Slow blueberries

[Dingeryote]

what other varieties do you grow? We grow duke, elliot bluecrop and liberty. I wa spraying our 5 year old bluecrop yesterday and it was a nightmare with our m8540n, too many branches on the ground that are laden with fruit despite the fact that they are trellised

Jerseys, and Bluecrop primarily. Got several rows of older varietys, Pembertons, Rubles, Stanleys, and Darrows, just because I enjoy beating myself up.

Trellised? I don't think I have ever seen anyone go that route.

I hear ya on the middles getting tight though, even the Jerseys are rubbing the windows and smacking the windshield, and we pruned HEAVY last winter.
In the Bluecrop fields, I'm running over lower shoots and canes that are drooping.
I scouted for Phomopsis and Mummy shoot strikes, and it's just plain old weight causing the droop, with a few localized spots of frost damage weakened canes. It's nuts. My Pickers are going to snivel, and the harvester wont even get low enough to hook a cane and stand them up untill they get picked a bit by hand. I might look at Trellising if this sort of thing becomes regular.

Biggest PITA this year, is the damned Blackberry, Sassafrass, and Sumac exploding all over, after the drought.
All that crap was near dormant when sprayed early last fall, and it did absolutely no good. And here I was thinking I finally got ahead of it.

You guys get price projections yet?
Looks like us, then you guys, are gonna get HOSED.
MBG is still sitting on half a seasons B grade from last year, and Fresh pack is going to be flooded.

 

[Dingeryote]

I've wanted to plant some for years now. I've asked some friends who have them for opinions and was told that you needed more than one variety. So what varieties are people having good success with in New England and NY? I know I'm not going to pay $3 for a tiny container at the store.

I'll sell ya a dadgum Semi-trailer full for $1.50lb, and spare you the headaches of growing your own.:laughing:

In your area, the mid-late season High bush varietys will do well. Jerseys are a safe bet, as is Bluecrop. Patriots do well too, and IMO have a flavor advantage over Blue crop, the only issue bieng they are a half high cultivar. Dadgum Jerseys are about as reliable as they get though.

Check with the local state Ag extension, on what other folks are having the best luck with.

 

[PANNU98]

NAH, we dont have any projections but hopefully they are atleast more than a dollar/lbs, i've always wondered if the rates where same in michigan because i know that they are the same in wa. what where you getting at the start of bluecrop last year? we where at 1.20 if i recall correctly.

Jerseys, and Bluecrop primarily. Got several rows of older varietys, Pembertons, Rubles, Stanleys, and Darrows, just because I enjoy beating myself up.

Trellised? I don't think I have ever seen anyone go that route.

I hear ya on the middles getting tight though, even the Jerseys are rubbing the windows and smacking the windshield, and we pruned HEAVY last winter.
In the Bluecrop fields, I'm running over lower shoots and canes that are drooping.
I scouted for Phomopsis and Mummy shoot strikes, and it's just plain old weight causing the droop, with a few localized spots of frost damage weakened canes. It's nuts. My Pickers are going to snivel, and the harvester wont even get low enough to hook a cane and stand them up untill they get picked a bit by hand. I might look at Trellising if this sort of thing becomes regular.

Biggest PITA this year, is the damned Blackberry, Sassafrass, and Sumac exploding all over, after the drought.
All that crap was near dormant when sprayed early last fall, and it did absolutely no good. And here I was thinking I finally got ahead of it.

You guys get price projections yet?
Looks like us, then you guys, are gonna get HOSED.
MBG is still sitting on half a seasons B grade from last year, and Fresh pack is going to be flooded.

 

[clemsonfor]

This time last year, I'd been picking blueberries for two weeks, but I haven't seen a ripe one yet this year. It does look like we're going to have more berries than last year. How are your blueberries doing?

btw, this is in southeast virginia.

Keith

This year we here in SC actually had a spring, i would say that seasonally we are an easy 2 weeks behind last year.

Last year in my area you could of had your garden in the first week of march and been ok, no frost and warm days. this year i got it in late may and planted in mid april...i think. It was still cool then and things seemed not to do well till mid may!

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Several more weeks to go before the blueberries are ripe here in NH.

So how do you freeze your blueberries?
I usually wash and set them in towel covered trays to dry & pick the leaves, twigs, and bad ones out.
Once dry, I set the trays in the freezer so they all freeze individually. I then pour them into 1 gallon freezer bags.

Individually frozen berries are easy to scoop and measure for baking, or any other use for that matter. They make good frappes, but blueberry margaritas don't seem come out as well as strawberry ones because of the thicker skins on blueberries.

 

[clemsonfor]

my cousin in upstate SC has ripe ble berries.

When i first opened this thread and thought it was about slow growing plants. Which i think mine are, i think this is year 2 and they dont seem very tall? Well last year was really dry and the year before as well. Lost one of them so far, and one this year came out like normal and then was top killed?? Its root sprouting so its not dead yet but we have had the wettest late winter and spring that we have had in years, it makes no sense that it died?

