SCORED at Lowe's !!!

[skeeter9]

I went into Lowe's tonight after work to spend a $10 gift certificate. I was just planning on picking up some compost, but as I was heading that direction I spotted a bunch of blueberry plants on sale for six-something!!! A few weeks ago I bought a Legacy and a Blueray, but was figuring I would have to add a couple more bushes next year to eventually have enough to harvest. This time I picked up a Duke and a Bluegold. I knew I wanted a Duke, but have no idea what to expect from the Bluegold. They had a bunch of a variety called Northcountry, which I've never heard of either.

I'm a happy gardener right now. :tools

 

[digitS']

I like blueberries !

Do you have to do a lot of soil amending to keep them happy there in the high and dry part of California, Skeeter?

Steve

 

[skeeter9]

I like blueberries, too, Steve, and I will like them a lot more when I'm not paying seven bucks for a tiny little basket of them!

I'm growing all of mine in huge pots right now. Since I'm new at this I figure I have much more control over their growing conditions this way. In a couple of years I should have figured out where in our yard they will do well, then I will make a raised bed especially for them. My guess is that they will require some afternoon shade, even though they are supposed to like full sun. Full sun here is pretty tough on things.

eta - I looked up the Bluegold and it sounds like it's a winner!

 

[journey11]

Awesome, I will have to take another look around... I had picked up 4 small blueberry plants over a month ago at TSC and one died while waiting to be planted (argh...rain!!) Another looks sad, and the other 2 still look good. I want to replace the dead ones though, so I hope I can find some more on sale.

ETA: Forgot to mention, check your local Wally-World too. Just this evening I found 2 pear trees and a red plum, all healthy and quite large in 5 gal. pots for 50% off! I got them for $9.00 each....I would have had to pay at least twice that for a bare root tree ordered through the mail.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm ready for the blueberries to ripen. I've got three bushes out and it looks like I'm going to get a pretty good harvest this year. In a couple of weeks, I should have a good idea of how much volume that will actually be. I don't know how many blueberries you are after, but if you can get the bushes to mature and start bearing well, you can get quite a few off a bush. I'm pleased with what I'm seeing this year so far.

The main soil amending I had to do was to acidize the soil a lot. I've got it down to 5.4 and it seems to be enough for them to live and produce, but I still need to drop it a little more.

Another problem with blueberies is that they have a real shallow root system. This means they can dry out real fast if the soil gets dry, yet they can drown if the soil is kept too wet. I put them on a hillside so they will drain well, yet I carry a lot of water to them. They are heavily mulched too.

 

[Northernrose]

I went into Lowe's tonight after work to spend a $10 gift certificate. I was just planning on picking up some compost, but as I was heading that direction I spotted a bunch of blueberry plants on sale for six-something!!! A few weeks ago I bought a Legacy and a Blueray, but was figuring I would have to add a couple more bushes next year to eventually have enough to harvest. This time I picked up a Duke and a Bluegold. I knew I wanted a Duke, but have no idea what to expect from the Bluegold. They had a bunch of a variety called Northcountry, which I've never heard of either.

I'm a happy gardener right now. :tools

Blueray is a good one! The others you got are really good too Here's a link to a nursery that has a lot of variety descriptions Note that there are 3 pages for the different types, I almost missed that the first time.

http://www.fallcreeknursery.com/Commercial/VarietyChart/index.htm

 

[digitS']

. . .I've got it down to 5.4 and it seems to be enough for them to live and produce, but I still need to drop it a little more.

Another problem with blueberies is that they have a real shallow root system. This means they can dry out real fast if the soil gets dry, yet they can drown if the soil is kept too wet. I put them on a hillside so they will drain well, yet I carry a lot of water to them. They are heavily mulched too.

Oh Gosh, even the water in this valley runs well above 8 on the pH scale during the summer months!!

I knew this 1 bush I've got would never do anything . . . it is a wonder it's still alive!

Steve

 

[skeeter9]

Journey - I saw those at TSC earlier in the spring. These I got at Lowe's are in 1 gallon pots with nice root systems, so maybe you can find some of these at your Lowe's?

Northernrose - I'm gonna check out that site after I get through on here. Maybe they will have some info on the other one Lowe's had called Northcountry?

Ridgerunner - I would like to have enough berries for fresh eating for 5 or 6 people and some to freeze (maybe a couple of gallon baggies). I don't know how many plants I actually need - depends on which site I read!! lol

Steve - Do you have yours in a pot or in your yard? I've never checked our water, but I don't think it's like yours. That must be hard to work with.

 

[journey11]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to check out Lowe's. I finally got my blueberries planted today and I was really disappointed with how little the roots were when I got them out of the bag. They were basically twigs with a fist full of tiny roots and a whole lotta dirt in the bag! :/

 

[Northernrose]

. . .I've got it down to 5.4 and it seems to be enough for them to live and produce, but I still need to drop it a little more.

Another problem with blueberies is that they have a real shallow root system. This means they can dry out real fast if the soil gets dry, yet they can drown if the soil is kept too wet. I put them on a hillside so they will drain well, yet I carry a lot of water to them. They are heavily mulched too.

Oh Gosh, even the water in this valley runs well above 8 on the pH scale during the summer months!!

I knew this 1 bush I've got would never do anything . . . it is a wonder it's still alive!

Steve

Hi Steve,
From what I've read, some varieties are quite tolerant of higher pH. One gardener did recomend adding a bit of vinegar when he watered his blueberries. Soil sulfer also helps a lot and that's what I use because our soil and well water pH is pretty high too. At my old place the summer well water was as high as 9!

Trisha