We planted some blueberries a couple of week's ago. It's ok that I didn't take pictures and post back then, because they look exactly the same! We got them two weeks ago last Friday bare root and put them in the ground Saturday afternoon. Since then? Bubkus.
We planted two varieties, as I found out AFTER buying the first ("Misty") that they need a companion plant for cross pollinating. Dear Big Box Store that is something good to put on the sign to sell blueberries! Because, then I would have bought two. Instead, I mail ordered the other variety ("Nelson"). Those would be the sticks.
I also read that blueberries like a slightly acidic soil (pH between 4.09 and 5.0). Now, I have no idea what the acidity of my soil is. So, I dug out three holes two feet in diameter and a foot or so deep. I then filled the holes with 50% peat moss and 50% garden soil. The guy at the nursery, who admitted he never planted a blueberry in his life, said that would work. And, he must know. He had a name tag for crying out loud.
Lastly, I understand blueberries need a winter window of six weeks with 36F or less. Yea, I live in Southern California so that's not happening. We'll see if they survive without that.
I'm sure hoping those are buds. I'm not sure at what point I say these things are deader then a door nail. I'll give them two more weeks.
I know nothing about blueberries, aside from the obvious!
ReplyDeleteI'd give them time; you'll be amazed how hard it is to kill everything in the garden.
This weekend I'm cracking open the first bottle of Dirty Chimp. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'm also boiling up the first batch of Gibbon (have you noticed a theme yet?)!
Of course, I've already brewed a few batches of Gibbon. I mean the first batch of Baboon! Checked the Dirty Chimp last night. I have one clear PET bottle, which I half fill and then squeeze the air out of. I know it has barbonated when the bottle fills and goes hard (so to speak). It's rock hard with an obvious yeast drop-out. Roll on the weekend!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm way behind. I understood about 1/3rd of that. Still going to steal that recipe you posted and get it brewing. What's a PET bottle?
DeleteIn the meantime, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed Spurs don't do something stupid and hire AVB!
PET is a type of plastic. If you bottle beer, you can never be sure if it has carbonated and the yeast has dropped out, until you open it. If you open it too early, you've wasted a bottle of beer!
DeleteIf you get a small clear plastic bottle made for fizzy drinks like Coke, you half fill it with beer. Then squeeze the bottle until the beer gets near the top of the neck and screw the cap on tight. The bottle will stay squeezed in.
As the beer carbonates, the bottle will gradually be forced back into it's normal shape by the CO2, and the beer level will drop accordingly. When the bottle goes firm you know the beer is properly carbonated. Also, because the bottle is transparent you can see if the beer has cleared, and if you look at the bottom on the bottle there should be a white layer where the yeast has dropped out.
This little ruse ensures that you'll never open another bottle of beer to find a cloudy yeasty sweet and flat drink that gives you the shits!
I think AVB will be announced on Sunday. I was very against it at first, but people in the know seem to think that it might be a good move with regards to youth development. Let's face it, whatever the news is (and it has already been decided but can't be announced due to "contractual reasons"), it was enough to convince Bale to stay, so it can't be all bad!
PET is brilliant! I'm going to do that next time. Ok, the time after next time, because the next time I'll forget. That match I know.
DeleteAnd, true, Bale did stay, so whomever the choice is can't be all that bad. Chelsea with him was such a train wreck, though...
Let your blueberries go..... I potted some in my back yard (s/w riverside) in spring (2012) and they looked almost exactly like your 'sticks'. This year I have harvested about 12 berries. Yes. 12. BUT the plants did get a little bigger so next years crop should be larger.
ReplyDeleteJust give them some time. My raspberries have had similar results while my black berries have only gotten bigger, no fruit.
Thanks Gona. Your governor's reprieve has given them another year. I bent one the other day and it is not dry, so I'm guessing that means it has some type of moisture going through it. Better then it cracking off in my hand, I guess.
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