Evening star., 1948-03-07
Blueberries for Home Gardens
Plants Need Plenty of Moisture
But Cannot Endure Wet Feet
By w. H. Younemon

Don't be careless about how 1t Is
spread over the bushes. Hungry
birds are quite capable of finding
an opening. Cheesecloth Is better
than mosquito netting, but either
will do II Of ample proportions.
The choice of varieties LIS tmpor-
tant in only two points. One. it is
desirable to have two or more varie-
ties to insure good cross pollination
Better fruit crops are the result
The other point is, for q home gar
dener, q succession Of ripening
bushes Is desirable to prolong the
harvest season. Most varieties will
give good results, although those
known to be adapted to a given area
should be selected. In this area the
following, named In order Of ripen-
ing, are recommended: Cabot OF
June (early), Rancocas (second
early), Adams and Stanley (midsea-
SOM, Rubel, Atlantic or Pemberton
tlate midseason), and Jersey or Bur
lington date.
MUiCulHK u N0O0 IThCkACCs
Cultivation Is sometimes desirable
but more often it is injurious unless
shallow cultivation Is carefully OBJ
served. Mulching Is much more to
be desired. Almost any material will
do, and an annual application is rec.
commended. II sawdust Is used some
nitrogen will need to be used to feed
the bacteria, otherwise they will rot
the blueberries. A 3-inch layer Of
sawdust wet down once a week OF
two with a dilution Of sulphate o1
ammonia Il teaspoonful to a gallon
of water) is generally used for this
purpose. 1t hardly pays to try to
scatter the nitrogen in granular
form, since 1t is 50 very soluble
Tankage, blood meal or cottonseed
meal may be mixed with the saw
dust to accomplish this purpose.
Blueberries should be set out
preferably very early in the spring
Plants 2, or years old are gen.
orally available, and the temptation
is to get the largest size possible
so as to insure fruit production
within a year or two. However
unless the larger sized plants are
moved most carefully the shock OF
root loss will set them back severely
and they may not fruit as soon as
smaller and cheaper plants.
Use Care in Pruning.
The bushes will need very little
pruning the first two or three years
BY the fourth season regular
pruning program should be started
This consists of removing all weak
and dead branches. Thin out the
new shoots on replacement basis
Two or three of the oldest canes
should be removed each year so as
to maintain vigorous healthy tor
and these will need to be replaced
by new shoots. Occasionally plant
will not throw new canes. Wher
this happens the old canes are cut
back to a strong side shoot.
Diseases and insect pests are
usually not troublesome in the home
garden where the bushes are kept
fertilized and supplied with suffi-
cient moisture. Healthy plants are
always more resistant to disease and
usually to insects. The japanese
beetle may be troublesome, but DD1
or a similar insecticide may be used
or the net mentioned above will
serve a double purpose.
-Four to six bushes should provide
an ample supply of fruit for the
table. However, blueberries may be
canned and frozen, and where this
is to be done and the space permits
a larger number will be desirable
Blueberries are quite treat to most
families, and since they are rather
expensive to buy we seldom get
our fill