www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2007-04-01/Bl -
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Published on: 3/28/2007
Last Visited: 3/28/2007
And they'll produce more fruit if planted in full sun, says Dan Finch, owner of Finch Blueberry Nursery in Bailey, N.C.
Probably the trickiest part of the blueberry's requirements is providing that acidic soil.Actually, it's not that blueberries need acidic soil, says Finch: "Blueberries need iron but are very poor at taking it up, so they've adapted to acid soil â€" like that often found in wooded areas â€" which makes the iron more available to the plants."
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"The humus has natural tannic acids that acidify the soil," Finch says.Just avoid including manure or maple leaves, which raise pH.If you don't have access to humusy material, you can work moist sphagnum peat moss into your planting holes.
For each blueberry bush, prepare an area 2 to 3 feet wide and 12 to 18 inches deep.Remove the soil and mix it with an equal amount of leaf compost or moistened peat moss. (Finch suggests using about a half bushel of compost or peat per plant, as a general rule.) Backfill the hole with the soil and compost or peat mixture to form a mound.
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"Of the many outstanding rabbiteye varieties, my favorite is ‘Premier,'" Finch says.
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Compared to rabbiteyes, Southern highbush varieties bear earlier in the season, so "by planting both Southern highbush and rabbiteye varieties, gardeners can stretch their blueberry season from early May into September," Finch says.For home gardeners and beginning market growers, Finch suggests ‘O'Neal' and ‘Sharpblue' â€" both early-bearing varieties with big, delicious berries and ornamental plants."But they're all good, really," adds Finch.
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"If you happen to have a wooded area on your property, take a rake and gather some of the leaf litter to use as mulch," Finch says.