How to Grow Blueberries (in pots or in the garden) - Info from a blueberry farmer in MN
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 เม.ย. 2020
- I’m a blueberry farmer that grows on a small farm, but today I am sharing how to easily grow blueberries in pots or containers if you do not have a garden or farm.
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My neighbor has a line of 50 foot pine trees that shade my garden but at least i can use the needles on my blueberry plants lol. Thanks for the tip.
Great video. I also want to mention there are varieties that don’t have bare branches in cold, you can buy. They keep leaves that often turn reds and bronze, just in case someone wants one more pretty to put up against house for not only fruit but landscape purposes.
I just brought one of those blueberries to plant that’s in a bag that you get at Sam’s Club. I’ve never did planting before want to have a hobby for my lil boy to do..Thanks for the vid🙏🏽
I’m in zone 6b 7a what ever that means Lol? 🙏🏽
Don't let this person get under your skin, some people just like to be negative especially when they may not be able to do what you do. Oh I was referring to the person that commented two weeks ago. I say that your are doing something right. Good job.
Thanks. I’m getting tougher skin these days. By far the comments are positive so that helps
Your doing good and life is to short. Thanks again from a former MN person.
I love that this is a simple acidic mix. You mentioned apply elemental sulfur in the fall, some say sulfur only breaks down when temps are above 50 degree. Thx
Hmm, I haven't ever heard that but I will check into it. It's definitely a slow release and I just scratch it into the soil and let the rain and snow break it down into the compost. It has seemed to work, but maybe it's breaking down all summer. I see what others say....
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on blueberries. I’m planting some Elliot in pots this year.
Good luck!
Super presentation. Just getting ready to pot a few here in Missouri.
Good for you!! Check in if you have any troubles.
Just got our first blueberry plants today! Thanks for a great video! We learned a lot. Can't wait for the sweet fruit this summer! Cheers from southern Minnesota!
Thanks for the comment and letting me know! Good luck and may the blueberry Gods be with you!
Thank you for this video! I'm in Montana in zone 4b. Do you protect the containers over the winter? If so, what do you do?
Oh!! So glad I found you! I'm in zone 4 west central Minnesota. It's hard to find good info on TH-cam for our area. I planted two blueberries last late late summer, they were on clearance. But both the same variety, now I for sure will go get a couple different varieties, as you say. I did put peet moss in the holes when I planted. We have high pH soil here. They are still alive! Is there anything special I need to do now in the spring? For soil pH I guess I am meaning. fertilizer too?
thanks for the video from Michigan and and im dipping my hands in and getting a decent raised pot garden and am looking forward to doing blue berries is there a certain type of wood chips that is cheap ad effective?
Well as far as the best for adding acid to the soil over a slow drip, pine needles are the best. As far as cost goes, if you’re just using it as a mulch it doesn’t really matter. I get mine by prowling the tree trimmers in the area and asking them to dump them at my property. They’re often looking for places close by to empty their trucks. The purpose of mulch is more to keep the weeds down and the moisture in. For “effective” you are looking at different fertilizers. Slow release elemental sulpher scratched into the soil in the Fall is a good thing.
For what it’s worth, coffee grounds in the soil mix and put on top of the soil have done nothing but wonders for my plants. Spent coffee grounds have a relatively neutral ph but leach a little acid, on the off chance I have stale coffee lying around I tend to cut it with water before watering my blueberries. I don’t do this with any other plants (didn’t see any immediate benefits) but my blueberries are as addicted as I am
Always go with what works for you! Although they don’t have a lot of acid they certainly add something to the soil (as a form of compost)
Great video ...do you have any advice on pruning? 🙂
I hardly ever prune my blueberry plants and some of them are quite old. They are considered “mature” when they are 5 years old and you could prune out the woodier stems then. Do it in the early Spring or late Fall and go easy. Sometimes the stems look dead and then voila….little shoots come out.
Do you need to put any rocks in the bottom of the pots. Do you put a lot of wholes into the bottom of the pots?
No, the practice of putting rocks in the bottom of containers has been debunked (check out Joe Gardener’s site for the research). You do need drainage holes in the bottom of the pots, but only about 3-5, depending on how big the pot is.
Wow beautiful what variety of your blueberries the one in your blueberry patch if you don't mind me asking.
I am in Zone 4 but it is slowly changing to Zone 5 over the years. The earlier plants were “half-highs” which are hardy in Zone 4 and they included: North Blue, Northland, St. Cloud, Polaris and Chippewa. A few years ago I added some high bush plants hardy to Zone 5 and those included: Patriot, Bluecrop, Blue Gold, and Friendship. They seem to be working out just fine.
@@DorothyStainbrook thank you for responding and for the information.