 

[KTurner]

I just came back from outside and I can report we're starting to see ripe blueberries here in southeast VA. Not many, I saw and picked a handful. The wife is doing a quality control check on those right now

Keith

 

[Dingeryote]

NAH, we dont have any projections but hopefully they are atleast more than a dollar/lbs, i've always wondered if the rates where same in michigan because i know that they are the same in wa. what where you getting at the start of bluecrop last year? we where at 1.20 if i recall correctly.

Start of last year? IIRC it was 1.30 at most of the processors, give or take a nickle or two. It was lower during the early season though.
Posted price dosn't mean anything much either. Most have private agreements with larger growers to pay above the posted price as long as specified volumes are delivered.

I dunno about getting a Buck this year. Rumors are flying, as folks speculate, but it really looks like we will be lucky to get 90 cents.
Just too big of a crop, and too many growers shifting to fresh pack, thanks to the bottom falling out of the process market with all the imports.

I dunno if we will break even on the Machine harvested stuff. It's looking like 30-40 cents if a guy can get it, and thanks to the Drosophila fly, inputs are going to be up around 25 before labor is figured in.

Hang on to your hat!
It's gonna be one of those years..

 

[cqaigy2]

So how do you freeze your blueberries?
I usually wash and set them in towel covered trays to dry & pick the leaves, twigs, and bad ones out.
Once dry, I set the trays in the freezer so they all freeze individually. I then pour them into 1 gallon freezer bags.

Individually frozen berries are easy to scoop and measure for baking, or any other use for that matter. They make good frappes, but blueberry margaritas don't seem come out as well as strawberry ones because of the thicker skins on blueberries.

That's how we do them too. Also like to do that with black berrys too. They taste great, frozen in a bowl then make up a little "sauce" of cream cheese, brown sugar, and something to make it liquid to pour over them.

 

[Dingeryote]

my cousin in upstate SC has ripe ble berries.

When i first opened this thread and thought it was about slow growing plants. Which i think mine are, i think this is year 2 and they dont seem very tall? Well last year was really dry and the year before as well. Lost one of them so far, and one this year came out like normal and then was top killed?? Its root sprouting so its not dead yet but we have had the wettest late winter and spring that we have had in years, it makes no sense that it died?

"Top Killed"? Did you guys get an early frost last fall, or late freeze this spring?
Usually, new growth dying back on newly planted bushes, is related to frost, or Phomopsis.
Sometimes though, when starved due to bieng rootbound or blocked N uptake, new growth will get sacrificed.

What's your soil ph, and drainage? Sandy loam or heavy ground? Amendments?
Did you break up the root ball when planting?
What fertilizer?
Pics would help.

 

[clemsonfor]

"Top Killed"? Did you guys get an early frost last fall, or late freeze this spring?
Usually, new growth dying back on newly planted bushes, is related to frost, or Phomopsis.
Sometimes though, when starved due to bieng rootbound or blocked N uptake, new growth will get sacrificed.

What's your soil ph, and drainage? Sandy loam or heavy ground? Amendments?
Did you break up the root ball when planting?
What fertilizer?
Pics would help.

I am pretty scatterbrained and post some confusing stuff as i dont think coherently sometimes.

This is the third growing season on them. They were really small ones, from michigan bulb i think? Not sure of the variety of the one that top killed.

It was kind of broken when planted but was in something similar to the size of a dizie cup so there were not many roots.
I have not done soil PH tests, but here in my area of the south we run on the acidic side, usually requiring 2000lbs of lime per acer to get to 7. I read blueberries like acidic soil though.

I did put a bit of fertilizer on before the top killed, thought i burned them but i really did not put that much per plant and it was raining as i did it or that day, and i sprinkled it around the plant. The grass has not got super deep green so i know i did not put a lot around them. I used 10-10-10 which i dont think is the best but i had it from the garden so i used it. The plants are kind of in a flat area that is kind of moist and willhold some water but not stand it really, the ground was really hard packed, but i tilled it with a 3pt tiller before planting them. ANd we have had an unusually wet winter/spring.

I dont have a picture but maybe you may catch something from what i have listed.

I am a forester so i know a bit about growing things just more of the tree variety!

 

[Dingeryote]

Clemson,

Dunno. If I had to guess from your description, you bought 1yr old rooted cuttings, or 1 yr old rooted "Clones" from tissues.
They can be finicky when planted that young, and quite prissy about transplant shock.

SC has some Red clay as well as sandy loam, and anything above 5.5 will cause issues with nutrient uptake and root development.
They have really,really weak roots, and they are lousy at uptake outside of the range of 5.4-5.5, and rely heavily on Mychorazia.
If the ground wasn't sufficiently loose or within range, the roots will curl back into the transplanted bedding soil and get bound up.
Check and see if you get the time.

10-10-10 isn't bad, but for the first 3-4 years you want to push the roots, more than new canes and shoots.
Once established, they will take off like crazy, but they need the uptake capacity to support the top end.
It's common practice to prune back after the first year.
A good GP Fert like 12-12-12, and a weekly shot of foliar like Mir-acid should do them well.
When we propegate, the Mir-acid and 20-10-20 is our greenhouse mix for the beds.
I doubt you burned them.

