CarolineC's Blog
CarolineC's posts about: blueberries
Jul 7, 2008 | 2:31 PM PST
Tags: veggies , blueberries , strawberries , peach tree
I'm growing increasingly frustrated as I thought I would have an overabundance of everything daily by now. So far though, I've only gotten a trickling of various things here and there every day or every other day. A little bit of lettuce, a handful of sugar snap peas, a few zucchinis and yellow squashes, a bit of spinach and swiss chard, 7 cherry tomatoes (not all at once), a pinch of cilantro, and a lot of parsley. Parsley is just about the most useless edible that I planted. And when you cut it, it grows back bigger and better. Why can't everything else grow like that? I was seriously hoping to have enough that I might have to freeze and can things, after giving much away. But most of it so far hasn't even made it to the fridge. ;) My pepper plants are just beginning to flower NOW. I'm thinking that if I had something that more truly resembled full sun, the gardens would be much further along by now. As it is, my gardens probably really only get about 4 hours of direct sunlight during the day and a bit of dappled light throughout other parts of the day. I guess I should be grateful to get the growth that I do. Those darn trees! Oh well. Maybe in a few weeks I'll have the giant harvest that I was hoping for, but I hate waiting. I've already picked 3 carrots way too soon, because I thought for sure they should be ready by now. And I hope onions re-plant well. I know they're supposed to pop out of the ground when they're ready, but the stem seemed so big and it had been so long that I figured I'd just better check. Now, if only my scallions were so slow to bulb! ;) It isn't all bad, I'm just waiting for that BIG harvest where I have more than I know what to do with and all of my ornamentals are flowering like crazy.
My blueberry bushes have put on a little growth-- about 6-12 inches. So that's one step closer to becoming the big beautiful hedge that I envision.
I've been working on digging out a hole for the peach tree and replacing/amending the soil. About 6 ft. in diameter and 1- 1 1/2 ft. deep. There's a couple of inches of topsoil and all rocks and clay underneath that, so as arduous as it seems, it really is necessary so that the tree won't drown and somewhere to spread its roots.
My strawberries are blooming here and there and I'm not pinching them off anymore. I'm not expecting too much this year since I just planted them this spring, so at least I won't be disappointed. ;)
My fig twig is beginning to put out a few leaves. I had planted it directly in the ground so it could grow well, but now I'm thinking that unless it makes some miraculous growth between now and frost, it might be best to pot it up and bring it in for the winter.
My Hansen's cherry bushes are leafing out and growing AMAZINGLY well. I just planted them 3 weeks ago and they've already put on several inches of new growth. I got those and the fig twig from Direct Gardening, believe it or not. I guess they can manage to do a few things right.
So, that's all for now. I'll post pics later.
Jun 3, 2008 | 10:27 AM PST
Tags: peach trees , blueberries , strawberries , edible landscape , veggies
I had ordered a Contender peach tree from Gurney's, which I haven't yet received. They have however sent the strawberries, and a planting guide. The planting guide states that a standard sized peach tree will bear fruit in 4-5 years. 4-5 years!!!! Well, at Home Depot they had a 7 ft., well-branched Elberta peach tree which should almost definitely produce next year. So, I got it. :) It also produces about a month/a month and a half after the Contender, so it should extend the season nicely. They had nice sized fruit trees at the local nursery too, but the were very expensive, and I wasn't familiar with the varieties they offered anyway. I have also ordered some Hansen's bush cherries and a fig tree from Direct Gardening. They're a discount online nursery with an iffy reputation, but so inexpensive, I figured it'd be worth the chance.
So, I have planted all of my strawberry plants--27 Tribute (everbearing), and 28 Sparkle Supreme (Junebearing). All but a few are beginning to leaf out quite nicely. I should get a few Tribute strawberries this year, but next year is the year. Next year I should have blueberries, strawberries, peaches, maybe some bush cherries and figs, plus whatever annual fruits and veggies I may plant.
Thus far this season, I have harvested much of the spinach that I planted. It really didn't make that much, but was beginning to go to seed. It's quite delicious, but I'll have to remember to plant much more next year if I want any sort of substantial harvest. My zucchini plants have little itty bitty zucchinis on them and are beginning to bloom. Some of my "mystery" tomatoes are blooming and beginning to set fruit. My sugar snap peas are also beginning to bloom. Everything else is growing along well, but it will be a while before harvest.
All things considered, my "farm" is really quite small, but I can almost guarantee you that it's the biggest edible landscape in this entire suburban neighborhood. ;) And I have more plans yet to come. :)
May 8, 2008 | 11:29 AM PST
Tags: blueberries , blueberry patch , daffodils , crocuses
Here's the blueberry patch that I've been working on so furiously for the past 6 months. As you can see, I've refined the design a bit, and it's looking better. It will look even better, I believe, as it grows in, and I get everything else planted in there. My neighbor gave me some hostas which I at first planted in that little corner, but have since moved as it was too sunny for them there. 
Here's the flower garden with all the daffodils that my mom planted years ago. They have multiplied and filled in quite nicely over the years. I planted some crocuses in there too last fall. 
Mar 31, 2008 | 6:34 PM PST
Tags: Blueberries , Blueberry bushes
... of my planting life so far this season. The blueberry bushes have arrived! 5 Patriots and 5 Bluecrop. I managed to get 7 into the ground this afternoon. It was cold and rainy today--bad for me, but probably good for the plants. As of now, they basically look like twigs, with only a few leaves and buds. But I'm being optimistic and hoping that they will grow well this season, and perhaps even produce a few blueberries. I've prepared so long and hard for these blueberry bushes, it's hard to believe they're actually here. This is by far the single most expensive gardening project I've done--$65.50 for the blueberry bushes, and probably another $35 for soil amendments, etc. But in addition to producing delicious blueberries, I think they will make the yard more attractive, especially once they've grown in a bit. :)
Jan 2, 2008 | 8:56 PM PST
Tags: Winter Gardening , indoor light , blueberries
That may sound odd coming from a gardener, but I feel I have so many things to do in preparation for the Spring garden feast. Among them, ordering seeds and starting seeds. I got a 20" "under the cabinet" florescent light at HD for $12.49 to grow plants indoors. I will probably get more as my collection expands. I'm hoping to have full bushy plants ready for Spring. I have thus far started coleus, hollyhocks, and am trying in earnest to start some day lilies. They're doing remarkably well under this little light -- far more effective than the windowsill.
Thanks to the encouragemnet and advice I received here, I am moving full steam ahead with my blueberry bush hedge plan. I have amended the soil with perlite, peat, sulfer, sand from the Christmas lumanaries, and anything else I could get my hands on ;) . The soil had tested at a pH of 6.5, so I may have to do some more amending in the Spring too. I'm glad to have it started, though, as the ground is probably going to be freezing up and snow covered fairly soon. Will post pictures as things get planted and the gardens start to come to life. :)
