Things You Might Need For Planting
- 2 cubic feet sphagnum peat moss
- 50 lbs top soil or compost
- 1-2 bags of small pine bark pieces/mulch
Preparing Your Site
- Find a sunny spot – at least six hours a day
- Space bushes three feet apart
- Dig holes 2′ wide by 18″ deep. If you have clay, this is the hard part!
- Fill bottom of hole with 50:50 mix of 1″ to fine pine bark and sphagnum peat moss. You can substitute compost or soil for the pine bark and then add pine needles or bark on top after planting.
- If you’re going to use raised beds, check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPJFqi6N_q0
- The pH of the soil should be in the correct range for growing the blueberry plant.(4.5 – 5.5. Kits are available at your garden center or Amazon at this link:
http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Test-Kit-1-Ounce/dp/B000BT32UA/ref=pd_sim_misc_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TJ0SFDBT2YEM8SD1DTQ
And here’s another for planting low bush varieties in pots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6EiLQeSP3IiLQ
Remember, you’ll receive two bushes especially suited our area with each order – one “Blue Jay” and one “Draper” bush, each in a two gallon container. Blue Jays grow to 5 -7 feet and ripen in early July. Flavor is mild. Drapers, which reach 5 feet ripen in late July. They are a newer variety- sweet and hearty.
Planting
DO NOT add any fertilizer or sulfur to the planting hole.
Amendments settle as they decompose. It is best to make the soil level of the amended hole 3-4 inches higher than the original soil level.
Remove the plant from the container, and tease the root system apart so it is not round or square from the container.
Soak the plant well with water after planting so the soil settles around the root system.
A 3-4 inch layer of pine bark can be placed around the plant for weed control and conserving moisture.
Plants require irrigation frequently, but excess water can damage the plants, heavy soils will hold water, so apply small amounts of water. We suggest applying 1-inch of irrigation every week.
Fertilizing Blueberry Plants
Blueberry plants can be fertilized after planting in the spring. We suggest organic fertilizers.
It is best to fertilize plants often with small amounts of fertilizer.
Organic fertilizers: Fish oil, Kelp, Molasses are the most commonly used for the blueberry. The plants can use 100% of these nutrients efficiently and these sources include all major and minor elements plus amino acids and some natural growth regulators.
