A few days ago I took delivery of a new Blueberry plant (type unknown), which was a special offer from the BBC Good Food magazine - "free, just pay £3.95 P and P" or whatever. It's not very big (that's a 7-inch pot I've put it in), but it looks healthy and strong.
Since the plant arrived in a very small pot, inside a cardboard box, I was keen to get it potted-up and out into the open air as soon as possible. After potting it up and watering it, I introduced it to its new colleagues - the Seniors, who are already four or five years old.
As you can see in this photo, I have my Blueberries growing in big pots ranged close against the wall of our house. This is for two reasons: first, it is warmer (the house-bricks work like a massive storage heater, retaining warmth during the day and releasing it slowly overnight); and second, it keeps them more out of the way of the pesky Blackbirds (which only risk coming close to the house when the lure of ripe berries is too strong to resist).
In the photo below you can see the new plant (red arrow) taking its place in the line-up, which includes all four of my mature Blueberry plants.
Just so that the new plant understands what is required of it, I think maybe I should show it this picture from last year...
Blueberries are a good thing to grow. They require only minimal maintenance, take up very little space and usually produce a worthwhile crop of fruit as well as exquisitely beautiful foliage in the Autumn. A point to note though is that they need an acid soil. For this reason it is often best to grow them in pots filled with ericaceous (or "lime-free") compost, which is easily obtained from a Garden Centre. For the same reason, watering the plants with rainwater as opposed to tapwater (which may have added minerals in it) is advised.
While we're on the subject of newcomers, take a look at this.
Some weeks ago I sowed a few pots with the chilli seeds I brought back from Turkey last year. Only two germinated, and they took ages (much longer than my other types of chilli). This is what they look like now:
The others I gave up as failures and sowed some more seeds in the same pots - several seeds in each in fact, because I was expecting a poor germination rate again. Eventually one or two came up (which I assumed to be from the second sowing), but now all of a sudden each of the little pots has got four or five seedlings in it. So these new ones must be from the second sowing, and the slightly bigger ones must therefore be from the first sowing, germinating now after about 7 weeks!
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| Chilli seedling "hatching" |
After such a slow start I'm thinking my "Turkey" chillis are probably going to be very disappointed with our UK Summer. Their parents were probably used to having temperatures in the high 40s (C that is, not F). Maybe I will never get them to bear fruit - but it will be fun trying!
Maybe this time if you get a good blueberry crop you can make blueberry ice cream!!! It's the best! lol x
ReplyDeleteI've no idea what our four blueberries are either - for some reason we never made a note but they tend to flowers at slightly different times so vary in when they mature. WE planted ours directly but incorporated ericaceous compost into the planting hole. Fortunately we are in a soft water district so at least our tap water isn't high in lime content.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of ericaceious compost, we add peat moss when we plant blueberries.
ReplyDeleteI add peat moss when I plant blueberries too. It is very acidic. My tap water would be fine too. In this area of the country the rain is acidic and the soil is naturally acidic. Blueberries grow wild. I used to live next to a hill that was covered in wild blueberries. Tasty, but very tiny compared to the cultivated type.
ReplyDeleteYour new plant looks really healthy. One of these days I'll have to try and grow blueberries. They are supposed to be so very healthy to eat. By the way, your herb photos in your herb quiz post look really fab!
ReplyDeleteI think your post is my final sign...i've been talking and thinking about getting a blueberry plant. I even went to the nursery today to check them out. The blueberry plant was a little expensive, but I love blueberries (and they are expensive) so I think it is worth it. Your blueberries look delicious!
ReplyDeleteMy banana peppers seeds are not germinating either; its been over a week since I sowed them even though the temperature here is 37C.
ReplyDeleteI never knew blueberries could be grown in pots. In that case I should probably look for more information on the internet to see if it can grow here in India in hot weather conditions and get one online just to see how it works for me.
I got a new blueberry plant this year too. I already have two 'seniors' but haven't had a very good crop over the last two years so I'm hoping they do better this year.
ReplyDeleteWe have bought a cheap blueberry bush from a £ store but I don't have high hopes. I might invest in one properly next year, ewspecially after seeing that photo of your crop from last year.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a blog post last summer about chilli seeds that took almost 2 months to germinate...
Good luck
Martin
I am so jealous of your blueberry crop from last year! I can't wait to have my own garden with enough space for all sorts of berries. Your chillies do look strong, shame the rest didn't germinate though. At least the chillies you get from them will be even more celebrated.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 new blueberry plants after you suggested I grow them in pots - so excited about seeing how they do.
ReplyDeleteSome more great photos. I noticed with interest the positioning of your Blueberries. I have 3 plants, which up until last year were in very large pots, (in ericaceous compost,on my patio. They never did well (or fruited much) so were moved last year to a cooler, damper spot on my allotment. The plants are now looking healthier & I'm waiting to see if any fruit develops this year. I read somewhere a while ago that Blueberries prefer cooler conditions to most other fruit, but I never researched it.
ReplyDeleteDo you have to cover the pots with fleece or something to prevent frost damage over winter??
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment from Rooko - I also read that blueberries originally came from shady damp habitats in America but a friend says that there's a blueberry farm in Kent where they're grown in the open sunshine! Must be hardy and very adaptable plants - yours certainly seem very happy!
ReplyDeleteSome interesting comments on Blueberries. When I first moved into this property there were a couple of Blueberry bushes in one of the borders, but they didn't do well. However, the ones in pots have done consistently well from the start, and produce a good crop every year. One of them suffered a bit of damage in the very cold weather last year, and I had to remove some branches, but it recovered well. During the summer I stand the pots in big saucers which helps to ensure they make use of all the water I give them.
ReplyDeleteAfter a couple of years both my bushes died back and never recovered - I love blueberries so I'm not really sure why I haven't replaced them.
ReplyDeleteSadly all of my seedlings perished when I was out of town despite instructions being left. I have no fruits in the garden and am looking forward to expanding in that arena. Yours look good!
ReplyDelete