The Blueberry Patch

Ever since one of my husband's co-workers mentioned that they were growing blueberries in their yard, he has be determined to plant some. We have been acquiring plants from various sources over the past couple of months and have been staging them near our front door. Just last week we decided on the location for the patch, two rows that are approximately 4x12 ft on the hill next to our driveway. The next step was to prepare the soil.

Blueberries like acidic soil and it often takes 1-2 years to acidify soil. Since we didn't want to wait that long (and we already had the the plants!), we decided to add a bagged soil intended for acid loving plants. Our soil prep was as follows:

- Clear the plot of land of weeds
- Turn over the top 6-12 inches of native soil to loosen
- Add sulfur amendment per amount specified
- Add 2 cu ft of bark to each row
- Add 2 cu ft of peat moss to each row
- Add 3-4 cu ft of soil for acid loving plants (i.e. azaleas, rhododendrons)
- Mix all amendments with the native soil

The amendments raised the soil level of the rows ~6 inches into small berms. We planted the bushes 3-4 feet apart in the center of the rows. While planting we discovered a couple of blueberries already growing on one plant. My husband ate one and I snapped a photo of the other because the flowers are fruit are being removed from the plants today to encourage plant growth. We decided on a mixture of varieties for a bigger yield and to extend the growing season.

Row 1: Sharpblue(BR) - Blue Ray(#2) - Sharpblue(BR) - Jubilee(#1)
Row 2: Sunshine(#2) - Southmoon(#2) - Jubilee(#1)

After planting, we watered and mulched around the plants and in the walkway between the rows. The planting looks nice and I am looking forward to the day that we will have a crop of blueberries to harvest from our yard.

BR - Bare Root
#1 - 1 gallon container
#2 - 2 gallon container