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Preparing to plant/transplant Blueberries

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Posted by Emerogork2 (My Page) on
Tue, Sep 23, 14 at 12:34

I have a section my property to which I want to place all four of my blueberry bushes. Two of which have been here for over 50 years and used to produce quite well (at least for the standards of the time). One was given to me about 5 years ago and I just purchased a Blueberry Kabluey. The three have not been dug up yet as I will prepare the bed first. The three older plants have been neglected for at least the last 10 years and two of which have not been producing well if at all.

Although the 10' wide strip is bordered on the north west by a garage, and on the south easy by a 5' stockade fence, I believe it will get sufficient sunlight. In the distant past, Hydrangeas grew there well and lately, boysenberries. The bed will be about 4' x 25' for the four plants.

Here is the soil test I just received:

CROP TO BE GROWN------Blueberries
SOIL TEXTURE---------------Sandy Loam
ORGANIC MATTER----------Medium High
pH---------------------------------4.3
NITRATE NITROGEN-------Medium (9 ppm
AMMONIUM NITROGEN---Medium Low (24 ppm)
PHOSPHORUS---------------High (100 ppm)
POTASSIUM-------------------High (220 ppm)
CALCIUM-----------------------Very High (>1600 ppm)
MAGNESIUM------------------Very High (>125 ppm)

Since the pH is so low, I suspect the accuracy of the original sample and plant to run another test.

If it is valid, what are your opinions on the rest of the information?

I have heard that raised beds are good but lately have heard that in my zone (4) raised beds are of little benefit.

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RE: Preparing to plant/transplant Blueberries

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Your new bed looks like 5 feet wide. I am concerned with the shade from the fence.

So two of the plants are 50 years old?? Amazing. If so, I will just buy some new plants and do not dig the very old ones. New ones can grow very quickly.

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RE: Preparing to plant/transplant Blueberries

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I think your transplanted blueberry plants will do fairly well. blueberry plants are very hardy and do particularly well in low PH soils (4-5). I would be careful to place all plants in the sunny portion of the bed as Blueberry plants do best in full sun. your soil analysis also looks good - the nitrogen is helpful with leaf development and the organic levels is also a positive. Best of luck.

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