5 Biggest Mistakes When Growing Blueberries!
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- Today I explain how we made mistakes growing blueberries. The blueberries on our farm were planted 4 years ago and we just expected them to grow but that was in the case. We quickly learned that blueberries require a lot of maintenance and prep work before you start. We knew nothing about growing blueberries and for your later we reflect on our mistakes. The 1st biggest mistake we made was not researching the crop. #2 Is that we sprayed some Turkey manure that was infested with Johnsongrass. Johnson grass is on the Missouri noxious weed list! #3 We added no supplemental irrigation meaning no drip tape or drip tube. #4 Not understanding how blueberries work with soil interaction. #5 Variety selection we have varieties that work great for the home gardener but do not work well for Au pick operation. These are some of the mistakes we made on our blueberry plants and now I learned my mistakes and in the future I know exactly what to do!!
If you have any questions let me know!
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Love when farmers and/or growers talk about mistakes. One learns so much. God bless.
I'm not a farmer, I'm not planting blueberries... But yet I'm here AND I learned a few things
To get the pH down, top dress with Elemental Sulfur every year. It takes 8 months or so to work so get it on ASAP. Soil pH needs to be 4.5 to 5.5. Sulfuric Acid will also work more immediately. Slowly add sulfuric acid (yes, battery acid) to your watering container (always acid to water, not water to acid) and use pH strips (litmus strips) to test until your water is about 5.0. Pay attention to how much acid you are using so you can repeat. Be sure you wear protective gear if you choose this method! If you get the pH correct, the bushes will draw up most of the nutrients they need from the soil. Magically. All on their own. Boron can easily burn your bushes and if you are going to use ANY food, use the appropriate ones (like for Azaleas). Don't use compost, turkey poo, or products you would assume would be good for plants. Blueberries are in a category of their own in that regard. If your leaves are yellow, chances are your pH is incorrect. It's called iron chlorosis and has far less to do with iron (or boron), than it does an incorrect pH.
Blueberries will only absorb the ammonium form of nitrogen so ammonium sulfate is the best. And they need lots of it. Put it in with your sulfuric acid water, ensuring with your test strips that your water is about 5.0. It won't take much ammonium sulfate for your 250 gallon container. Water each bush with 1 gallon of that solution each week from May 1st through July 1st each year (you might have to water more often than once a week during the hot, dry season, but water with regular water in between your once a week solution watering). Use a pH meter and keep checking your soil throughout the growing season. Note that your pH will change naturally through the season, but just ensure you remain in that 4.5 - 5.5 range. Soil wants to always move back to it's native structure and pH level, especially if you are watering with neutral water. You should also check your water and make sure it's not high in bicarbonates or sodium.
You can use newspapers (about 6 pages deep) around your bushes to snuff out grass, then top the newspaper with mulch. Surround your bush with the newspapers. Repeat every few years if necessary and watch for new shoot growth possibly being hampered by the newspaper layers, helping them find their way to sunlight. Don't use Roundup. If you do, even micro-spray can kill your bushes. They might not die the year you spray, but might not wake up the next year or will wake up with strange, rosetted leaves. We learned that the hard way.
Continue to build up your mulch each year. Start with a layer of 2-3 inches and add each year until you build up to a bed of 5- 6 inches. Count on a breakdown of the mulch of about 1" per year. The bushes use the organic matter for food and the bed helps preserve water and keeps weeds out. Once you get control of the grass and don't mind using chemicals, you can use a pre-emergent herbicide that is approved for use around blueberry bushes.
Elliots and Patriots are both great varieties for 'commercial' production. They are Northern Highbush varieties, hybridized for high chill (cold winter) areas. I am not familiar with Sweethearts, but no variety will produce well if not pruned properly. Pruning is an entirely different topic, but is essential for good blueberry production. Other than proper pH, it is the 2nd most crucial aspect of successful blueberry growth. Have fun and good luck!!!
If she was unable to, take a screen shot, several, if needed. Then go to print your screen shots. Either print as usual or, save as a pdf. You can find it that way.
For a yard crop, like 1-3 rabbit eye, would vinegar lower ph?
