bit. I know I should have amended the soil before hand but I had a hospital stay and have been out of commission for awhile. My first question is: how soon is it OK to water in sulfur with new plantings? Is it OK to do right away or should I wait until the roots are established?

My second question is about deer. I have heavy deer traffic through my property and one of their favorite routes is right by where I planted the blueberries. I put 2' tall cages around the plants to keep the rabbits out and strung wires across the top to keep the deer from eating them from above. I assume they'll be higher than 2' by the end of the year. Do deer fancy blueberries? Should I plan on higher cages for the first few years?

The ES will take a little while to break down. I have used vinegar in water and sprayed it around the plants a few times over a few weeks. I will leach out over time. I wouldn't make the solution too strong. Another idea is ammonium sulfate. Again not too heavy handed on it.

As for deer, YES! they love em. As they get a taste for them they will seek them out and bring their families. I bought some deer away to keep em out of my strawberries and black berries so far so good.

 

[ponytug]

@part-time-Farmer-NC that's quite the blackberry setup! How many acres of them do you have? What do you do with all the berries?

All the best, Peter