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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Blueberries overcropping?

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  • From: Heath Flax <8orge.onx@gmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Blueberries overcropping?
  • Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:10:57 -0400

On may 31, Ginda wrote:
"Blueberries overcropping"?


...a lot of posts and topics have occurred since this question about
blueberries came up, but in terms of time it's only a week and a half
or so, so...

My take would be, since the blueberries clearly are overcropping--and
the bushes furthermore are a smaller size one (St Cloud), it seems
there's double reason for taking out a goodly percentage of the stems.
The occurrence on some of dubious symptoms like very little leaf out,
and troubles on the leaves as well, would make the removal of those
troubled stems the very first order, would it not?
And I think I remember that your plants are young; therefore, a fourth
reason to do substantial pruning; offhand were it me, I would
probably remove at least a third overall.
Without some substantial pruning, I think you would only end up with
either lots of the berries falling off before maturity anyhow;
otherwise, very likely a somewhat off-year for production next year.
Assumed is that your young blueberry plants, like most in backyard
type settings, are doing something less than miraculously vigorous
type growing. If they "are" setting records, then most bets (such as
the preceeding conclusions) --except of course pruning out the
probably -diseased stems--might be "off" although you'd still stand
to face another trade-off I think if you don't prune them back for the
overproduction aspect too: the young bushes themselves likely won't
get bigger and taller as fast if they're putting so much into berries.

I can offer up the evidence of many of the cultivated bushes in my
planting: while I have a major factor of forced neglect due to
complications of most of what I planted having accidentally landed
upon land someone else owns, still, I think it a singular thing to
observe plantation of blueberry bushes now 15 to 17 years old and the
majority of them still some ways from maturity.
They sure aren't the fastest growers! And in cases like mine, wherein
the growing conditions have ended up being little extra challenging,
decidedly somewhat slow growing by and large, seems the only way they
can be described.
Worth it though, and they also offer toughness and determination.



  • Re: [NAFEX] Blueberries overcropping?, Heath Flax, 06/10/2009

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