FYI blueberries like to be grown in pots so if you dont have a yard you may still be able to grow them. I planted some this winter and they have flowered and are now forming berries. Can't wait!

Kit

I just purchased a blueberry plant and am so excited to have some soon. what do you do as far as fertilizing organically?

Since we're on the topic of fruits, do you know if raspberries would be okay in containers as well?! I'm new to the organic gardening, well...just gardening in general! Last year was my first garden and my birdhouse gourds took over! hehehe!

Thanks

~jes~

Where do you get a blueberry plant? I want one.

We used to have a blueberry tree outside but its not even worth it because the damn birds always got to them first.

Hello jes8098 and LikeItOrNot,

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply.

As far as fertilizing organically I know you can use fish meal or kelp meal. What you dont want to do is use fertilizer with nitrogen in nitrate form since it can kill blueberries.(I went to a helpful lecture during the winter on growing blueberries. I took notes and have loaned them to a co-worker. I am waiting to get my notes back!) But I'm telling you the things I remember.

In containers you can plant them with a mix of:

the small pathway bark 1/3 or 1/4"
1/3 peat moss
1/3 azalea or other acid plant mix
also you can throw in a handful of sulfur for each plant

And I remember he said you can put some bark on top of the soil to act as a filter if your water is "hard" or you just want if filtered

Put them where they will get lots of sun.
There are blueberries that produce early in the season, May maybe, and ones that produce maybe into September. So you can get some of each to get a longer harvest.
He also said they help polinate each other so it can be good to get more than one plant.

I got my plants at Capitol Nursery. I bought a Patriot, an O'Neal, a Darrow and a Sunshine.

I'm not sure about Raspberries in containers but I know vine berries like that can sometimes take over so containers might be good.

I hope this helps. Good Luck,
Kit

One of my blueberry plants is now producing edibles. They are delicious. I have found I must wait for them to become large and a little squishy on the plant before I pick them in order to get them very sweet and ripe. I see why stores often sell them when they are still tart because if you pick them ripe they dont last long unless, of course, you freeze them. But I have no problem eating them right away. There's nothing like the real thing.

Kit

I found some info on berries here:

[www.noursefarms.com]

david

Our nursery here says you need to plant two (I assume more than two is good also) varieties near each other in order to properly pollinate.

I have two in pots right next to each other. Last year both produced very well, and this year one produced much better than the other one.

I forgot to fertilize at all.

dvdai,
Thanks for the blueberry info.

imfree,
You are right about the polination. That's why I planted the four varieties mentioned above. The Sunshine and the Patriot are still producing but have slowed down. The other two the are growing but did not produce. I think it's because I neglected them last year.

They seem to like getting kelp meal.

Kit