@Sora I just now saw this. So sorry. I just tried emailing you the information, but .ilieurut@yahoo.com bounces back at me. I have tried a few renditions of the same and hope one of them reaches you.
@@davidgraf1909 I sincerely don't know. My education is more formal...Elemental Sulphur is inexpensive. Approx $20/bag. If you plant your bushes in the ground with lots of peat moss to begin with and whatever they were potted with, and top dress each bush with approx 1/4 cup of elemental sulphur in the fall out around the perimeter of each plant to allow the seasonal rains to break it down into the soil, you would probably be fine because they were probably planted in acidic medium in the pots. If the soil isn't acidic enough, the bush literally can't uptake nutrients from the soil. The telltale sign is the leaves turn yellow. It's called iron chlorosis. Don't use compost. It raises pH over time. Wood mulch, like bark, is great. I grow northern highbush. Our farm is Pleasant Prairie Farms on FB. If I can be more help, let me know.
@@lauriwilliams9712in place of sulfuric acid could you use a Ph reducer solution. Or Ph down as an additive to your water? if so what PH number would you make your water in a watering container before watering the plants? 5.0 or lower?
I appreciate you being open and honest about the mistakes you made on your farm with the blueberry plants. Others can now learn from your mistakes so your honesty will be a blessing to others.
Nice to see mistakes with success. It keeps us humble.
That's right!!
I know that you wish you had not made those mistakes, but I appreciate you sharing them with us.
Don't use RoundUp. It kills everything...even the one spraying it.
Causes non-hodgkin's lymphoma. 😡
@@theurbanthirdhomestead sure it can, if yo bathe in the stuff!! Been using it around the farm as long as I can remember and I’m 55 now and no cancer of any kind!!
My good friend who worked on a golf course who used it for years swore it was safe.He said i just dont understand how it works, and how to use it safely..Last year at 66 he passed away after becoming sick because of it..So it takes time , but it will happen..I myself steer clear of it..
@@1982MCI yea ok superman.
This stuff has been proven to kill people and has had lawsuits against it
But at least we all know how AMAZING you are 🙄
I wrestled a lion and bitch slapped Mike Tyson at the same time
See how easy it is to lie on YT
@@1982MCIcongrats. My dad was 65 before his cancer showed up
Looking at a kid full of passion and energy talk about the time he was a kid full of passion and energy. Dude thanks for sharing some of that passion and energy.
Would like to see a update video on these blue berries in the future.
Blueberries are really tricky to grow. I had to transplant 5 blueberry plants from the ground into raised beds lined with weed mats and filled with azaelea potting mix, and topped with azaelea fertilizer and mulch. Also, I can only water them in the mornings, as they are prone to fungal disease if they are watered in the evenings.
Peat moss is great for blueberries. Also, you can dump your coffee grounds around them. Add a little apple cider vinegar to the water while watering them helps.
Powdered sulfur is the best to make a noticeable difference.
Thank you for sharing this. I'm researching in preparation for a blueberry bush in my home garden and this helped. For the reason that you were being so transparent, I'm subscribing. Good luck this year(2020).
OMG! No ROUNDUP! Killed my mother and she def was not a weed or a pest.
Thanks for the vlog. Did not know about pH and some minerals not accessible. Didn't know to not only buy regional crops but look at high yield for u-pick farms. Like the idea of weed barrier and drip tape. So glad you have found your passion at such a young age.
Weed suppression is critical!!!
I’ve read about beneficial bacteria being beneficial in helping roots uptake nutrients. I usually buy a bag of dried to add around my plants and incorporate into soil when planting. There are assorted brands out there, but one can be bought at places like Lowe’s and Home Depot called Micorizae I think. Or it’s what’s in it. I’ve read they form colony strands unseen of course by the human eye, and communicate along their network of strands somehow. It was in an article in Horticulture magazine .
One thing more I forgot to say is that I would not use round up or its’ derivatives if you want your bacteria’s to live in your soil , especially near edibles . Just like with have beneficial bacteria in our bodies to be healthy, so does the soil.
