Blueberries in your gardenTransylvania Garden ClubSeptember 7th, 2016

Health benefits of Blueberries

1. Maintaining healthy bones2. Lowering blood pressure3. Managing diabetes4. Warding off heart disease5. Preventing cancer6. Improving mental health7. Healthy Digestion8. Weight loss and satiety9. Fighting wrinkles

Landscape benefits

Site Selection• Well-drained, sandy or loamy

soils.• pH 4.0 to 5.0, high organic

matter -- 3% or greater.• Level or rolling land, elevated

area with good air drainage.• Possibilities for irrigation?

How Do I Take a Soil Sample?

Soil Sampling• Why do it?• Where to do it?• Why do it?• How to do it?

Soil Sampling• Results are only as good as the

sample! • Can be done anytime of the year

• Plan ahead: want to send samples off and get results BEFORE beginning project

• Sample before any new project• Sample established areas every 2-4

years• Every 2 years in sandy soils• Wait 6-8 weeks after applying fertilizer or

lime

How to Soil Sample• Start with clean equipment

• Stainless steel soil probe, hand shovel, shovel• Not brass, bronze or galvanized

• Clean plastic bucket

• Decide where to sample• Divide landscape into areas of unique use

Areas of Unique Use: Sample Different Areas Separately

• Different plants/crops

• Changes in plant health

• Obvious changes in soil type (color, texture, topography)

• 5-10 random samples from each area, total of 1 ½ cups

How to Take Soil Samples• Avoid thatch or mulch

• Take a ‘slice’ of soil

• Turf: 4” deep

• Landscape beds, vegetables: 6” deep

• Mix subsamples together to make one composite sample for each unique area

Packaging Soil Samples• Boxes and forms available from any

Extension office

• Fill box to ‘fill’ level

• Soil can be moist but not so wet it dissolves the box!

• Do NOT put soil in plastic bag!

• Do NOT tape box shut

Soil Test Report

• Sample ID – what you entered

• Crop 1 – what you plan to grow

Lime Recommendation

• pH level – gives number and shows where your pH is in comparison to target range (based on soil type and what you intend to grow)

• Lime recommendation – for dolomitic or agricultural/garden lime, pounds per 1000 square feet

Fertilizer Recommendation

• Nitrogen recommendation based totally on crop to be grown• Standard for ornamentals and fruits/vegetables = 1lb of

N per 1000 sq. ft. per year• Multiply rate (# lbs) by Nitrogen % (first number), e.g. 7 x .15 =

1.05

• Turf recommendations = N based on type of turf

Fertilizer Recommendation

• Phosphorous and Potassium Index – between 50 and 70 is ideal, less than 50 will recommend fertilizer

• Fertilizer Recommendation – in pounds per 1000 square feet – Notice, only Nitrogen is recommended but there is no N index

Additional Information

• HM% - humic matter, not total organic matter• W/V – Weight/Volume, over 1.0 usually sandy soil• Mn, Zn, Cu, S indices – ideal range 50-70

Understanding a Soil Report

What Soil Sampling Can and Can Not Tell You

• Can • Nutrients your soil needs to

support healthy growth

• Soil pH, if lime is needed or not

• If pH or nutrient levels are contributing to plant problems

• Can Not• Why your plant died

• If diseases are present in the soil

• If chemical residues are in the soil

• If your soil has depth or compaction issues

Preparation of Land• Test soil and bring to a medium level of phosphorous

before planting.• Eliminate problem weed species with herbicides or

cultivation the year before planting.• Incorporate bark humus or sawdust into the soil to bring

organic matter to 3% or greater if needed in the rows (2- to 4-feet-wide strips) before planting.

• Set plants 5 feet apart in rows, 9 to 10 feet between rows• Sawdust mulch (4 to 6 inches deep) over row

immediately after setting plants.• Row middles should be in sod (fescue or bluegrass).

Planting Tips

• Before setting plants in the field, prune to remove at least half of the height of the canes, and thin to 1 to 3 strong canes per plant, removing all weak or twiggy growth.

• Early fruiting places stress on young plants. Plants should not be allowed to fruit the first 2 years. Remove fruiting wood and weak growth during the dormant season.

High bush vs. Rabbiteye?• highbush will consistently survive the

minimum winter temperatures below 10o F• rabbiteye is more drought and heat resistant

and will tolerate a wider range of soil types than the highbush

Cultivar Name

Harvest Begins Harvest Ends Berry Size Berry Color Berry Flavor

*Weymouth 6/15 to 7/1 7/15 to 8/1 small dark blue poor

*Earliblue 6/15 to 7/1 7/11 to 7/28 medium med blue good

Spartan 6/21 to 7/6 7/21 to 8/7 large light blue excellent

Collins 6/22 to 7/7 7/22 to 8/8 medium-large light blue good

Patriot 6/28 to 7/13 7/28 to 8/12 large med blue excellent

Bluejay 6/30 to 7/15 7/30 to 8/20 med-large light blue good, mild

*Blueray 7/3 to 7/19 8/3 to 8/20 large dark blue good

*Bluecrop 7/7 to 7/23 8/13 to 8/29 med-large light blue good

*Berkeley 7/7 to 7/23 8/7 to 8/20 large light blue fair, mild

*Jersey 7/14 to 7/30 8/18 to 9/3 small light blue good

Coville 7/20 to 8/5 8/20 to 9/5 med-large med blue good, tart

Elliott 7/30 to 8/15 8/30 to 9/15 med light blue good

Let’s see how they do it in Maine!• Pruning blueberries video

Questions?