|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
When I ordered the blueberries a month ago I was first told that they would arrive the second week of December. Then the owner of the company called and apologized saying that they would arrive just after New Year's Day. Well, I was pleasantly surprised when they arrived yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon in 4 large boxes.
Plants, especially plants with leaves, don't sit well in boxes very long. The humidity and lack of air circulation makes everything moldy and defoliation follows. Most varieties of blueberries are winter dormant and are generally bare when we get them, but a few varieties can be evergreen, and I like to preserve the foliage. Therefore I immediately opened the boxes and placed all of them into containers. They arrive as a liner, which is a stem cutting that was rooted into an 8" tall, 4" wide container (see photo). We ordered and received 2nd year plants that are 20" to 30" tall, usually with several stems. The grower removes the plants from their containers to make it easier to pack and ship them. I immediately placed these naked rootballs into 2-gallon containers and surrounded them with our custom acid potting soil.
You will find well rooted, fully leafed out, 2-gallon blueberry plants on the market later this spring at $30 to $40 or more, or you can purchase these newly potted plants from us now for $20. The price will increase as the plants grow. If it is not raining too hard we will have them at the Great Park Farmer's Market on Sundays, starting January 2 and at the farmer's market in Rancho Santa Margarita (Big Lot's parking lot) on Fridays, starting January 7.
You can leave them in the 2-gallon container for this year or immediately plant them into the ground or to a larger pot. The 7" x 4" rootball will remain intact if you handle the plant gently.
|
Blueberries in Orange County
Blueberries are native to eastern North America. Related plants are native to Europe, Asia, and South America as well as western North America. Some of you may have enjoyed the wild blueberries native to the northern states which are known as Lowbush Blueberries. Commercial farms plant the Highbush varieties for better yield. In the southern states you will find the Rabbiteye varieties and the Southern Highbush varieties. Some of the Southern Highbush varieties are actually hybrids between Northern Highbush and Rabbiteye varieties.
In Orange County we can succeed with certain Southern Highbush and Rabbiteye varieties. All blueberry varieties have a genetic need for winter chill to produce flowers and fruit. This need for chill (the minimum chill requirement MCR) is vital so that the plant doesn't bloom too early, just before or during a damaging frost. Varieties from the northern states require a high MCR in order to remain dormant until spring. Varieties from the southern states require a low MCR because their spring starts earlier. If the plant doesn't get sufficient chill it can grow foliage, but will refuse to produce fruit. Locally, a variety with a lower MCR will produce more fruit over the years than a variety with a higher MCR. Some years we get a colder winter that will allow even Northern blueberries to produce, but for better production select a plant with a lower chill requirement.
We prefer Southern Highbush over Rabbiteye because the Rabbiteye varieties also require cross pollination (genetically different pollen from the same species), which means that you must have two different Rabbiteye varieties blooming at the same time (within 20 feet of each other) to get any crop at all.
Southern Highbush varieties are at least partially self-fertile. This means that they will get 50% or more of their normal crop with only one variety present. For even better results it is still good to plant 2 or more varieties which also helps lengthen the harvest season (since they ripen at slightly different times). Some varieties also create larger berries when cross pollinated.
Blueberries ripen their main crop in Orange County from May-August depending upon the variety. They often have a second smaller crop in the fall. Because our weather is so mild, if you have several mature plants you can expect to harvest a few berries any day of the year!
An average Southern Highbush blueberry plant can grow 5 feet tall and wide and produce about 8 quarts of berries per year. Our 2nd year plants can produce a handful of berries in 2011. If well cared for they will produce 1 to 2 pounds in 2012 and 3 to 5 pounds in 2013. Production will reach maximum within 4-6 years.
Here are the varieties we currently have with the minimum chill requirement MCR listed as hours.
Jewel MCR 200. Ripens early to mid-season. Large fruit with high yield. The bush tends to grow shorter and more spreading than average. From Florida.
Jubilee MCR 400. Ripens mid season. Outstanding flavor. The bush is slightly more compact than average and tolerates less than ideal drainage. Tends to be evergreen in winter. From Mississippi.
Misty MCR 300. Ripens mid season. Excellent flavor, huge berry if not overproducing. Tends to overproduce. Remove some flowers and developing berries to get better growth and fruit quality. Tends to be evergreen in winter. From Florida.
Southmoon MCR 400-500. Ripens mid to late season. Excellent quality berry. Needs better drainage than other varieties. From Florida.
Star MCR 400. Ripens early. Excellent quality berry. This is currently the most popular variety planted in the South. From Florida.
Sunshine Blue MCR 150. Ripens mid season. Small, tasty berries on a dwarf 2-3 foot tall bush. Tends to be evergreen in winter and tolerates alkaline soils better than most. From Florida.
