Blueberries and Rhubarb

The blueberry bed has been weeded twice so far this year, and coffee grounds have been added around the base of every bush to increase the acidity of the soil (once.) I need to do a Ph test...

Last year we still didn't get all that many blueberries. We've got six plants... I'd like to think that's enough so we can get our fill- but getting the plants to produce in a significant manner has been difficult. In truth, I think the main problem is water. I didn't get the irrigation system modified last year, and I'm pretty sure that until I do, these plants will live, but they won't thrive.

This one is actually looking pretty good... the amount of blossoms we are getting on this is the best ever. I think this our Spartan, since that's the only one we have that begins fruit production this early in the season.

The rhubarb transplants that we got from Bruce at the beginning of the spring have already taken root and look really healthy. I've given them some fertilizer and at this point these look to be an easy maintenance crop and a nice addition to the mix.

There's a recipe in particular that I'm looking forward to ... once a few years back I had Bruce's wife's strawberry/rhubarb crisp. It was delicious... I must have it again. I had never had rhubarb before that.

I've also got it in mind to try to create a rhubarb chutney. I think that could work.

Blueberries

The blueberries were actually planted in early spring 2008 (4/22/2008)... but they didn't do so good last year. I'm determined to make sure they do much better this year- we have 6 plants in our blueberry row... if we can get these things to take off, we'd have so many blueberries!!

Blueberries like well drained, moist soil. The first part isn't a problem, as the bed that was created for them is on a hillside and has a mild slope. The second part however.... they had only a single drip line dedicated to them last year, and the timing cycle for drip line was attached to the same cycle as the lower vegetable garden. Definitely a problem there. I'd intend to dedicate 3 drip lines to them (or perhaps sprinklers), and give them an independent timing cycle- that should solve that problem; but irrigation is an issue for the month of May...

I've discovered blueberries don't just prefer acidic soil- they absolutely have to have it if your going to have proper growth. Typical pH recommendations range from a 4.5 to 5.5... although I've seen some say that a pH as low as 4 is OK. Just to get a sense this- the Ph tester I purchased only goes down to a pH of 4.5 and identifies that as "Very Acidic". Aiming for a pH of 4.5 to 5 seems like the way to go. I did three tests on the soil of the blueberry bed. Each test was done in the middle between two bushes, along the irrigation drip line, working may way from the top of the hill to the bottom. Each test showed the soil had a pH ranging from 6.5 and 7.0. That's pretty bad- and it is definitely part of why they did so bad last year. (I suppose at least it wasn't alkaline!) It looks like the blueberry bed is going to be my first experience in adjusting soil pH.
When this bed was established, the soil was imported planting mix- which was then composted, turned, and had sulfur added. In an ideal world, we would have added some acidic peat to the mix before planting, but we didn't really research things last year. Oh well... 20/20 hindsight and all that.

To amend the soil for the year I did 3 things:

1) To acidify the soil in the short term, I used aluminum sulfate. This was not my ideal... but the nursery was out of elemental sulfur, and I only had one afternoon to get this done. I've read warnings about using aluminum sulfate to adjust pH on several sites- it is easy to overuse it and damage the roots. So knowing this I erred on the side of using less rather than more, and used a tsp. to do all my measurements.

2) Next I fertilized the beds with Dr. Earth's Acid mix (4-3-6). Supposedly it's a good mix for plants that want a low pH.

3) Finally I mixed a bag of peet moss with a Cedar Grove compost and applied as mulch to the top. Hypothetically, the peet should assist in the longer term efforts to lower the pH of the soil. However, that impact takes much more time. More immediately, mixing in the peet should help capture more moisture and keep the root systems cool when (if?) we get hot days in the summer.

A final problem to fix this year is that the labels got mixed up when they were planted, and so now we don't know which bush is which. I'd like to sort that out.

The plants....

(2) five year old Bluecrop
- Considered best for consistent yields.
- Dainty, waxy, bell-shaped, white flowers in May.
- Spread of 4 - 6 feet.
- Light blue blueberries that ripen in early august.
(1) two year old Northland
- Small dark blue fruit with a wild berry flavor.
- Spread of 3-4 feet.
- Clusters of dainty, waxy, bell-shaped flowers bloom in spring.
- Fruit ripens in summer.
- Reddish stems during winter.
(1) five year old Jersey
- Large, light blue berries with a delicate flavor.
- Late spring flowers are lavender pink.
- Height of 4-8 feet.
- Fruit ripens mid-season to late.
- Self-infertile. Requires other blueberry varieties to be in area.
(1) two year old Spartan
- Light blue, tangy-sweet berries that get as big as a quarter. (!!)
- 5 -6 feet high.
- White flower blooms in spring with orange and red fall foliage.
- Begins fruiting early and keeps going for a long season.
(1) three year old Chandler
- Fruit the size of cherries. (Worlds largest blueberry!)
- Large white flowers, dark green foliage in summer.
- 4 - 6 feet tall.
- Long ripening season that provides fruit for over six weeks from mid to late season.