Hello Dorothy. I've potted my fist two blueberry plants. I really want to cover my yard in a patch,however I have terrible red clay soil. Can I amend my soil deep and wide for each plant and maintain with acidifier? Or should I stick with pots. Haven't tried Blueberries before. Thanks
Yeah, clay soil is a problem. They do not like wet feet. The only thing to do with clay soil is add a LOT of compost to help with the drainage. Each blueberry plant would have a root diameter of about 3 feet and their roots are fairly shallow, so if you amend the planting hole you could mix your clay soil with a lot of compost and then if you can achieve drainage that way you’ll be good to go. Drainage is more important than the acidifier. Eventually you will need to add more acid to the soil. You could do that with peat upon planting (make sure it is well incorporated into the soil as it wicks water and you want the water to drain through. Alternatively you could dress the topsoil with elemental sulphur in the fall and let it slowly drip through and then use an acid folier spray in the spring. the good thing about clay is when you get the nutrients right they stay in the soil longer and don’t drain out like a sandy soil.
@@DorothyStainbrook Alrighty! Thank you so much for the info and time taking to help me. I truly truly appreciate it.
What the size of the pot? Do you have to repot or up pot each year as it grows? Do I use bark in the container
The pots in the video are 16 inches wide and a foot deep. Blueberry plants have fairly shallow roots so you don’t need a very deep pot. The wider the better however. In the field their root systems will spread to 3 feet diameter at maturity. If you use the size in the video you wouldn’t need to transplant for about 3 years. And no, do not use bark in the container. Blueberries like a fertile, acid soil. A mix of compost and peat is the best medium for them. Bark will take up too much energy as it is breaking down
Great video. What method would I choose for raised bed garden?
Raised bed gardening would be just like growing them outside. 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost and 1/3 your soil mixed together in a 3’ hole. Mulch with pine needles and fertililze with an acidic fertilizer.
Thanks for the video. I’m in Southern California. I’ve seen acidic soil for Azaleas. Do you recommend that? Also how often to fertilize them?
@@cdv.8244 Sorry for the delayed response, I didn’t see the comment. Yes, the soil for Azaleas works well, and is usually plenty acidic. Fertilizers: if you have plenty of compost in the hole you shouldn’t need too much nitrogen. Potassium can make for sweeter berries. I would use a foliar spray that is balanced for N-P-K, but a lot of it depends on your growing conditions and microclimate.
Can you do an update to show how they do this year in the pots?
Yes, I hope to do that in June. Thanks for the request!
I’m in MN, so I can leave the bush outside in the winter? And can I continue to grow the bush in the pot for many years?
If the plant is a variety hardy in MN (a half-high), then it will be hardy in winter if grown in the ground. If it is in a pot, it would be good to put it under an eave or somewhere not subjected to a lot of wind and then put a blanket or straw around the base of the pot so the roots don’t freeze. Frozen roots are the main problem with leaving potted plants outside. The tips of the blueberry plants may die back a little bit, but that won’t hurt it.
@@DorothyStainbrook but,the roots will certainly freeze if planted in the ground or containers. Correct??
Hi! I have some blueberries plants in containers they are 3 years old but some they have some deficiency like yellow leaves. The ph is good from 4- to 5.5. My question is what other minerals I need to add to make my plants grow and be green other than sulphur. Or the NPK.thanks for u video
Hi Rosalba, Usually yellow leaves points to a lack of nitrogen. In pots, the nitrogen is washed out with repeated watering over time. I would probably repot them with some fresh soil that has a healthy mix of quality compost. If you don’t want to do this I would fertilize with something that is heavy on the nitrogen. The pH is important but the plants still need nutrients.
I planted this blueberries in April can I repot it again ? So what will be the mix
@@DorothyStainbrook am trying to grow organically and I used cotton seed meal and holly tone.i investigated all over and everybody said blueberries need acid soil but nobody talks what else. Can I used ammonium sulfate for nitrogen even if isn't organic
@@rosalbakinder5539 yes, most people talk about the need for an acid soil with blueberries, but like any other plant they also need nutrition. I wouldn’t replant them this year, especially if they have already blossomed. I would go to a nursery and ask them for a foliar fertilizer that is a bit heavier on the nitrogen. You’ve already amended for the acidity. Then next year repot them and try to mix in some peat (for the acid) and some compost (for the nitrogen) and maybe some potting soil for the other nutrients. And yes you can use ammonium sulfate, but I can’t remember what the NPK balance is on that?
I bought a type called blue ray and says "size 1". I live in the NorthEast and plan on putting it in a pot. I do have pine trees - but there is not much sun there for planting them in the ground, What size is this #1? Also, could I take some old pine needles and add them to the potting soil mix or even fresh pine needles? Your video was good, thanks.
Blue Ray is considered a “high bush” plant, meaning it could get 6’ high. You could grow it in a pot, but you would need a pretty large pot to get many berries. Blueberries have shallow roots so it wouldn’t need to be too deep of a pot, but it would need to be wide. The best medium to plant it in would be 1/3 compost, 1/3 potting soil and 1/3 peat. I would just use the pine needles on top as a mulch, as they do take time to break down. Planting in the shade is definitely going to decrease the yield. You will get leaves and growth but not many berries. You also need 2 different varieties of blueberry plants if you want a lot of berries. I don’t know what they are referring to as “size 1”
@@DorothyStainbrook Ok thanks so much for responding. I will definitely do as you say.
Get some 50 gallon or larger fabric planting pots I have a blue ray that's been in a 50 gallon fabric pot for 7 years. It's probably 6' tall and two people can't reach around it and produces probably 15 pounds of berries every year. I started out with peat moss, soil for roses mixed with pine bark and put Holly tone on it in the spring to keep the pH down and to feed it.
@@joshsmith7176 Awesome! I just bought a bunch of 15 gallon growbags to try out this year, but I didn’t realize you could get them that large! Did you use a fabric bag so that you could place it in a location with sun? Do you move it at all in the Winter?
@@joshsmith7176 Wow, that sounds great, I will certainly try this, thanks! :-)
Dorothy, please let me know where you bought those clay potss from, thanks.
Well, those pots are not clay but rather some sort of lightweight plastic material. I think I got them at a local garden store, but they are probably 15 years old so I don't really remember. So sorry not to be more helpful!!
How long will it take for blueberries to take hold once you plant them in pots?
Cotton Burr compost is pretty acidic too.
3 - 5 years to maturity, depending on how old they were when you planted them.
@@DorothyStainbrook I have had zero luck with potted blueberries - they died within a couple of weeks.
Near zero luck with lettuce.
Even less luck with carrots - out of 500 seeds I get 6-7 carrots.
I even use all new soil too.
Will they grow in self wicking plater
Yes, treat them just like any other perennial in a self wicking container. Just cut down on the water when you overwinter them in a cool dry area. They don’t need much water when wintering over.
I had six blueberries in large pots that were doing quite well until our local tribe of racoons decided they wanted to see what was in the pots. They dug up the plants and tossed them After three tries I gave up.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that. Critters can be much more difficult than disease sometimes!!
How do you winterize your containers blueberries? I live in an apartment but I don't have a yard. Most websites say to winterize blueberries into the ground. What hardy varieties would you recommend then for containers in zone 4a 4b? I also live in Minnesota as well
The main thing about winterizing blueberries in containers is to avoid their roots freezing. Plant them in a large pot and Then when it starts to get really cold move them to a garage or basement or somewhere where the winter winds and cold won’t freeze them. I keep mine in my shop where it gets to about 55 degrees. Water them occasionally. The key is to move them back outside gradually in the Spring. They don’t like it when you move them from a protected place right away to the elements. Move them out on a day that is cloudy and then bring them back in. Do this a few times until they are “hardened off” and adjusted to being back outside.
@@DorothyStainbrook do they need light when being wintered?
@@JohanCody It helps. Mine were next to an East facing window. Try to replicate what it would be like in Winter outside: cold, less light and less water. But the main thing in overwintering them is to keep the roots from freezing. And then when you take them back out in the Spring, do it gradually so they don’t get shocked.
@@DorothyStainbrook Awesome thank you for your response! You've got a new subscriber!
Re varieties hardy in zone 4: “half-high” varieties are the most hardy. They don’t get as tall so the tips don’t get frozen out but they are plenty productive. North Blue is the shortest one with the biggest berries; St. Cloud has probably the sweetest berries but they are smaller berries; Northland is a very hardy high bush with light blue berries; Patriot is an early half-high variety from the U of MN; and Chippewa is a late half-high from the U of MN. There are many other varieties that will work in zone 4 but I have found these to be the most reliable. Make sure you get more than one variety if you want more berries (bees love to cross polinate).
Don’t they freeze in winter?
You do need to shelter them in Winter so the roots don’t freeze. I do this by bringing them into my shop which stays at around 50 degrees or a bit lower all Winter. I water them before taking them in and then let them go dormant for the Winter. If you don’t have a garage or sheltered place to put them you can wrap the pots in something insulating (like straw or some sort of wrap). The tips might freeze over the Winter if you leave them outside, but it’s the roots freezing that will kill them. If the tips freeze you’ll just not have quite as many berries that year, which happens sometimes when they are in the ground also.
If you use Miracle Grow, you are not as good as you think.
Who said I thought I was good? I’m just sharing my experiences over the years. I’m happy to hear your experiences also!