no blueberries
budlia63
Posts: 141
in Fruit & veg
this year is the first year i haven't had any blueberries there are a couple of unripe berries falling off now is it the lack of sun or anybody know why?
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budlia63
Posts: 141
budlia63
Posts: 141
Posts
hi Christopher this is a self-fertile bush i bought at Harrogate Spring show about 4 years ago. it is planted in the ground now after out-growing its pot. I put ericaceous compost round it every couple of years and it is well-watered but with fence behind so some shade late aft. still confused this year as somethings are great and some abismal
I have self fertile blueberry (variety name lost) which fruited muchbetter after I bought it a friend. They both spent a few years in pots before I planted them out in the veg plot. I dug big holes about 70cm deep and wide and filled them with ericaceous compost and they've been very happy apart form suffering badly in a couple of nasty winters.
This year we had very few fruits but we had a frost when they were in blossom and that's always bad news. Maybe yours had the same problem.
This year I have given them a mulch of ericaceous compost, added two British bilberries to the same bed, fed all with slow release ericaceous food and done a final mulch of chipped bark. They've all put on good growth and look very healthy so I'm hoping for good crops next year. I shall be erecting a protective cage of fleece round all 4 plants to help keep off winter winds and frosts. Fingers crossed I get no more severe damage.
I have a few varieties and one that got water logged with all the rain this year lost all the flowers and died back, so no fruit on that one, rest ok. So I think it might just be the flowers died off before they could fruit.
Thanks for the comments it's given me some ideas to check and ponder. the bush has been fed this year but not mulched-usually bark chippings and it does look healthy. I will check it closely tomorrow and hopefully get a pic up.
here's a pic at last!
I would blame the weather I have two blueberry bushes identical age, size, treatment etc. one fruited, the other did not......my strawberries on the same plot - woeful and the raspberries - wonderful, picked another bowlful today....apples dreadful, tomatoes v. late, cucumbers fruiting well but late....and so it goes on. I do feel the weather has played a larger part than normal in the total success or failure of many crops this year.
i blame the arctic snow melting so fast!