How to revive an old (very old) blueberry patch

[Piston]

There is a small area on some land I'm getting that still has blueberries growing, in what used to be a muli acre blueberry field, now it is only about a 50'x20' section.
It is family land, and my father and his brothers tell me about how they used to fill 5 gallon buckets with blueberries and sell them. I hear stories about my grandmother picking blueberries in the morning and baking fresh muffins for them for breakfast......these stories make me want BLUEBERRIES!

A lot of the 'old field' is now grown in with brush and small pines. I'm wondering if I cleared this area, will the blueberry bushes come back?

Once I get rid of the small trees and brush, what would be the best way to get the blueberries to grow better? I know they used to burn the fields and still do up the road, but at this point it seems like all the blueberries are gone for the most part, and there is hardly anything left.

Are they the type of plants that go dormant for a long time and then once the sun hits them or they get agitated again they start growing again??

Would a Ratchet Rake be good for disturbing the soil? Assuming that is even what I want to do?

help me get some blueberries back please

 

[Petroman1]

Hey Piston,
I am no expert but in Down East Maine they have been clearing out the big rocks and leveling the fields so that they can use machinery to harvest. The plants will spread if the area is not overgrown. I searched and there is a ton of info on the net. Here is just one I found.
Will Blueberry Plants Spread? | eHow.com
Good Luck with this project!

 

[KTurner]

My wife's grandparents had blueberry bushes as part of their large garden/orchard. I think they stopped in about 1995 due to her grandfather's health. There's a strip of plants out behind our house, where the garden was, which hadn't been mowed for years due to some unknown stumps. I mowed it to the ground summer before last. Yesterday, for the first time in years, blueberries were picked from those plants. It was only about 3/4 of a cup, but there's lots more berries to ripen.

Based on my limited experience, it doesn't take much to bring them back. There was so much grown up, I didn't realize there were still viable blueberry bushes in there, so I wasn't even trying to bring them back. There's probably better ways than mine, but this worked. I do need to work on getting rid of the other plants/weeds that are mixed in, before they take over again.

Keith

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I have some wild blueberries on my place and they seem to get spread by the birds. When I bush-hogged I looked out for new bushes and there were several. The plants are easy to identify. If you don't see plants they aren't there. It might work to spread some berries. Of course plants are not too expensive to buy either. They like acidic soil.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-65.pdf

For personal use I would think a 50' by 20' section would be more than plenty. My plants really load up with berries.

 

[Egon]

First get a soil test. Then apply whatever is indicated for good blueberry growth.

Then cut the area about 5--6 in. ??? tall in the spring. This makes the plant bush out rather than one stem.

Note: this is hearsay from a fellow who was trying to develop a patch for commercial harvesting.

 

[pat32rf]

First of all, there are many strains of blueberries (in our area). Some grow best in full sun, others under the pines and ferns. All like acid soil (pine needles). I have been told that there MUST be two varieties for pollination to occur. Most patches have this naturally.
Our local blueberry farm will run the bush hog up the rows every fall or so. This duplicates the action of the snow which breaks the branches causing more growth.

In your case, I'd get rid of the competing growth, and trim half of them down to half their height in the fall . Then fertilize in the early spring...
I've no suggestions for controlling the birds and chipmunks however

 

[bstrom]

We burned a section of our land (under safe wet conditions) where low bush blueberries were starting. They came in with a vengeance after that. I thought it was an old wives tale but it worked. Not sure about doing that down in MA with all the restrictions down there though.

 

[Piston]

Haha, your right, there are certainly a lot of restrictions down here! The blueberry field is up on some family land in NH though but I'm not sure about their laws for burning either. Maybe a series of small 'brush fires' will do the trick after clearing the brush and trees

Thanks for the links guys and I'll check them out now. The soil sample is a good reminder because I've been meaning to do that for years now.
This might be a stupid question, but how do I submit a soil sample and to where?

I want to take samples from around different areas of the 50 acres and see if they differ anywhere.
I'll try brush hogging the heck out of it and maybe burn some of it as well. Ideally I would love a huge blueberry field more for the wildlife than anything. I know there are black bears in the area and it would be great for the birds and probably all small wildlife.
In fact, last week my grandfather watched a black bear walk off with his bird feeder! I wish he got a pic of it!

The lot next door is a few hundred acres and used to have a lot of blueberries back in the day, like over 25 yrs ago because I never remember it being blueberries. There is actually still a sign on the land that has been rotting away that says something about blueberries. Across the street is 2 large fields that up until 10 yrs ago they were still producing blueberries. I imagine the soil is about perfect the way it is since they are so prolific.

My dad used to get paid a very small amount to go up to the field a few times a day in the summer and light off a small cannon, supposedly to scare the birds away. Him and his brothers used to get paid by the land owner for every 5 gallon bucket they collected. :thumbsup:

 

[Rustyiron]

For a soil test, check with the county? extension agent.

 

[dave1949]

Yep, extension agents are a good resource. You can also buy soil test kits at the hardware store. From inexpensive to pricey. If you are mainly interested in the ph of the soil and nitrogen levels, the cheap kits are fine.
Dave.