If the ground was hard packed and tilled, could you have possibly created(Tillers create a hard pack under the tines) a trough that didn't drain?
Blueberrys don't do well with wet feet, and get oxygen starved real quick unless the water drains rather quickly. More than a day of saturated ground is enough to cause a problem.

You mention a wet spring...
Any chance of fungus problems? Look for flattened growth, fuzzy mold on undersides of leaves, sticky little "Zits" on the new growth.
Phomopsis is a killer, and gets spread with rainfall. Plain old Captan will knock it back if so, but isn't systemic, so infected growth will need to be pruned out.

It's hard to even guess without looking. Heck, I have some had that leave me scratching, and calling the extension guru, and end up cussing and scratching together.

Bored?
Here's a link for info, with a ton of other links along the way.
Growing Blueberries | Michigan Blueberry Facts

 

[clemsonfor]

Thanks for the info. There is no fuzzy mold or fungus. Hard pan and wet area is a good possibility. The area i suspect was an old drive or gargae area talking to the neighbors and the amount of gravel taht was pulled up by the tiller. We have red clay in my area but if i would classify it i would put it as clay/loam with clay being more dominant component, but i also have gravel and sand in that area due to what was there like 50 years ago?? I imagine these are just as you describe rootings or something.

I lost one and i attribute it to drought from the year i put them in, i was bad about watering.

And i think the other 4 that look good are in that stage of rapid cane growth. Looked at them this mourn and they had canes that were 10"s or so on a few of them that were shooting out. Tried to get a pic of the plant in question and the others but the phone froze and i just went on to work without the question.

 

[David P]

Last Tuesday I thought we were probably a couple weeks from being ready to pick (we are primarily a you-pick operation). Lots of canes near the ground from being so laden with fruit.

Dingeryote-where are you located in MI? Our orchard is in Ortonville.

 

[Dingeryote]

David,

We are in Covert and South Haven.

The Weymouths are into 20% and the Bluettas have leaders coming into 70-80% blue.

I figure two weeks and we will be picking in the blue crop fields, but they don't appeat to be in any hurry.
Jerseys are still in third cover, with explosive new growth.
It's nuts, and I'm worried about next year bieng a real light year.

Did you guys get the 4.5" of rain we got?
Holy CRAP! I'm running the field drainage pumps again, after dropping the gate just a week ago.

 

[PANNU98]

how many acres of blueberries do you have? have you heard about the new varieties, what are your thoughts on them? we planted about half an acre of liberty and it is doing excellent but they do have milk cartons on so that is expected. They where planted in september last year. here is a picture.

David,

We are in Covert and South Haven.

The Weymouths are into 20% and the Bluettas have leaders coming into 70-80% blue.

I figure two weeks and we will be picking in the blue crop fields, but they don't appeat to be in any hurry.
Jerseys are still in third cover, with explosive new growth.
It's nuts, and I'm worried about next year bieng a real light year.

Did you guys get the 4.5" of rain we got?
Holy CRAP! I'm running the field drainage pumps again, after dropping the gate just a week ago.

 

[cqaigy2]

We have a few "Sunshine Blue Dwarf Blueberry" i believe they are called. They have great flavor, alot like highland huckleberry.

 

[Dingeryote]

Pannu,

Have 30A in production currently, more coming on line in a couple years.

Of the new varietys, the only ones that seem to be viable around here are Spartan, and the Patriots.
Libertys are still too new and not many guys have them in the ground yet. It takes a while to get a feel for how a new variety will do, and it's darn dangerous to invest 7 years of inputs into something new that might not pan out.
Lots of folks did that with Dukes, and got burned, and folks are still grumbling about Toros bieng hit or miss in our ground.

The pic is interesting. We don't trellis anything around here, as there is no need. Drip lines go on the ground, or overhead is installed.

Never seen Milk cartons used either.What is the purpose?

The new thing is plastic/permeable textile for a weed barrier and mounding, with the drip line under the plastic.
It saves a lot of herbicides and keeps the moisture in better.
I'm leery of it, because it also warms up the ground earlier, and the frost damage is higher on those fields.

Here's one of our new sections after planting.

 

[Dingeryote]

Pannu,

Just had a Growers meeting.
Hang onto your shorts, wallet, and nail down everything of value.

The processors are looking to cut a fat hog and rip off the growers again.

$1.10lb for hand pick, and .30 cents lb. off the back of the harvester.
Never mind that the things are $2.50 a pint in the stores, and $3.50 for 14oz frozen.

It's going to crush a bunch of smaller growers.

 

[radioman]

I just got a facebook message from my favorite veggie stand and they just posted that they are going to open this friday :drool:for U pick and its going to be 1.75 a pound . They said the sun they had for last few days finally put color on the berries and will be sweet enough next week to eat. How does the pricing go for your area?