@@veronicanoll7793 Wake-up: Also, agriculture is destroying the planet. It is very frustrating how much misinformation there is on this topic. Cattle and farm animal grazing can actually sequester far more carbon than forests at a much, much faster rate. If we grazed animals on a large enough scale, we could actually mitigate all human emissions. Growing plants can not do this. Plant agriculture uses massive amounts of fossil fuels and unlike grazing cattle, it doesn't mitigate its own emissions. The soil microbiome is killed with chemicals and that dead soil is lost rapidly, causing complete land infertility and desertification. Grazing animals is the fastest way to replenish these lands, bring the microbes back, give nutrients back, rehydrate, break up impaction, and build soil faster than any other process. It would take nature decades to build the amount of soil made in a couple of yrs of Grazing.
You just saved me so much blood sweat and tears. I am looking to plant a low, wet area and thought about blueberries, but I will check the ph first and see if they are a good fit
I really appreciate you teaching from your mistakes! That is one of the best ways that we learn! I commend you for being humble to admit mistakes but learning from them! I learn better after mistakes!!
Experience is acquired. You can look up all kinds of facts, but you growth and an individual comes from experience. Thanks for your honest, very informative and honest.
"It is what it is" is your catch phrase. Awesome video as always. School first and foremost because someday, people may want to hire you for your opinion and knowledge on what they might need to be doing on their own farm big or small.
Yup!!
This has been one of your best videos packed of great information!
Thank you
Thanks for the support!
I had no idea what I was doing when I planted mine. They grow wild everywhere here in the wooded areas where I live. I planted 6 of them following directions on the tag. Never mentioned anything about the ph. They stayed pretty much the same height all year growing maybe one inch in size. Frustrated I started to research them learning they need a low ph I went out to Homie Depot and picked up a bag of pine mulch. I went out that day and packed each plant, watered, and went on about the day. A few days later, reading more I found out you shouldn't pack anything around the base of the trunk as it could cause it to rot. So like you I learn from my mistakes. I never grew anything before except grass and a couple rose bushes. So this spring I plan on making some raised bed boxes for them and start over replanting them correctly with the correct ph soil from the start and in a controled enviroment where I'll be able to hopefully care for them better. They are about 18" tall and hope they survive me digging them up. Another mistake I made was planting them to deep and giving them MiracleGro every 4-5 weeks. I have an organic plant food already for them and learned you should only fertilyze once in the spring, ah live and learn. Picked up a ph kit, water probe, organic fertilyzer and going to refresh my noggin by listening to growers that are more experienced than me. Being a DAV now retired I am trying to take up a new hobby to keep me moving and replanting sounds like a good start, lol
Thank you. That was very helpful. I was having trouble with blueberries, my first time growing.
I absolutely loved your video. You did an excellent job. The information was very clear and concise. I hope that you do more videos.
Thanks so much for this information! Currently I'm learning how to work on my family's blueberry farm and this is really helpful education.
i found conifers in general (mostly pinus strobus in my case) are a great companion for blueberries, their needle lower soil ph in the long run, those with tap roots will bring up the nutrients that are too low for the blueberry roots to reach and they help with harsh weather like sun scorching your soil (or plants if you are in a really hot region), hot drying wind or harsh winter conditions. Most dont really require labor except for the planting
addendum: you can choose different colors and textures to create contrasts and make it look very good
Looking forward to see your blueberries thrive now that you’re going to make all these changes. Thank you for all this info !
Thank you, you were very thorough and informative. I'm just starting on my first blueberry and a little nervous
great video! We learn from our mistakes or listening to some one else's. Thanks for sharing!
Great info !
I appreciate sharing it with us !!!
Knowledge is important! Thanks for sharing
👍👍
Learning from mistakes. Good for sharing your experience. Thanks
I learn a lot from you. Thank you for making these video.
Hey brother ,thank you..I learned alot, and iam greatful that you shared these mistakes so i dont make them..Iam new to blueberry planting, and iam trying to learn...
Thank you for sharing! Keep growing!
I learned a lot from this video. THANK YOU. I have about 75 BB plants.
