Kitchen Garden Forum

Well, have another go at Blueberries, so far we have lost 5 plants over 4 years! we put them in pots in ericacous compost in a fruit cage. We grew them perfect in our old house in Woking, but am struggling here in pevensey bay, east sussex. We are about 500 yards from beach but just inland and protected from sea spray etc by other bungalows, it does get very windy though. What am I doing wrong?

I'd love to advise but although I don't loose plants the fruit is sparse, small & not worth fighting the birds for. I have 3 which were supposed to fruit at different times to give a longer harvest but one never has so wondering if these need a partner & I got duped, even though the limited research I did said no?

If yours did well previously then it might be the new environment, but the blueberry farm closest to me is totally exposed & fairly windy. Maybe they don't like being potted, the farm have there's in the soil, well most anyway. Maybe you need to experiment with making your own ericaceous compost or mixing bought with yours as they might need it even more acid than bog standard bought compost?

I don't like them enough to bother but it could pay you to look on a Canadian site for hints & tips as they grow them extremely successfully.

thank you, have tried in soil, but died!

My son lives not far from you in Stone Cross and the water is quite hard, you aren't watering them with tap water are you?

Hiya!

I never had luck with blueberries in pots, I think they dried out too much (lazy) I since dug a large trench lined with pavers and filled with erecaeceous compost - growing well for decades and lots of fruit. But I do agree with Geoff - they really like rainwater and not tapwater. I also mulch mine with pine needles (Christmas tree!).

I grew up in New England where they grow wild and they are often found in the barrens just past the the beaches, so the wind and cold should not bother them. But make sure they get plenty of rainwater, and acid friendly mulches and feed. And check your pot - maybe they need a larger one? (sorry, clutching at straws).

Geoff wrote:My son lives not far from you in Stone Cross and the water is quite hard, you aren't watering them with tap water are you?

Hi,
no I have 5 250 ltr water butts and use it on all the veg

Paul. I know the Pevensey Bay Area well and wonder if there is just too much salt spray in the air for the plants to thrive, as well as possibly hard tap water. I love blueberries but have never grown any as i've known too many people have poor success with them. It seems wise to treat all the catalogue claims for good cropping with a pinch of salt unless you already have proof of good survival and cropping in your local vicinity.

Primrose wrote:Paul. I know the Pevensey Bay Area well and wonder if there is just too much salt spray in the air for the plants to thrive, as well as possibly hard tap water. I love blueberries but have never grown any as i've known too many people have poor success with them. It seems wise to treat all the catalogue claims for good cropping with a pinch of salt unless you already have proof of good survival and cropping in your local vicinity.

Thank you,
we are quite exposed to wind, being only 500 yards from beach, so the salty air could be the problem.

I think you have soil problem!