Starting Blueberry patch

[TwinWillows]

After a lot of research we've taken the leap & started our blueberry patch. We did our soil tests last year & amended the soil w/sulfur to lower the PH as needed & killed all the grass & weeds in the rows where we're going to plant. This spring we picked up oru first load of bushes & are getting them in the ground. Here are some photos of the process starting w/the first load of 275 2yr old potted bushes.

 

[TwinWillows]

Here's the tractor w/forks & disc. The forks are super for moving the wet bales of peat moss around (they get wet sitting out in the weather) & the disc is for tilling in the sulfur used to lower the PH. I used a 8' rr tie as add'l weight but it's still too light. Looking for more weight soon.

 

[TwinWillows]

We have most of the spring bushes planted & mulched w/sawdust & started w/irrigation. Now trying to prepare the additional area needed for planting our fall bushes. Tried the disc first. In the distance on the left you can see it just rode on top of the sod. So I broke out my old Oliver 2 bottom plow & turned it over.

 

[TwinWillows]

Here's a close up of the old Oliver plow. The frame does not look like much paint wise but the plow parts are solid w/sharp edges & no thin areas. The coulters are pretty bad off but still turn. Not a bad find for only $125 bucks.

 

[TwinWillows]

Here's a view behind the tractor of the area plowed. This was my first time ever using a plow so I was pretty happy w/how straight the rows ended up.

 

[KentT]

Wow! Nice, straight furrows. If you fill up that area, that's going to be a LOT of blueberry bushes...

What variety are you planting? Are you going to do U-pick or sell them commercially, or what?

 

[TwinWillows]

Thanks for the kind words - I was pleasantly surprised as this was the first time ever running a plow. We put in: Misty, Elliott, Jersey, Bluecrop. Plan on primarily u-pick w/some prepick. We believe it should work well w/our peach orchard operation (172 trees @ this time).

 

[forgeblast]

what type of irrigation are u putting in? Also what are you going to use to stop birds from eating all the berries?
The reason i asked was i planted 55 blue berry bushes last year, only 1year old ( i should have went with the 2 year old).
We had an very dry summer, so i lost about 5-8 bushes. But the ones that are still going are looking strong.
Forgeblast

 

[TwinWillows]

The permanent irrigation is not yet fully designed. I'm working w/the local UKY experimental station to develop what's needed. For now we're using simple soaker hoses that we picked up from the local hardware store.

You don't let the bushes flower/fruit for the first 1 or 2 yrs after planting (plant a 2 yr bush). This will let the bush put the energy into rooting & growing strong so that when you let them fruit they'll really put out.

It's @ that time you need to have bird netting up - there's also a spray on product that's being tested, hopefully by then they'll have this spray "perfected" so you don't have to deal w/the netting pain.

You probably already know that PH control is extremely important - both before & after planting. PM me if you have any questions & I'll try & answer them or send you to a source.

 

[jinman]

Your plow looks a whole lot better than mine. You did a very nice job of plowing. It's amazing how such a simple tool can be so useful. Also, it's not the plow's appearance, but the appearance of the ground after plowing that matters and your ground looks great. Nice job! Did you plow in LO-Rabbit or LO-Turtle; 2WD or 4WD?