What I have been up to

Well I havent had a lot of time to be on the FWW lately and thought I should start showing ya'all why.
I am getting the ground ready for 1000 Blueberries and 500 Blackberries

First pile of mulch = 112yards
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Then till it drag the dirt out till again and dump mulch in the 4' wide ditch then till it cover it up and till again
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That is a LOT of mulch! Also blueberries are awesome! Road trip to Jays in about... 2 years when they're really starting to produce :D :thumb:

How's your base soil PH? Do you think you'll need to do anything to further acidify it for the blueberries?

When I was in washington the soil was around 8-8.5, you could pour vinegar on it and have it foam. Regular peat and mulch didn't cut it so we pre-treated with vinegar and sulfur mixed in and let sit for a while and then top treated periodically with aluminum sulfate and they were able to kind of eek by but it wasn't the best blueberry territory. Blackberries though, blackberries will grow anywhere there's water and a bit of sun in the summer I believe.
 
I am amazed by farming. Certainly not my idea of fun, but still it is an amazing operation.

The scenery is fantastic. No hills and you can see for miles and miles. I can see that, but only on the ocean, not on land.

Cool post.
 
Great idea, Jay. In my neck of the woods you would have to sell a heck of a lot of cigar box guitars to pay for all that mulch. Will they be open to the public pick your own, or are you gonna put the missus to work? I can see the display of Frog Pond jams and jellies right next to the CBG's!:thumb::thumb::D
 
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What varieties are you going with? I've been contemplating putting out some berries. Not on that scale but maybe 200 blueberries. My uncle has several varieties of the "Indian" blackberries and they do really well. They get a big as the end of your thumb.
 
Where is all this mulch coming from? Maybe a little bovine manurae is in order.
Dave it is coming from the Springfield yard waste they made me a heck of a deal so far I have had 336yd hauled in. Trucking is what hurts 12 loads so far.

That is a LOT of mulch! Also blueberries are awesome! Road trip to Jays in about... 2 years when they're really starting to produce :D :thumb:

How's your base soil PH? Do you think you'll need to do anything to further acidify it for the blueberries?
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Come on down Ryan would be glad to have ya
Soil test so far shows 4.8 right where you want it but the mulch will more the likely bring that up and will have to do some souring that is why I cant plant until next fall it may take that long to get it balanced. I have to put 15 to 18 inch of mulch in each row to get enough amendments in the soil

I am amazed by farming. Certainly not my idea of fun, but still it is an amazing operation.


The scenery is fantastic. No hills and you can see for miles and miles. I can see that, but only on the ocean, not on land.

Cool post.
I was a Dairy farmer before I got in to Aircraft work Leo I had a milking hear of 200 with a total of 650 head and farmed 2500 acres. For me living in town was the hardest thing I ever did and made me the most miserable I have ever been in my life. Setting on the tractor working this berry patch up is by far the most relaxing thing I have done in 30 years. I sure missed it.

Great idea, Jay. In my neck of the woods you would have to sell a heck of a lot of cigar box guitars to pay for all that mulch. Will they be open to the public pick your own, or are you gonna put the missus to work? :thumb::thumb::D
Its going to be a U-Pick ..........Wife is already complaining about having to work and so far she has only help lay the rows out :rofl:

What varieties are you going with? I've been contemplating putting out some berries. Not on that scale but maybe 200 blueberries. My uncle has several varieties of the "Indian" blackberries and they do really well. They get a big as the end of your thumb.
Havent locked that in yet John I am dealing with a guy up in Mi in the Grand Rapids area and will use what he suggests. I wont be ordering plants until around May for a fall planting.
 
What is the lead time on blueberries? I know that where I pick the bushes are fifteen years old, but I'm not sure how long it took for them to be bearing in useful amounts. Looks good, Jay!
 
What is the lead time on blueberries? I know that where I pick the bushes are fifteen years old, but I'm not sure how long it took for them to be bearing in useful amounts. Looks good, Jay!
Art a 3 year old plant will start to produce but the real production comes at about a 5 year old plant I am planing on buying 2 year old plants and with proper care they should produce for 25+ years

Nice, I'll have to stop in one of these trips down that way. Will you have to do some green house hoops over that area?
No hoops Darren but a lot more mulch Feel free to stop by anytime on your trips down here Darren you dont need an excuse would love ta see ya.
 
Jay you got to talk to Peter Rideout in Nova Scotia he knows a thing or two about blueberries.....specifically the wild ones......if they not bushes u could mechanically harvest them it would drive me dilly having a public upick. I can see them now stuffing their faces and pitching up with a small punnet to pay. I would sooner mechanically harvest and sell the whole lot wholesale. Cool idea will be a great means of supplementary income given how people perceive benefits of blueberries.

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Yeah Rob the whole idea behind this is to have something that will pay the taxes and ins on this place and I was going to have to buy a tractor anyway so figured I would make it pay for itself..

I talked my boss into an acre of garlic for similar reasons (and I love garlic :rofl: ) He was going to do flowers - I'm not sure his wife is as happy as his place kind of reeks of garlic now (yum!).
 
When I was at the Agri-Science Academy our blueberry bush root balls were over 40 years old. Proper pruning of yearly taking the older stalks allows new shoots to sprout thus the root ball has a variety of ages/production shoots. It is a unique business opportunity. With agri tourism becoming a very popular and profitable business, if this were being designed as a u pick operation I would be inclined to make it into a blueberry maze. Thus in the off season (halloween time) another business opportunity could arise and make more cash just from visiting the maze.
 
When I was at the Agri-Science Academy our blueberry bush root balls were over 40 years old. Proper pruning of yearly taking the older stalks allows new shoots to sprout thus the root ball has a variety of ages/production shoots. It is a unique business opportunity. With agri tourism becoming a very popular and profitable business, if this were being designed as a u pick operation I would be inclined to make it into a blueberry maze. Thus in the off season (halloween time) another business opportunity could arise and make more cash just from visiting the maze.

Im afraid I would have to spend to much time finding the way out when its pick-en time or leading the U-Pickers out...........:rofl:
 
Well, you could keep the rows, just sporadically create gaps between bushes that with the use of a snow fence could create the maze. At a dollar per person, and many quality mazes handling thousands of people, it adds up. Although on the downside, compaction could become an issue quickly. Look forward to seeing the progress.
 
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