"#Blueberries"

+ Once planted, how should I care for blueberry plants?

• Don't prune your plants for the first two years after planting. The third year, however, and every year thereafter, trim off one of every three shoots that are more than three years old.
• Mulch to a depth of at least six inches, though one foot of mulch will provide maximum benefits.
• Ensure your plants receive 1–2 inches of water each week.
• Do not dig near the base of your plants. Blueberries have very shallow roots, and you might damage them.
• Check the pH at the beginning and end of each growing season, and add a soil acidifying agent (ammonium sulfate or sulfur-coated urea, for example) if needed.
• The first year in the ground, pull all the blooms off of your plants. This encourages the blueberries plants to put their resources into strengthening their root systems, thus becoming better established during the critical first year.

+ When will I get berries from the plants? 

You will get a few berries the second year after planting. It takes 4 or 5 years for a blueberry plant to approach full production.

+ How many berries should I expect to get? 

Depending on the particular variety of plant, you will probably get 1–2 pints of blueberries the second year. The third year you might expect 2–3 quarts, and the fourth year you should get at least 1 gallon. When the plant reaches full maturity (in 5–7 years), it can produce up to 4 gallons, or 20 pounds, of fruit.

+ How can I tell which part of the blueberry plant will produce the berries? 

Blueberry plants produce two kinds of buds—fruit buds and leaf buds. Buds appear in early spring, as the plants emerge from dormancy. The large buds found near the tips of the bushes are the fruit buds. The smaller buds appearing on the stems of the plant are leaf buds. Each of the fruit buds will eventually bear a cluster of berries.

Planting

+ How do I plant blueberries?

• Choose an appropriate location. Blueberries need at least five hours of sun daily. Also, you'll need to check the pH of your soil; while blueberries can thrive in soils with a pH as high as 5.2, a pH between 4.6 and 4.8 is optimal.
• Dig holes about 2 feet deep and 1 foot in diameter. If you're planting several bushes, place them in a row with about 4 feet between each plant. If you're putting in lots of blueberries, you'll need multiple rows, which should stand at least 10 feet apart so you can eventually walk between the mature bushes.
• If the pH of your soil is above 5.2, add one cup of a soil acidifying agent (such as ammonium sulfate or sulfur-coated urea) into the dirt you removed from each hole.
• Put a growth-enhancing mixture in the hole. We recommend an equal mixture of peat moss and soil, which will hold water for your plants' shallow roots. (Note — don't use fertilizer, lime, or stable manure, which will kill your plants by decreasing the soil's acidity.)
• Set your blueberry plant into the hole and re-fill the hole. On many heavier soils blueberries should be planted on a  raised bed (6 to 8 inches). This will improve drainage and is critical to avoid root rot.

The returns from well-managed plantings on suitable sites can be substantial but the time and costs of establishing and maintaining a blueberry planting are high. The common row and plant spacing requires between 1,000 and 1,200 plants per acre. Two-year-old blueberry plants cost $3-5; it will cost $3,000-7,200 per acre just for the plants. Planting involves labor. However, the number of workers required per acre depends on the type of planting. Most growers use partly mechanized systems that require 5 to 7 people to plant 8 to 10 acres in an 8-hr work period

Cultivation and Mowing

Because the blueberry root system is shallow, mechanical cultivation is limited to the center of the rows. Most growers prefer to maintain a permanent ground cover to facilitate the movement of mechanical equipment during the growing season. Mechanical weed mowing is a common practice and occurs at least twice each year. Labor requirements are minimal because it takes only 7 hr to mow a 10-acre field.

Pruning

Blueberries need annual pruning. The removal of small, spindly growth near the base of the plant promotes a more upright bush and keeps the fruit away from the ground. Pruning also removes dead and injured branches, fruiting branches close to the ground, spindly and bushy twigs on mature branches, and old stems or parts low in vigor. When blueberry bushes are pruned moderately each year, larger berries are produced and the fruit tends to ripen faster. Pruning is carried out during dormancy, after the leaves have dropped in the fall, and during winter before the buds swell in the spring.

Fertilization

Blueberries are fertilized two during the growing season with slow release fertilizer 14-12-14 applied to the soil. Commonly, fields are fertilized after petal fall and again before harvest. Some growers apply fertilizer a third time right after harvest. Soils are fertilized with machinery, and a tractor operator and one or two other people are required to assist. At least 3 hr are needed to fertilize 10 acres. Fertilizer formulations are prepared and delivered by fertilizer distributors. Granular products are delivered in spreaders. Foliar fertilization is a common practice in many blueberry fields. However, foliar fertilization is limited to minor elements and is applied together with pesticides.

