Blueberries do best in acid soil with a pH of around 5.0. The soil should be supplemented with peat moss, which should make up 50 per cent of the soil mixture around the plants. From north, set out the blueberries in the early spring as soon as the ground can be worked; from south, set them out in fall, winter or spring.
For berries within three years, buy plants that are 1 to 2 feet tall. Smaller plants, usually sold as one or two year old plants, should be set in a nursery bed for a few years before being set into the garden. If possible, buy blueberry plants with a ball of soil around their roots, for the roots are very fine and hairlike and must be kept moist at all times. Set high-bush plants 5 to 6 feet apart in rows 8 feet apart; rabbiteye varieties should be planted 8 feet apart in rows 8 to 10 feet apart. Cut back both types about halfway at the time of planting.
Use 1/4 pound around young plants and 1/2 pound around old ones; apply it very early in the spring, scattering it beneath the branches. However, ammonium sulfate is an excellent chemical fertilizer for old plants if cautiously applied: use a maximum of 1/4 pound for a plant 5 to 6 feet tall. Ordinary 10-10-10 fertilizer can also be used at the rate of 11/2 ounces for each year the plant has been in the garden, up to 8 ounces.
Blueberry varieties ripen over a two-month period in midsummer in most of the country, but the season's first berries ripen in May in Florida. To get sweet blueberries, allow the fruit to remain on the plants at least one week after they turn blue; unripe berries are sour.
Good varieties, in their order of ripening, are Tifblue, Callaway, Walker and Homebell. In North Carolina varieties resistant to canker are useful; the best ones, in their order of ripening, are Angola, Wolcott, Croatan, Murphy and Scammell. At least two varieties of blueberries should be planted, for pollination of one variety by pollen from another is usually necessary to ensure that the bushes will bear fruit.
In areas where the soil is alkaline, having a pH of 7.0 or above, plant blueberry bushes in containers sunk into the ground. Two very satisfactory containers can be made by cutting one 50-gallon metal drum in half, then punching three or four 2-inch holes in the bottom of each section for drainage. Sink the drums into the soil to within 1 inch of their rims and fill them with an acid type of peat moss, such as sphagnum moss, or a mixture of equal parts of sphagnum moss and sharp sand.
For berries within three years, buy plants that are 1 to 2 feet tall. Smaller plants, usually sold as one or two year old plants, should be set in a nursery bed for a few years before being set into the garden. If possible, buy blueberry plants with a ball of soil around their roots, for the roots are very fine and hairlike and must be kept moist at all times. Set high-bush plants 5 to 6 feet apart in rows 8 feet apart; rabbiteye varieties should be planted 8 feet apart in rows 8 to 10 feet apart. Cut back both types about halfway at the time of planting.
Use 1/4 pound around young plants and 1/2 pound around old ones; apply it very early in the spring, scattering it beneath the branches. However, ammonium sulfate is an excellent chemical fertilizer for old plants if cautiously applied: use a maximum of 1/4 pound for a plant 5 to 6 feet tall. Ordinary 10-10-10 fertilizer can also be used at the rate of 11/2 ounces for each year the plant has been in the garden, up to 8 ounces.
Blueberry varieties ripen over a two-month period in midsummer in most of the country, but the season's first berries ripen in May in Florida. To get sweet blueberries, allow the fruit to remain on the plants at least one week after they turn blue; unripe berries are sour.
Good varieties, in their order of ripening, are Tifblue, Callaway, Walker and Homebell. In North Carolina varieties resistant to canker are useful; the best ones, in their order of ripening, are Angola, Wolcott, Croatan, Murphy and Scammell. At least two varieties of blueberries should be planted, for pollination of one variety by pollen from another is usually necessary to ensure that the bushes will bear fruit.
In areas where the soil is alkaline, having a pH of 7.0 or above, plant blueberry bushes in containers sunk into the ground. Two very satisfactory containers can be made by cutting one 50-gallon metal drum in half, then punching three or four 2-inch holes in the bottom of each section for drainage. Sink the drums into the soil to within 1 inch of their rims and fill them with an acid type of peat moss, such as sphagnum moss, or a mixture of equal parts of sphagnum moss and sharp sand.
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Try to locate the vegetable garden away from trees or shrubs as their shade will stunt your vegetables and their broadly ranging roots will take awayl most of the moisture and nutrients from the garden bed.
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