Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

homestead - Re: [Homestead] Blueberry plantings

homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Homestead mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Blueberry plantings
  • Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 07:57:23 -0500


On May 5, 2008, at 7:39 AM, keith bellinger wrote:

Did as directed. Getting the peat moss to absorb the water is tedious.
Using a shovel is too much work. Rake worked best. If doing more I
think it would be worth using the concrete mixer.

I know what you mean, Gene. I wonder, did you use your backhoe to dig
the holes for your berries and those tomato plants? :)

You laugh. Tomatoes went into ground one could dig with fingers. But, yes, I dug blueberry bush holes with Magnolia. Possibly not again. The bucket is 24 inches wide and goes down deep so easily. Tried putting topsoil to one side, then subsoil clay to the other side. Lifted high and dropped, which breaks up clods. But this was in sod and I found I still needed to break things up more with the pick. So then after I had it all worked up I got the grower instructions which called for twenty-inch-wide holes only fifteen inches deep. Well, at least any exploratory roots will find easy pathways. It would be enlightening to dig out around an old blueberry bush to see how far the roots go. Do they stay in the peat moss area or do they migrate out beyond?

One issue with backhoe digging is the stabilizers, especially in the wet ground we have this time of this year, tear up the sod, leaving the garden area less pretty and rougher to mow.

Almost forgot to mention: the first 5.5 cubic foot bag of Canadian sphagnum peat moss I used was a b---h to get wetted. I bought another 3.5 cf bag the other day--it says it comes from Wisconsin. It soaked up water much more easily.

Just goes to reinforce that we Wisconsin products do like to soak up liquids.




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page