Plant type	Spacing	Soil	Fertilizer	Remarks
Potting blueberries	Potted	Moist, well drained, acidic pH between 4.1&5.0, Peat moss-soil mixture, large pot	Inorganic- ammonium sulfate Organic- fish oil, kelp, molasses, & worm castings	Water heavily first 2 weeks, must experience cold (36 degrees F or less for at least 6 weeks
In the ground blueberries	3-5 ft apart	Rich, acidic pH between 4.1&5.0, Peat moss-soil mixture, well drained	Inorganic- ammonium sulfate Organic- fish oil, kelp, molasses, & worm castings	For poorly draining or clay soil use raised beds (6-8”)

+ When is the best time to plant? 

If intend to plant many blueberry bushes, we recommend either Fall or Spring. For home gardeners planting only a few bushes, we suggest early Spring. Really, the season of planting is less important than achieving the right soil pH and keeping the plants well-watered during the year.

Ordering

+ How do I know which blueberries to order? 

If you know your USDA hardiness zone, just select plants suitable to your environment. If you've never heard of these climatic zones, you can read our brief introduction or just call us (270-908-0703) and we'll be happy to help you select the perfect plant for your environment.

If you want to choose plants by ripening season, height, or berry size, please refer to our sortable list of blueberry varieties.

+ As a home gardener, how many plants should I order?

As a very general rule, most gardeners grow two plants per person. Thus, if you wanted blueberries for a family of four, we recommend eight plants. In addition, be sure to choose plants that ripen at various times throughout the year to ensure you have fruit in Spring, Summer, and Fall.

+ When do I need to put my order in? 

You should put your order in as soon as possible. If you wait too long, you might find the variety of plant you want already sold out.

+ Does Blueberry Croft Farm accept custom orders? 

Certainly. Custom orders allow you to select exactly the varieties and quantities you want. Custom order plants are usually 6–7 inches tall, and we ship them when you ask for them. For details about customized orders, please either e-mailsales@blueberrycroft.com or call 1–(270)–908–0703. Since our staff spend much of their time in the fields, they might miss your call. We therefore recommend e-mail as the most efficient form of communication.

Once we begin processing your custom order, we'll request a 20% non-refundable deposit. We reserve the right to cancel any order if we do not receive your deposit within 30 days of issuing our request.

+ What if I want to order, but I'm not ready for the plants yet? 

No problem! When placing an order, tell us when you want your plants shipped—any time between September and April. We don't ship in the summer since high temperatures harm the plants, and they wouldn't arrive in good condition.

+ How quickly will I receive my blueberry plants? 

We ship our plants with FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, and UPS, so they generally take fewer than 5 days to arrive. Typically, we send most shipments on Tuesdays so the plants dont't spend the week-end languishing in a package warehouse somewhere. We don't ship plants during the June, July, and August because the heat damages the plants in transit.

+ Do you offer a guarantee? 

We assure you that our plants receive the best of care while they are with us, and our certification by the Kentucky Office of State Entomology ensures our plants are healthy and disease-free when shipped to you. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the health of the plants after shipment, since we cannot know what care they receive in transit or their care once you receive them.  In the unlikely event you receive a damaged or sickly plant, please notify us immediately (i.e. within three days of receiving the plants) and we'll do our best to resolve the problem.  If for any reason you are not satisfied, notify us within two months of shipment. For claims received after May 30th, plants will be replaced the following spring. This guarantee covers full purchase price and does not imply any further responsibility or liability. Shipping will be charged on replacement orders. Your satisfaction is our first concern at Blueberry Croft Nursery. You must receive our approval before sending any plant back, and you must pay shipping on all plants you return. We cannot accept COD. We must receive the damaged plant before we can ship its replacement.

+ Do I receive a discount if I pick up the plants at the farm? 

While we don't offer discounts for picking up plants at the farm, we encourage anyone who is able to visit the farm for their plants. First, you save on shipping costs. More importantly, when you pick up your plants you get the plant still in the soil in which it's been growing. This helps your blueberry plant avoid any shock from shipping, handling, and transplantation.

Growing blueberries Qrganically - Soil Needs, Container Planting, and Plant selection

By Harold Stewart

Introduction

Growing blueberries can be profitable and enjoyable. They take about 7 years to reach maturity so it takes time to establish a good mature blueberry field or blueberry plant in a container. You will start getting some blueberries the third year and the amount produced after that should increase each year.

Blueberry Soil Needs

Blueberry plants need acidic soil. A pH of 4.6 to 5.1 is ideal for most blueberry varieties. Start out by taking a soil sample and requesting it be tested by your local county Extension Service. A large amount of organic matter, availability of water for irrigation and good drainage goes together with acidic soil for successfully growing blueberries. You also need soil with good drainage. The solution to the problem of poor drainage is to plant in raised-beds to ensure adequate drainage.

