Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Bring on the Berries

After following all the planting directions, the blueberries are in two tires in my garden plot.

The soil in the two tires was rather sandy without much good compost which blueberries like.
I dug out a bucketful of the sandy soil, and replaced it with a bucket full of nice rich compost from the compost pile I started last year, some dry steer manure/compost I bought in a bag from the local hardware/garden center, and some
Azalea, Camellia and Gardenia food which blue berries also like.

Before planting, I gently loosened the root ball with one of my favorite garden tools.
It is important that the plant is not buried too deep. The fill dirt should be the same level as the dirt surrounding the plant in the pot. Before placing the plant in the hole, I sprinkled a little of the 1/4 cup of fertilizer in the hole mixing it in thoroughly. The recommendation on the back of the box is to use 1/4 cup for every two feet of plant height. As I filled in around the plant I sprinkled in the rest of the fertilizer, working it into the soil, until the hole was filled in around the plant.

Now, doesn't this look like one happy little blueberry plant?

There are quite a few nice fat buds on the plant, and I am hoping after all my effort, I will be rewarded with a nice crop of berries this year.


11 comments:

RuthDFW said...

looks great!

Heather said...

Hi Keewee, looks very good. What zone are you? I too would like to plant blueberries this year but need to do some of the research prior to purchase. Is the tire necessary? I would like to do what works best in my zone 4 location.
-Heather

Lona said...

KeeWee that is a great way to plant them. Your bushes look to be very well grown to get you started. Do not hate me but I am just one of those people who do not like blueberries. I believe they are the only berry that I do not like. Unusual to say the least.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

It looks very happy. I hope you get lots of berries in the future!

Gardeness said...

KeeWee, the reuse of the tires is awesome. Nice job. It looks great already. Hope you get tons of fruit.

Anonymous said...

Yep. Your plant looks great. The soil, rich and fertile, everything a lucky blueberry could want from its master. Happy eating.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

I am ashamed after reading your post. I planted my three blueberry bushes 4 years ago and I absolutely neglected them. I love the berries, but noticed that they are getting smaller every year. I was too busy with all the other plants. Thanks for reminding me of them! Tomorrow, I will go and do something for them.

Unknown said...

It looks great! I hope you get a good crop of berries.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and commenting on the butterfly. Have a wonderful week!

dinzie said...

I hadn't realised they were such big feeders !!

Might have to re-plant mine and get them growing properly :O)

D

Anonymous said...

I so appreciate this! All I ever found concerning the planting of blueberries was that they like acidic soil, but your post gives way more detail that I will certainly put to use. We have two young blueberry plants in the ground (from last year) but I think one of them may have not made it through the winter. Thank you for a great and informative post!

Barbarapc said...

Keewee, if you plant in a tire, does that me you are a 'car'dener? Stock up on whipping cream - I bet they'll be delicious.