Orange County will generally get at least 300 chill hours every winter. So far, we haven't had production problems with the 400 hour varieties listed. We think this is because blueberries are short (relative to fruit trees) and the air is much colder close to the ground than what fruit trees are exposed to. Chill hours can also be increased significantly by placing the plants (if they are in pots) in the shade for the winter. (see Growing Blueberries)
Also, I have never eaten a ripe blueberry that wasn't quite good. Some blueberries may have better harvesting,shipping and storage qualities, but all seen to be good to excellent right off the bush. Overall, the quality of northern varieties may be slightly better than the southern, but without direct comparison, I doubt you could tell.
|
Growing Blueberries in Orange County
 Although blueberries can be grown in the ground we recommend growing them in containers because acidity and drainage are easier to manage.
Although they can be grown in a container as small as 2-gallon or 3-gallon, fully mature plants should have more room. The 2-gallon container the plants are in currently is sufficient volume for the first year. They will be full rooted by June and you can easily move them into a larger container at that time. You can put them in larger containers before then, but handle them gently so that developing roots are not torn off.
The Sunshine Blue blueberry plant in the half barrel (pictured above) is about 3 to perhaps 4 years planted. A half barrel requires about 3.5 to 4 cubic foot of soil.
Some of our customers love to grow blueberries in a 15-gallon (properly #15) nursery pot, which isn't actually 15 gallons of volume. A #15 container holds about 1.7 cubic feet (10+ gallons) of soil.
The best soil to grow blueberry plants in is our Laguna Hills Nursery ACID MIX POTTING SOIL or our TROPICAL POTTING SOIL. Both are 1 cubic foot volume and contain peat moss and pumice. Peat moss provides the acidity and pumice creates the drainage and aeration. I like mixing our ACID MIX with "washed plaster sand" at a ratio of 2:1 to create the best "permanent" soil.
Some experts recommend 100% peat moss for growing blueberry plants. I've tried this. It works very well for a year, or so. Pure peat eventually breaks down into a nearly black slime resulting in stunted or rotted plants.
Other experts recommend mixing peat moss with fir bark. This improves the drainage and lasts a bit longer than pure peat, but eventually the plants turn yellow and decline as the bark ages. Most of the blueberry plants that you can purchase at local nurseries will be growing in this bark-based mix.
Our Laguna Hills Nursery potting soils use pumice in place of fir bark. The pumice permanently keeps the peat moss aerated. Peat moss mixed with coarse sand should also work quite well.
Growing blueberries in the ground requires prepping the soil before installation. The UC Master Gardener Handbook recommends mixing the soil with 1-2 pounds of soil sulfur for every 100 square feet to lower the pH. This must be done 1 year before planting because the sulfur creates acidity as it is consumed by natural soil organisms. The soil must also have excellent drainage. This means that if you dig a hole a foot deep and fill it with water, the water will drain away within an hour or two. If if doesn't drain away you must create raised beds and fill them with a faster draining soil.
In my own garden (very bad drainage) I built a 10" high raised planter and filled it with 2 sacks of our ACID MIX. 15 years later the plant still looks pretty good but if I were to do it again I would make the bed a little higher and larger so that it has more root space.
I've had excellent results growing 2 different varieties (for cross pollination) in a 18" x 18" x 18" square plastic container filled with 3 cubic feet of our ACID MIX. The combination eventually matured into a bush 4' high and 5' wide.
Situate blueberry plants in sun. Varieties from Florida and Mississippi like hot summers. Plants will produce in part sun, but at lower volume and quality. Varieties with a relatively high MCR will usually benefit from being shaded during their dormant season, but be certain to provide maximum sun the rest of the year.
Blueberry plants require constantly moist soil. Not soggy, but certainly not dry. Our Laguna Hills Nursery soils have excellent drainage and should be watered regularly, if not daily, during warm weather.
Blueberry plants don't require heavy amounts of fertilizer. Our plants have done quite well with our corn-based fertilizer (Concern WEED PREVENTION PLUS) applied monthly to container plants.
Blueberry plants are true bushes and do not need support. They produce new canes every summer which produce flowers and fruit their 2nd year to about their 5th year. Older canes should be removed or cut down to a lower new side shoot. Farmers prefer to limit mature plants to 6-8 productive canes. These larger, younger canes produce large, high quality berries. Remove small twiggy growth that produces small berries.
Blueberries have relatively few pests, but Scrub Jays can steal your crop. Bird netting will work. We have used BIRD SCARE TAPE with excellent results.
|
|
|
|
We'll keep a lot of ACID MIX potting soil in stock. Let us know if you want to purchase #15 black plastic containers. See you at the farmers markets.
Gary
|
26285 Verona Place
Mission Viejo, California 92692
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