A good soil mixture for blueberries can be made by mixing equal amounts of peat moss, ground pine bark and mature compost. If needed sulfur may also need to be added to this to obtain the proper pH in the range of 4.6 to 5.1or an organic fertilizer made for azaleas and rhododendrons.

Using compost tea is an excellent method of improving your soil and providing the micronutrients needed by the blueberry plants.
Irrigation

Full sun for most of the day and good air circulation are needed by blueberry plants. It is important to arrange to make watering easy or better yet automatic on a timer system. Blueberry plants require plenty of moisture to produce a good crop. About 1 inch of water each week is needed by blueberries. More is needed if it the temperature is high and it is dry or anytime the soil feels dry. To conserve moisture and suppress weeds it is also important to mulch the blueberry plants.

Container planting

Single plants can be planted in large containers such as a half barrel. Even Two dwarf plants such as Sunshine blue, Patriot, Ornablue, Northcountry, or Top Hat might be planted in the same large container. More than one plant is needed for cross-pollination to get the best production. It is also critical that your containers be well-drained.

A soil-less potting mix can be purchased for containers. You may be able to purchase a planting mix for plants such as azaleas and rhododendrons that are acid loving. Peat moss is a very good choice to use as a planting medium. If you do not find soil for acid loving plants you will need to test your completed mixture for proper pH. If necessary you may need to lower the pH by adding some sulfur.

Choosing Blueberry Plants to grow

There are different varieties of blueberries, the major divisions are northern and southern and rabbiteye varieties and the northern varieties are more cold-hardy. Northern varieties of highbush blueberries grow in zones 3-6, Some of the more popular northern varieties are Bluecrop, Jersery, Duke, Blueray and Elliot. Southern varieties grow in zones 6 - 10 and rabbiteye grow in zones 6b to 9. Some of the more popular southern varieties are Ozarkblue, Gulf Coast, O'Neal, Misty and Legacy. Lowbush blueberries are still another variety that grows in cold growing zones. Some of the some popular lowbush varieties are Top Hat, Ornablue, and Northcountry. Rabbiteye varieties grow in zones 6 - 9. Some of the more popular rabbiteye blueberry plants are Climax, Brightwell, Premier, Tifblue, and Powderblue.

Rabbit eye or southern highbush varieties grow in Zones 6 and above. Select the plants that are best suited to your growing zone. Rabbiteye blueberry varieties are probably the easiest to grow organically as they have fewer problems with pest and disease than other varieties. Northern varieties of blueberries need about 1000 hour of temperatures of 45 degrees or below before starting their growing and blooming cycle, cold hardiness by itself won't guarantee good blueberry production, proper soil, and adequate watering and fertilizer are also important factors. A sort able table of different blueberry varieties by Blueberry Croft nursery should help you identify plants for your growing area.

It's best to choose at least two varieties that are suitable for your area. Rabbiteye blueberries are not self-fertile and you must plant 2 or three varieties that will bloom at about the same time to have cross-fertilization. While most other blueberry varieties will produce fruit without a second plant, you will get more blueberries produced if there are two different varieties that flower at about the same time. Choosing plants that ripen at different times during the season can extend your harvest.

Purchase your plants state-inspected reliable nursery. Bare root plants are usually sold by most nurseries unless you pick the plants up at the nursery. You can obtain plants to be planted in the spring or fall. What is important is to plant them when they're dormant, either well before or well after they start new growth of leaves, blossoms and berries.

Usually two-year-old potted or bare-root plants are sold by nurseries is your best purchase. Older plants may give you a harvest sooner, but they are generally not cost-effective because of their added expense and can be harder to establish. Younger plants need to be grown under nursery conditions before they can be planted in the field.

Caring for your plants

Growing blueberries requires patience because it takes a few years for blueberry plants to mature. You should remove any blooms produced the first year you plant your blueberries. This provides the plants time to establish good roots before putting their energy into producing blueberries. It can take several years before large amounts of blueberries are produced, this will depend on the variety you select and growing conditions.

You should not fertilize the plants during their first year. After the first year you should fertilize each year about the time as the plants start new growth in the spring.

Neptune's Harvest is an example of a good organic fertilizer. It is made from fresh North Atlantic fish. It is made using a unique cold process that protects the vitamins, amino acids, enzymes and growth hormones.

). The farm is a reputable source for quality blueberry plants. Over 30 varieties of blueberries are grown and sold. Purchase your plants and get more information from http://www.blueberrycroft.com/.