While everyone has there blueberry hats on, I have a question. Actually the question will follow. I am a first time blueberry planter and have no idea how to get them started. Right now they are in little pots from the nursery. I have very clay soil that holds water like it you would not believe. The area I wanted to plant them can stay wet for many days after a rain but if we get dry weather for long periods of time the ground will crack and dry out. Now the question... What do I do? Does the ground need to be broken up and things added. Clay does not break up well if the slightest bit wet. What can I add to the clay to help break it up and make it better. I hear organic matter helps but that is in short supply for me right now. Should I put them in containers or raised beds with the clay dug out below??? I need advice please. Thanks in advance. Green moderator's note: split this post into it's own topic
Blueberries don't like wet feet. They also like acid soil, like the rhododendron do. I grow mine in a very sunny location in acid, well-drained soil consisting of a bit of sand, lots of bark chips and pine needles and our normal, acidic ground soil. I hope this helps a bit, and I'm certain people will be along to help out more. Truth be told I haven't thought much about preparing the ground for them since our conditions are good for blueberries to start with.
I was going to suggest the sand and pine needles also but Droopy beat me to it...lol. She's fast! But honestly i have never grown them, since they grow wild here everywhere. Good luck to you.
Which Species of blueberry do you have? Most are grown further north but there are some that have been developed to grow in the southern U.S. Knowing the Species will probably give you some help in finding out what it will and will not grow in. It will also give you the size of the plant at maturity so you will know if you can successfully grow them in pots with the type of soil they require.
If your soil is that heavy blueberries probably would not do well !! If it were me I would get those half barrels that you see at the garden centers,,the wooden kind,, for a container and plant in it !! They would last several years before you had to repot them !! Drill several drainage holes and plant in a mix of sand,pine needles,with a bit of peat moss should give you a mixture they will like !! Adding a layer of pine needle mulch on top would also be good !!
Hey Green Machine... I am no expert and this year is my first growing blueberries too so we will have to compare notes on how it goes, OK? I read a lot and got lots of good advice from our GS friends. I gotta tell you, the way you describe your soil, I'm kind of agreeing with Mart... maybe containers are the way to go. But if you want some info about soil prep, I tracked down one of the threads from a couple months ago that you can read through. http://www.gardenstew.com/about18538.html I blogged about how I prepped the soil and planted, based on the above referenced suggestions. Good luck to you and your blues!!!
They're "Spartan" blueberries, here's a link to where I got them http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/40205/ I think we've decided, based on the input here, on putting them in half-barrel pots for a couple of years and work on a good place to put them in the yard afterward. Maybe dig a big pit and bring in some sand, etc.
You get more really cold temps in the winter than we do down here so a Northern Highbush blueberry plant will probably like that. And I don't think you get the extreme heat and drought conditions that we do either, so that is a plus too. A bush that large might have trouble producing as many berries planted in a large pot than it would in the ground. Getting a ground location prepared as soon as possible is definitely a good idea.
:-D Thanks for the advise all. I think we will put them in large containers/barrels this year and then in the fall go and buy things on sale to make the soil ready for them. I didn't think we would get anything this year any way. Our blackberries were like that the first year. Any more thoughts or advise would be most welcome.