This is a great video. We need to know about the mistakes, se we do not do them!
Idea : till the whole area you want to grow and first create the soil you want, and and then plant a perimeter of pine trees as companion trees; they both like acidic soil and the pines will help keep away weeds, and they might be nice for u-pick walk throughs. Also maybe Thyme, Columbine, and maybe even Strawberries and some Cranberries in between and have a thriving acidic soil area.
Please give us an update to this crop after weeding and adding compost , etc.
Thanks buds! Watching you from canada! Most of your vidéos made the difference information wise!!! Liked the strawberries and tomatoes ones
I’m not sure you will see this however, I want you to know what helped us. We have Bermuda grass (aka the devil’s grass) where we live. It is a royal pain to keep out of the garden because it is a rhizome grass. What we did to combat it and keep it out was till the area (which broke my heart) burn the grass that was tilled up, then we tilled again, then burned again, then put our mulch layers on and covered it with black woven fabric. It worked wonders. I have to be creative on how to keep that grass out and this is one way that works for us. If I were y’all, and I realize it would be a pain, I’d dig all of them up, do the till and burn method and amend as needed then plant them again. I avoid RoundUp and those type products as much as possible.
You said part my favorite saying “live and learn” I add to it by saying “Live and learn and never stop learning.” I just discovered your videos and I enjoy watching them. Keep up the good work!
Wow thanks for the information. Great video. I admire your desire to do it the best.
No, stay away from the Roundup. I was fooled about it for years. Wonderful product but I now think you should avoid it. Better to start over with a new blueberry bed elsewhere - use lots of rotted sawdust mulch - and till the hell out of the Johnson grass plot. Please try to leave the chemicals behind.
Judicious use of this relatively innocuous herbicide on noxious weeds ONLY, when it is NEEDED, is not related to the practice of drenching roundup-ready food plants with an unnecessary chemical several times throughout their growth.
Better to deal with the problem properly then move on.
"Organic gardening starts after the roundup" in some cases.
Dandelions are extremely good for you you can eat from the roots all the way up to the flower it's super good for your heart
Great video, thanks for all the info.
Thanks for the blueberry video. I learned a lot 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
you are great teacher & speaker
Thank you for speaking loud and clearly my neighbor two doors down is taking all day mowing 10x10ft yard it’s ridiculous
I talk to Stella at Stark’s, very knowledgeable! She has had double knee replacement, though. Starks just bought out Nichols Nursery from Iowa.
That's awesome hope she does well!!
Thank you. Honest man with knowledge cheers
also when you flashed your number three biggest mistake up on the screen you said "no irrigation" but you wrote "no irritation"
GOT too excited!! Lol
Lol I was watching this in the morning n thought my eyes was playing tricks on me
Knew you would be a screamer before I even hit play 😂 great content man and info
Thank you, farmer Dre
We planted 200 ft of blueberries two years ago. We’re also on the learn as you go process. We ended up using landscape fabric as well to help combat the weeds. One question I have for you is how do you add your amendments to the soul now that the fabric is down?
Passion and energy. Dont lose it! (also, no RT3)
I was with you on trying to save your efforts until you said you planted the wrong type Blueberries. Now I say as soon as you can afford it and have the time, " Start Over "
JIM
Since we have them I'll keep them!!
Don't start over just add new one's get different varieties to cross pollinate which will also help. I've been into blueberries for nearly 30 years they are definitely not like most plants. Fortunately for me I live in Michigan on the west side of the state along lake Michigan where blueberries grow pretty much by themselves.
Is it possible to use a water and vinegar solution to kill the Johnson Grass, which would also help the blueberry bushes. Just make sure the PH of the solution is no lower than 5.3.
Can you dig and replant?
I bought 4 Blueberry bushes back in early summer and 3 apple trees. Knowing we wanted them but not yet planned for. So, they are not planted yet and we are close to winter. Should I wait or go ahead and plant??
Great Video. I watch your videos with my pen and notebook. Always learning and picking up good tips from both you and the comments from other viewers! I learn way more from videos that show mistakes than videos that show perfect gardens. Thanks again for another great video!
