Friday 20 July 2012

The Blueberries are ripening

Sitting writing for the blog this morning I suddenly noticed a Blackbird peering in through the sliding doors, with his beak full of Blueberry and a guilty look on his face. I jumped up and shooed him off, letting him know in no uncertain terms that he was NOT welcome. [I hate Blackbirds - they are so destructive!]. Actually, I hadn't realised that any of the Blueberries were ripe, so I went out straight away and made a close inspection. I found that right at the back, up against the wall of the house, there were a few berries that were very nearly ready for picking.


If I were picking them for human consumption I would leave them another few days because they are still not 100% ripe, but the Blackbirds are obviously not so fussy. [I hope they get the bellyache!]


So, there was obviously a need for urgent action. The first thing I did was move the pot of Blueberries with the nearly-ripe berries on it into the garage whilst I made a plan...

I realised that I'd have to either erect a net or lose the whole crop. Once the Blackbirds have identified their target only physical barriers will deter them! Fortunately I found that there were some masonry nails in the wall, left over from years ago when at one time I had some Clematis plants growing up the wall. I attached a net to these and brought it down at an angle so that it stood away from the plants.


I weighted-down the edge of the net with my potted Chives. It's not brilliant, but it's the best I could do in a hurry. Next year I must think about this earlier.


So now this is the Blackbirds-eye view of the berries:


Let's hope it works!

13 comments:

  1. Good luck. I hope it keeps those pesky birds away.

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  2. Mark_ How old are your blueberry bushes? Also how long did it take (years) before you had actual fruit on the bush?
    Lisa

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  3. I think you did a great job and your blueberries look wonderful. I did not get any this year but my plants are looking good so hoping for some pink and blue ones next year.

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  4. Good luck keeping the birds out. I have been picking blueberries every morning for weeks. It is great to go out into the garden to collect breakfast.

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  5. I like blackbirds. Even if they did eat all the cherries off my tree. My bluberries are ripeing slowly. I am just picking the odd one as i check the garden at the moment.

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  6. Lovely colour on those blueberries! Your net should do the trick nicely.

    All my strawberries got picked off last year by blackbirds and pigeons - didn't make that same mistake twice... the strawberry plants were in pots this year so brought them inside the greenhouse whilst the berries ripened.

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  7. OOOh, so lucky! Enjoy them. I have bought my first blueberry plants just this week so this is some sort of inspiration.

    Thanks

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  8. Amazing Blueberry plants Mark.
    I've only got twigs and buds at the moment, but I'm hopefully to see fruit later on. I'd be thrilled to see even a few berries never mind your stash!
    Poor blackbirds...and here's me thinking you were a nice chap! Obviously don't mess with your berries is the key!
    Have a great weekend...that sun looks like it's finally arrived. Enjoy! ;D

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  9. The problem with our blueberries is that they ripen in dribs and drabs. I pick them once they have a bluish colouring as I have found they ripen quickly after picking and unlike most fruit that ripen off the plant still develop a good flavour.

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  10. 2 out of my 3 newly purchased plants are flowering and I can't tell you how excited I am - I'm really looking forward to having some blueberries. I'd have pick those and eaten them slightly underripe - i do like sour fruit.

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  11. This is a cool way to solve your problem. I hope you get good amount of ripe blueberries.

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  12. Quick thinking! Hope it holds them out! The berries look delicious!

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  13. My blueberry plants only lasted a couple of years before the severe winter did for them. I really must get some more as I think they are quite delicious

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