Contrary to what I've read in the organic gandening literature, I've
found blueberries to be quite east to grow, too. I mulch them heavily
with hardwood bark that I get free from a local sawmill and occasionally
sprinkle around a little elemental sulfur just to make sure things stay
on the acid side. As you said, the biggest problem is birds---they'll
take the entire crop if we don't use netting. Even then, they'll find
the smallest hole in the netting and get in anyway. They love
blueberries as much as I do, I guess. Rabbits are also a problem in
winter.
As I understand it, V. corymbosum is the highbush blueberry and the
basis for many of the cultivated varieties. It's only marginally hardy
here in the upper Great Lakes area, so we mostly grow lowbush
blueberries, which have been bred from hardier species. Our two common
native species here are V. angustifolium, the lowbush blueberry, and V.
myrtilloides, velvetleaf blueberry.
Doug Fields
jeff wrote:
>
> Eric wrote:
> > Vaccinium corymbosum (blueberry), many cultivars, native to eastern US,
> > blue berries
>
> I attended a seminar once for blueberry growers and one man outlined
> a simple system for home growers. We started using it about 7 years
> ago. It goes like this:
>
> 1. Plant anywhere then spread raw mulch
> 2. Smother weeds with raw mulch
> 3. Water in mid summer and and add raw mulch
>
> I think the mulch layer helps with the PH and water conservation. The
> blueberry is very shallow rooted so it doesn't like much cultivation and
> addition of fertilizer isn't necessary. This easy growing method may
> not work everywhere. I've read that the plant is considered "too hardy"
> in this area. If you read the organic growers guidlelines, they make
> it sound like work and i suspect they are trying to cover several regions.
> When the plant is in an ideal climate the methods change and it is
> our role to be abusive and obnoxious <grin>.
>
> Some other advantages of blueberries are:
>
> 1. Long lived and hardy
> 2. Easy to prune (we seldom prune)
> 3. Bug free (our only problem is birds)
> 4. Low growing, attractive, landscape plant
> 5. Reliable production of berries
> ----
> jeff owens, [EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.teleport.com/~kowens
> underground house, solar power, self-reliance, edible landscape
> to leave ecopath: unsubscribe ecopath -> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