Sawdust would kill and choke out any weeds and the seeds also. Fertilize before applying though blueberries don't require much fertilizer other than small amount of nitrogen that could come from fish emulsion. Also helps with microbes
I pray you can avoid using round up, which can have a long term health effect on you and the environment. I would try cardboard and then mulch a few seasons. Hopefully you can do a little more research on the controversy of chemicals like Round Up, Maryland has aggressive banned use of grass pesticides and herbicides so this should tell us that this stuff has massive effects on ground water and stream quality. Thanks.
Great informative video.
You live and learn. Good video.
That's right!!!
Thanks for tunning in!!
thanks a lot for the tips :)
I just weed wack super low and lay a thick layer of pine needles,leaves and twigs. Works like a charm.
You're funny, trying to smother Johnson grass with mulch or killing it with Roundup. Roundup is weak. Our method in Tennessee for killing it when a clump popped up on the property was to drag a brush pile and logs on top of it and burn it out. It has to burn two days to cook it out.
Do you think is better to have extended season of blueberries or have all that come off at same time
I don't know about what you said at 5:30 in the video...seems like the Johnson grass gave you plenty of that lol. Thanks for the video and the info!
I know nothing about farming but can you do a controlled burn to rid of all the johnson grass? Seems like a tough grass to get rid of. (I had assumed the bb plants were dead or going to be replaced before finishing the video).
You’re the Dr.Dre of blueberries 🫐
You learn from your mistakes, I am sure one day you’ll be a good farmer. You Live & learn
Look at vinegar spray mix. Depending on how and what’s mixed with vinegar. Multiple Purposes and many applications are safe.
This is the best sort of information, passion experience and education coming together, but to set aside hubris and share your failures in addition is the gold. It's complete and unbiased in context.
Side note, I prolly wouldn't use it because I'm old and stubborn, but I am open to others using round up in a limited context. Clearly at minimum it's frivolous commercial usage has led to similar issues that over usage of antibiotics has, which is resistance. The industry has and is over relying on round up and thus it is way less effective in many cases. Now as for it's toxicity or what ever I do believe it is proven to be short live ecologically. No traces found in a short period. But I also am aware of research shenanigans and how academia knows who butters the bread in the end. For that reason alone I regard any study as potentiallly framed for an agenda and regarding glyphosate i have not personally put the time in nor do I care to sift thru the data to form an educated opinion on using it at all regarding human consumption in the food chain. Mainly I am concerned where it goes lol. I mean if chemically we know then fine, but do we know it hasn't gone into the water table and make it hard to discern with certainty. Reminds me of "poo away" from the Ben Stiller movie Envy...."but where does it go?"
You can still use landscaping fabric under the mulch.
Can you apply sulfur with NPK fertilizer? Is there any contraindications?
You not need sulfur just use wood chip humus and mucoriza fungi into holes ,before planting ,you can try it into small scale
You should try killing the Johnson Grass with a vinegar solution. If you kill it before it goes to seed head, you'll slow next season crop. In addition, a vinegar herbicide will add acid to the soil; which will help lower the ph.
What type of blueberry plant did you choose for commercial production?
Hey just found your channel and excited to follow as we are in West Plains! Where are you? I HATE Johnson grass!!!! All over our garden! -Kristy 😊
We are north of Springfield, 12 miles in hyw 13! Gardeners orchard and Bakery
Farmer Dre awesome neighbor 😊
Farmer Dre hehe I’m about 2 hours away. Glad I found you, nice to have some local help
The best cure to all those issues besides having the wrong plant is 4-6 inches of wood chips. Helps retain moisture while keeping the pH low and building mycorrhizal fungi. Good organic method newspaper or free cardboard before applying the mulch worms love it also.
Thank you for the "Classroom in the field" video. We always learn from our mistakes, but teachers pass the lessons learned on to the students. Lots of great info in this video.. keep up the good work, now heal those berries and sell-um at market.
Will do!!
How did the plants do after you added the Sulphur?
Thanks for the tips from the home of Jesse James
You're a great farmer.
