Author Topic: Blueberries & Raspberries  (Read 2620 times)

Dinu

  • Not So New ...
  • *
  • Posts: 8
Blueberries & Raspberries
« on: September 18, 2014, 10:32:21 »
How early do I need to prepare the soil to plant blueberries and Raspberries. I wanted to plant them in their beds this October. I was intending to dig in horse manure for the raspberries next weekend and after doing a PH test on the blueberry bed to add the required amount of sulphur and peat moss to make it appropriately acidic. Some articles indicate that I would need to prepare the beds a year in advance which seems a long time in honesty. Am I not able to just create the beds this month as stated above ready for planting in late October?   Thanks

squeezyjohn

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,022
  • Oxfordshire - Sandy loam on top of clay
Re: Blueberries & Raspberries
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2014, 15:21:57 »
I don't think raspberries would be all that fussy really ... as long as you have the bulk of the weeds out of the bed and a bit of food for them I imaging they'll take really well.

Blueberries - I read the same thing when I planted mine this spring - but frankly I didn't have time to fully acidify the soil in advance so I dug in about the right amount of sulphur chips to the general area (which acidify slowly) and also mixed in some aluminium sulphate powder for a quicker fix.  I dug a hole for each plant and filled those with ericaceous compost to give the right acidity round the roots to start with ... and top dressed it all with pine needles (from a nearby wood).

They've grown fairly well this summer and hopefully the soil underneath is now properly acidified!  I plan to keep top dressing with acidic stuff and with a bit of good luck they'll be happier than they would be if I'd just put them straight in the ground!

Dinu

  • Not So New ...
  • *
  • Posts: 8
Re: Blueberries & Raspberries
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2014, 15:44:38 »
Thanks for the reply. I've spent all morning trying to figure this blueberry thing out. I live in London but I didn't know you could plant the blueberries out in spring. I was under the impression the planting season was between November and January. Secondly I read that pine needles are advantageous to create acidity but the downside is they leach nitrogen from the soil.

I'm trying to decide at the moment whether to go down the route you have said or to build a raised bed. If I build a raised bed the problem is firstly the cost of building the raised bed, however I have located some second hand scaffolding boards for under a tenner. The next problem is the bed is 4M by 1.2M. I intend to plant three blueberry bushes. To fill this bed up with ericaceous compost will be incredibly expensive.

So that leads me to go down the route you have suggested. Could you kindly let me know where you purchased the  sulphate powder and the aluminium sulphate powder. Thanks. Secondly do I need to cover the entire bed with the ericaceous compost or just the whole I plant the bush in?

squeezyjohn

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,022
  • Oxfordshire - Sandy loam on top of clay
Re: Blueberries & Raspberries
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2014, 16:09:05 »
It's easy with gardening to over-think things and get all worked up about doing it absolutely the right way ... with Google available you're bombarded with information from everywhere that says what is correct and what isn't ... I'm sure the advice is that planting blueberries between November and January is probably the best - and so is leaving the soil to acidify for 6 months!!!

However - I only had the bed I wanted to use from March - and that's when I got the plants - so rather than leaving them in the pot for most of a year I adapted a bit  :happy7:

I bought the sulphur chips from ebay and the aluminium sulphate from a local Frosts garden centre.  I only put the ericaceous in to the hole dug for the plants as I too saw how ludicrously expensive it was!  I've seen plenty of wild blueberries in Belgium that thrive on the forest floor covered in pine needles so I don't think that they can be all that bad.

Rules are made to be bent a little sometimes ... if you get yours in at the end of the year yours will probably have their roots settled in a bit better than mine were before they start growing.  Plants really want to grow - it's just sometimes they need a little bit of a helping hand.

Buster54

  • Acre
  • ****
  • Posts: 339
Re: Blueberries & Raspberries
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2014, 22:50:27 »
I didn't pre-pair any thing for my raspberries just planted them and have  had bumper crops for the last 3 years,my blueberries are in tubs in ericaceous compost
I'm not the Messiah - I'm a very naughty boy."

Paulines7

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,499
Re: Blueberries & Raspberries
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2014, 12:37:16 »
Like Buster54, I have my blueberries in tubs of ericaceous compost.  I repotted them into bigger pots a year ago and had a really bumper crop this year.  When they are starting to fruit, I move the pots next to my blackcurrants which have a net cage over them.

As far as the raspberries are concerned, I dug the ground over, weeded then planted them and have never given them a feed, yet I get masses of them every year despite the blackbirds having their share.   My difficulty is controlling the runners.

Dinu

  • Not So New ...
  • *
  • Posts: 8
Re: Blueberries & Raspberries
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2014, 13:10:16 »
I asked  the guys at Thomspson and Morgan and they got back to me with this:

Thank you for your email.

We passed your comments on to our horticulturalist, please see the answers to your questions in blue.

I was intending to create a raised bed on bed 4 for strawberries. And then grow (NOT on raised beds) Blueberries on bed 3, Summer Fruiting Raspberries on Bed 2 and lastly Autumn Fruiting Raspberries on Bed 1. I wanted to try and grow Rhubarb somewhere but can’t think of where to incorporate it in the plan. Could reduce the size of bed 4 strawberries and plant 2 Rhubarbs at one end of plot

Questions:

1. From looking at the floor plan of the fruit cage have I made the best use of the space? Looks ok

2. Have I decided on the right soft fruit? Are there any you could recommend which you love to grow and eat? You could plant 1 row summer raspberries and 1 row autumn in same bed 2 , put 1st row 30cm from path and 2nd row 30cm from path leaving approx 55 cm between rows . On other bed you could plant  2 black berry , 2 tayberry trained up wire  and some red, black currants on rest of bed 3 of each

3. If I do go with the fruit I have chosen how many plants should I order bearing in mind that the raspberries are only available in packs of 5 canes. 10 canes of each spaced along row , up wires

4. How many blueberry plants do I order for bed 3? 8 spaced in a domino pattern down bed (needs ericaceous compost adding

5. What variety of blueberries select an early , mid and late fruiting , raspberries Polka for autumn , Glen Ample for summer  and strawberries Elegance as a June bearer, Flamenco as an everbearer  , do you recommend?

6. When should I start to plant my fruit cage? Autumn planting from October / November is best

7. Where can I incorporate the Rhubarb? As mentioned at end of strawberry bed

8. How should I prepare the soil? Fruit like a fertile soil with plenty of organic matter added , BLUEBERRIES LIKE ERICACEOUS COMPOST

9. Any other advice? Enjoy growing and picking your own .

If there is anything further I can be of assistance with, please get in touch. I'll be happy to help.


With best regards,

Sarah Dunnett
Customer Service Team

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal