"Jane Peppler" wrote in message
...
| Hi,
|
| New subscriber. I haven't seen anything here about blueberry
cultivation
| and am thinking about putting in some plants, in a raised bed.
I was
| thinking about having a load of thrice-ground pine bark mixed
with sand
| as the soil mixture? What have people had luck with? And with
deer and
| birds aplenty, what kind of protective system shall I plan for?
Any
| suggestions on cultivars? All experience welcome.
|
| Jane

Hi Jane.
Welcome to the "group." I'm sure some of the "real" gardners
will reply to your post with more technical information, too.

I have two different types of blueberries in my garden. In my
experience, as long as they get lots of sun blueberries will do
well here without much fuss. You need to buy bird netting to
cover the plants once they bloom. The deer don't munch on them
but the birds will rob every single berry that's available!

As long as we're talking about blueberries, does anyone know of a
pick-your-own place somewhere near Raleigh? The one I used to go
to in Garner is now commercial only. I would love to find
sources for pick-your-own blueberries, rasberries, etc. I'm
hoping to freeze some for next winter... it's been too long
without berries this year!

Thanks,
Jeny

Finch's east of Raleigh on Highway 64 used to sell blueberry bushes as well as
a pick your own operation. I can't remember how far a drive it was but it was
still a good drive past Knightdale.

Depending on what you mean by "near Raleigh", there's one near Southpoint Mall,
on Massey Chapel Road east of Fayetteville Rd. They also had big blackberries
last time i went, and whatever the native grape variety is (the name escapes me).

Raleighgirl wrote:

As long as we're talking about blueberries, does anyone know of a
pick-your-own place somewhere near Raleigh? The one I used to go
to in Garner is now commercial only. I would love to find
sources for pick-your-own blueberries, rasberries, etc. I'm
hoping to freeze some for next winter... it's been too long
without berries this year!

"1101010" wrote in message
...
| Depending on what you mean by "near Raleigh", there's one near
Southpoint Mall,
| on Massey Chapel Road east of Fayetteville Rd.

Thanks for the information 110. If I find Massey Chapel Rd, is
there a sign to direct me to the place? Or, do you have an
address?

|They also had big blackberries
| last time i went, and whatever the native grape variety is (the
name escapes me).

Scuppernongs. Ugh. Pass on that thank you.

Jeny
| Raleighgirl wrote:
|
| As long as we're talking about blueberries, does anyone know
of a
| pick-your-own place somewhere near Raleigh? The one I used
to go
| to in Garner is now commercial only. I would love to find
| sources for pick-your-own blueberries, rasberries, etc. I'm
| hoping to freeze some for next winter... it's been too long
| without berries this year!
|

Raleighgirl wrote:
Thanks for the information 110. If I find Massey Chapel Rd, is
there a sign to direct me to the place? Or, do you have an
address?

If you come south down Fayetteville road from 40, turn left onto Massey Chapel
Rd, across from (oddly enough) Massey Chapel. After you go down the hill, cross
under the power lines and as you come up the next hill, you'll see the berry
farm on the left. First the (i think it was actually muscadines) and
blackberries, a small pond, the driveway, then the blueberries. Can't miss it.
If they are open, there will be a sign by the driveway.

Of course you might miss them being open. I think it was like Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays?

Marcy Hege wrote:
Finch's east of Raleigh on Highway 64 used to sell blueberry bushes as well as
a pick your own operation. I can't remember how far a drive it was but it was
still a good drive past Knightdale.

Finch's also does mail order. I bought an assortment of 12 assorted 3
year old plants for $35.00 plus s/h (wonderful price imo). I kept ten
of them and gave two to the s.o.'s parents. All of mine are doing well
and have broken dormancy, leafing out beautifully. Finch's URL is:
http://www.danfinch.com/berrys.htm

All I did was dig a hole and plant them. They're in full sun with
decent to great drainage. They do well in NC but there are different
varieties that do better in the different climates.

FYI, you do want at least two and not two of the same type. Blueberries
produce best when cross-pollinated by blueberries of different types.

Here's a page I found when researching blueberries in NC while I was
still unsure if they would even grow here.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html
My previous experience with blueberries had been in the northeast and I
had this weird idea that they needed the cold to produce nice, sweet
berries.

Susan
s h simko at duke dot edu