Blueberry time in TN!

[John K Jordan]

Blueberries are starting to ripen here. I've picked a few cups recently but picked 5 cups just this afternoon, mostly from three bushes - many more on the bushes to ripen later.

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It's been so dry I did have to water all the bushes several times. I use a trickle of water for several hours, moving it around the plants.
Same with the raspberries and strawberries - they've been ripening for some time but with extra water they really produce - I can't possibly pick everything. Feeding a lot of birds.

We eat the fruit fresh, of course, often in yogurt or on cereal but also bake into various things and freeze some of the baked goods. We eat like royalty!!

Who else is picking blueberries now?

JKJ

[Doug Garson]

Ours here in the Vancouver area are just starting to turn color, we've had a cold wet spring so they're a little behind. Wife just cut the rhubarb and garlic scapes.

[Warren Lake]

two large bags of frozen ones in the freezer. I looked at the nursery and they had over 5 types of blueberries. Do you have one your prefer or several types and what type of square footage. garden is full now but looking to expand it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It's morel time out here! My wife put a batch in the freezer after midnight this morning.

[John K Jordan]

two large bags of frozen ones in the freezer. I looked at the nursery and they had over 5 types of blueberries. Do you have one your prefer or several types and what type of square footage. garden is full now but looking to expand it.

My biggest bush is a Duke but I don't remember the names of the other larger bushes. I read that it's best to get several varieties for cross pollination so I plant different types. I read the best time to plant is in Jan/Feb when the plants are dormant, mix soil with something like pine bark.

I plant in the yard on a slight slope in full sun for at least 6-8 hrs a day, most planted 4-5' apart in a line but 6' would probably be better. They like acid soil so I mulch with oak leaves, fertilize in the spring when new growth starts. My largest is so thick it's in dire need of pruning. Almost all plants send up new sprouts every year.

JKJ

[William Lessenberry]

Lots of berries here in central Arkansas too. Along with green beans and cherry tomatoes. Won't be long before the sweet corn, okra, bell peppers, and watermelon will be ready. What the wife picked yesterday from our two big bushes.
BillL

[Bill Bukovec]

We picked a few cups from the one bush. The other three bushes are still too young to bear fruit. We are in Mountain City, TN.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I picked wild Blackberries. I got enough berries for a small pie, and enough ticks for a large casserole. Those blueberries are lovely! We hope to have a planting but they require irrigation to do well in MO. Our onions did better than last year. Our yield is less than 1/2 what Moms will be. her smallest one is larger than our largest, and hers are still growing.

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[John K Jordan]

...Our yield is less than 1/2 what Moms will be. her smallest one is larger than our largest, and hers are still growing.


Could it be her soil? Don't make me load up the dump trailer with composted llama manure and drive out there.

Our wild and cultivated blackberries are coming in, as well as the wild red raspberries. Our cultivated raspberries are about gone. Strawberries are still going strong but it's been so dry they need regular watering.
I picked another 12 cups of blueberries a few days ago and the bushes are loaded even more now. We've used blueberries every way we can imagine. At least we always can fall back on "Feed the birds, tuppence, tuppence, tuppence" a bush.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

When I was a kid I thought the book Blueberries For Sal was fiction or fantasy. Turns out there is a place called Northern New England. Regarding Moms garden and soil, It is amazing thanks in large to the animals.