Blueberry spacing and what to grow them in

[spamvindaloo]

Hopefully next month I should have a bed ready for blueberries. The bed will be 2.4m x 1.2m x 30cm (8' x 4' x 1'). How many plants can I squeeze in here. From what I've read (on here as well as other places) 3 plants will give better pollination but from what I've read about spacing, I'm thinking I'll only have room for 2 plants. What do you think?

Also, what should I fill the bed with? The bed will be 864 litres which will be very expensive if I just use ericaceous compost (my initial plan). Could I get away with a topsoil/ericaceous compost mix? I can't give a pH value for the topsoil as I will be buying it in.

Cheers, Tony.

[whiskyman]

I have several blueberry plants(11 to be precise) and although they all grow at different heights the recommended spacing is always 1.2m. I myself wanted to grow them closer to form more as a hedge but due to the lack of information on the internet I could 'nt find what spacing I could get away with, so ended up growing in large pots.

You can lower the ph of the soil by adding Sulpher but I think you need to apply this weeks before planting the blueberry plants for it to take effect.

What variety of Blueberry plants are you buying anyway?

[spamvindaloo]

What variety of Blueberry plants are you buying anyway?

I was thinking of 1 x 'pink lemonade', 1 x 'earliblue' and 1 other, possibly 'powder blue' or 'giant patriot'

[whiskyman]

The roots spread 20" or 24", can't remember now. The best you can do is plant two plants a foot either side of the bed leaving a 3' distance between the plant planted in the center. The recommended distance is 5', bit of a tight squeeze.

I found the Earliblue to be bland. Pink Lemonade I have'nt had berries yet but a very attractive upright bush.

[spamvindaloo]

The roots spread 20" or 24", can't remember now. The best you can do is plant two plants a foot either side of the bed leaving a 3' distance between the plant planted in the center. The recommended distance is 5', bit of a tight squeeze.

I found the Earliblue to be bland. Pink Lemonade I have'nt had berries yet but a very attractive upright bush.

Thank you, is there an alternative early season berry you would recommend rather than earliblue?

[BUFFS]

as for the soil, I use my own compost , as it has loads of citrus peel included in it(wife loves oranges, and so do I) which makes it very acidic, I have done this for 5-6yrs and no problems and the bushes are thriving.. and 3ins of bark around (not touching) the stems means they feed it and stop weeds..

[4390evans]

you could look out for old xmas trees to shred and use as mulch, thats good for blueberries. I was just reading up on them myself. I have one and had no fruit but its in neutral soil so that might be the problem. A friend of mine only has one and he said he gets loads of berries.

[spamvindaloo]

Thanks for all of your replies. I think I'll try a 50/50 mix of top soil and ericaceous compost and feed with an ericaceous feed. I think I'll also give the earliblue a miss if it's not well thought of. Any suggestions for a couple of blue blueberries to go with the pink lemonade?

[Bigmallly]

Call in at your local coffee outlets & collect any spent grounds they may have. I used them on Blueberries & were fine. I didn't use ericaceous compost.

[whiskyman]

Thanks for all of your replies. I think I'll try a 50/50 mix of top soil and ericaceous compost and feed with an ericaceous feed. I think I'll also give the earliblue a miss if it's not well thought of. Any suggestions for a couple of blue blueberries to go with the pink lemonade?

Here's a chart about some varieties and theirs ripening times
http://www.fallcreeknursery.com/asse...art_poster.pdf

My Earliblue started ripening in Mid June, fully ripe in beginning of July. I bought my Duke much later than this( I think) and still were only in bloom, but probably were'nt pollinated as bought so late in the season so cannot comment if the chart is accurate for the Duke. I also pinched off the buds for the roots to develop so also cannot comment on the taste either.

In my experience, the best tasting blueberries are the largest. My Darrow and Elizabeth are large and delicious(eaten straight from the bush) but as you can see the Darrow is a late cropper.

Chart for berry size
Grow Your Own Blueberries

Any blueberry variety I find bland straight from the bush I will use in jams, so perhaps keeping the Earliblue is still an option?

[pigletwillie]

I have a raised bed of similar size and grow 4 plants in it underplanted with cranberries. Erricacious compost is expensive and mixing it with non ericacious soil/compost will reduce its acidity so I would recommend that you use normal soil/compost and mix in plenty off sequestered iron every three months for a year and then annually after that. Overtime ericacious compost will need this treatment as it will become less acid over time and you will get yellowing of leaves.

This system works really well for me with healthy crops and good yields. The cranberries add a welcome undercrop perfect for Christmas but the yield varies depending upon how dry the year has been.

[whiskyman]

I have a raised bed of similar size and grow 4 plants in it underplanted with cranberries. Erricacious compost is expensive and mixing it with non ericacious soil/compost will reduce its acidity so I would recommend that you use normal soil/compost and mix in plenty off sequestered iron every three months for a year and then annually after that. Overtime ericacious compost will need this treatment as it will become less acid over time and you will get yellowing of leaves.

This system works really well for me with healthy crops and good yields. The cranberries add a welcome undercrop perfect for Christmas but the yield varies depending upon how dry the year has been.

How old your blueberry plants? I would like to see a photo of these 4 plants planted close together before making my mind up to plant mine in the ground. I read on Blueberry.org you can plant them 2-2 1/2 feet apart to form a solid hedgerow.

I have a good place at the top of the garden which is 3 feet higher than the rest of the garden as it raised by a wall. Only downside is there is a road behind that and I am worried my blueberries might be pilfered by kids and I have to consider if there is enough space for me to climb up and stand up to harvest the blueberries.

[pigletwillie]

Whiskyman, the plants are 5-6 years old now and between 3-4 ft tall with a 2ft ish spread. planted towards the outside of an 8 x 4 raised bed they fit well in their space and crop well.

[Alison]

Whiskyman, the plants are 5-6 years old now and between 3-4 ft tall with a 2ft ish spread. planted towards the outside of an 8 x 4 raised bed they fit well in their space and crop well.

I think they'll taylor their growth to the amount if space available. Mine are spaced further apart and have grown wider although obviously there are limits to this and soil and varieties will make a difference.

[Penellype]

I have 2 blueberry bushes in pots, one is Bluecrop, the other Dixie. Dixie is slightly earlier. Both produce a mixture of berry sizes, the biggest berries appearing early and the much smaller ones hanging on until leaf fall at the end of October. I find both of these varieties very pleasant tasting.

One thing to note, you will need to net them against birds. I failed to do this the first year I had mine and was waiting patiently for the big berries to ripen when I visited the local garden centre and found their bushes covered with purple fruit. When I looked carefully around my bushes I could see purple splodges on the path which were clearly bird poo. I covered the bushes with a net and the first berry turned purple the next day.

I bought my bushes pot grown in the late summer, when they were in fruit - giving me a chance to taste the various varieties available before I bought