Just need to know this:
" Small blueberry bushes are small plants. You ain't or anyone else is going to get blueberry fruit when a blueberry plant is one/two/three years old. What you need to know is that a small blueberry bush just needs nutrients. No fertilizer. Fertilizer is due when the plant is at age to bear fruit. Possibly the third year you fertilize it. But, your best efforts should always be keeping that blueberry plant growing healthy. Taller means stronger roots. Get that bush Taller then you add the fertilizer and extra sulfur chemicals. "
Things to take into consideration:
Chemicals /Supplements wash away. (Rainwater)
Any fertilizer will deteriorate any ph balance even baking soda reduces PH balance immediately.
Monitor the chemicals progress when adding to soil. Sometimes it is not enough and sometimes too much. Just keep the leaves in check to monitor progress.
Maintain an acidic system constantly. Once a year add Sulphur tablets (early Spring) *check PH mid summer.
Keep a good acidic mulch on top root area due to rainy days.
Other than that, grow them tall and when they're mature start with fertilizer.
Be careful using that my mom's friend died from using that for years around the house, I stopped using round-up after she passed
Try cardboard instead of weed fabric. It will feed the soil. As far as wood chips, pine bark is good for blueberries. Have you considered propagating .
Never buy or use land that was once used to grow apples. The clinicals they use to use will be there for 100 plus years. Also stay away from old dairy barns that used on a regular bases pesticides to control bugs. The Johnson grass will not be fazed much from round-up, so don't use it.
We made same mistakes last year. Ours will be in the ground a year this summer. I am seriously considering preparing a new location and moving ours. We only have 6 plants. Has anyone ever replanted their blueberries?
Can you recommend some good commerical blueberry varieties that are good for year round warm climates?
Your going a long way in your life time! You live and you learn. Hind sight is 20-20 and you're smart enough to know the difference. it don't take but a little of your time to do it right the first time. Never take advice from your competition! Never...🍓🍓🍓
Thanks!!
Hi! I'm a newbie, in tropical country. no farm, no direct sun, only balcony hahaha. just bumped into here and hope i can learn something before i decide if i should go ahead with blueberries (its expensive and not as fresh as everything is import).
Great to learn from experts
So what kind of blueberrys would you plant if you was going to do it over ,,, i am i northeast missouri ,, 15 miles from the iowa line
im subscribed and watch all so i went to your video first bud looking for the information i was curious about and this one really oughta be titled how not to start blueberries...
Clethodim is a selective grass specific herbicide that has on label use for many annual and perennial grasses.
I know you need ericaceous compost. I don’t know if you have the same in the US. It’s the same soil as you have for heather and maple trees.
Hey Farmer Dre, I would like to plant a half acre of blueberry plants at my home in WA. , where can I find a supplier that sells to small farms at wholesale prices. I really don’t want to get a business license for this small test blueberry garden. I have 40 acres , mostly in hay, trying to prepare the 1/2 acre planting area to be weed free has/is a challenge. Thank you for telling us you made mistakes like the rest of us.
We are here in South East Mo. On the AR. Line what are the best variety to grow here ?
I have heard that the best place to plant blueberries is near a branch or creek. So, I am really gonna screw myself unless I irrigate in some kind of way. Oh My Word, My Goodness. Honestly, my ignorance lies in the fact that local nursery said yes you can grow blueberries. How freaking sad for my brain. BTW, I am in Virginia right on the border of numbers. Yeeee hawww!!!!!! So glad you are willing to teach, but darlin, I'm just not learning exactly what you want me to do.
I am planting.... what do I need to do b4 planting my poor sweet unplanned Blueberry bushes. Then the apple trees too. Dern
What about using some weed barrier cloth?
Scratch that you just said it!
It works!!!
Nice
I just see your video in April of 2022. It has been a good 3 years since you made this videp. I wonder how do you :recover" now/
I made the same mistakes when I planted blueberries a few years ago.
Live and learn!!
5.5.-6.2 PH contrary to popular opinion is perfect! learn about EH in conjunction with it... PH is going to determine what is available but it's also a trade off for what is not going to be available