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Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 8:19 pm
by BigBill
I'm going to need somemore help here. What do i feed blueberries and strawberries?

I'm getting ready to plant about 200 strawberry plants. I just tilled up the lawn and should i add manure before i plant them?

I'm starting off with 20 blueberry dwarf bushes for now. What do i feed them?

Once i'm away from the tomatoes/garden i'm lost on what to do. I transplanted some strawberries from the old place but had no luck so far. I planted blueberries and my rottie ate them before they could even grow. (plants) I know i need to fence it all in now. Inside me there's a farmer trying to get out.....its in my blood because i come from a family of farmers for generations. Well we were farmers, grape smashers and boat builders back in the old country.

My next thing is growing grapes for home made wine. My grandfather and my dad made wine but i was too young to know or realize what they were doing.

Re: Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 8:21 am
by Dan England
BigBill: We have blueberry plants. I had a soil test done before planting. Although blueberry bushes prefer an acid soil, our soil was too acid and needed the addition of a small amount of lime. I now feed with a balanced fertilizer each spring and the plants produce more berries than we can use. If you haven't done so, I recommend that you have a soil test done, It only takes a week or so to get results of the test. You will then know what your soil needs to support growth and production of blueberries. There is no charge for having soil tests done in Arkansas but that may not be true for all states. Dan

Re: Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 7:40 pm
by Dan England
BB: Do a google search on growing blueberries. There is a lot of information on the web on all aspects of blueberry culture. Also, if your area has a county agri. agent, check with that office for brochures on growing blueberries and strawberries. The brochures will be very helpful as they give info developed for your geographical region. Dan

Re: Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 1:48 pm
by SONNY
We just planted 4 blueberries and 1 cranberry plant. hope they like their bed! thanks; sonny

Re: Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:21 pm
by Kodiak
BB,
I transplanted 9 blueberry bushes from a friends place back in Jan. , All 9 lived and are loaded with berries at this time. I'm currently working on keeping the deer away. They have eated some leaves off the bushes but haven't touched the berries just yet (still green) so I planted some basil plants and merrigold flowers near them. The basil worked last year on the garden and I hear the flowers work well too. I know my Grandmother (lived to 105) told me merrigolds were good to keep bugs away because of the smell. It worked in her flower garden (no bugs ever) so whay not on deer :D If it works it's not that expensive to do.

Ron

Re: Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 8:22 pm
by Eugene
Check with your state university extension office, either in person or on line. They should have quite a bit of information on your desired plants, including recommended farming practices and varieties for you area. University extension offices are usually located in the county seat - suggest the phone book for the exact location.

The State and Federal ag offices in your county will be able to assist in the soil tests.

Re: Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:26 pm
by BigBill
So far my new blueberry plants all have blueberries on them. I got all my strawberries planted and there doing awesome maybe i'll have strawberries by next year. I just ordered 75 more strawberry plants. I also planted blackberries and rasberries too. My new apple trees are showing signs of life too. It took my pear trees a little longer to bud but there ok too. It looks like my little hobby farm just may take off in a few years.

I also planted two cranberry plants too after my misses made stuffed pork chops with pork sausage, cranberries and stuffin mix. I never had cranberries in stuffing before. Its awesome!!!!

My neighbor had a dump truckload of lime and had extra so he came over and did my garden and lawn. My tomatoes last year had a little taste of acid last year so i'm sure it needed lime. I did put in three loads of aged processed chicken manure were i planted my strawberries. I used this special blend of manure when i planted my white peach trees from the peach pits. Now this year there almost 4' tall and growing quickly.

I'm hoping to get some chickens in the spring. Maybe some fryers and egg layers. I don't know much about chickens yet...

My corn isn't doing that well with all this rain. We need a week of sunlite. We only have two and a half months to really grow stuff left. This may be the summer that never came?

With all this rain i'm going to get the plow ready for snow soon, its going to be a really bad winter i'm sure. I may mount the snowblower on a cadet for backup too.

Re: Growing blueberries and strawberries????

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:03 am
by TractorChick
I planted 10 strawberries and 1 blackberry bush.
I got quite a few strawberries this year, being the first year for those plants
Mine are in like 10 gallon buckets