growing blueberries in large containers

Mar 20, 2020 14:50:28

Need some ideas. I have these very large plastic containers (6 total) that I want to use to grow blueberries.

They are plastic so I need to protect them from the sun or they will become brittle and fall apart. I will surround with cement blocks or something but worry about winter freeze.

I would like to make them into wicking beds and understand there are several different methods.

My soil has too high of pH (~6.8). Any ideas on a long term solution? I have access to Peat and Ag sulfur and local soil and compost.

Need ideas.

Mar 20, 2020 15:02:41

Maybe wrap them in burlap, if they will fit just put them in something like a coffee bag and push the top down inside the pot and load with soil?

You could bury them in wood chips but I'm guessing you already thought of that.

I don't have any other ideas.

Mar 20, 2020 15:12:50

To my knowledge, blueberries are cold-loving plants. I have blueberries I've been growing for years in pots. I plant my blue berries in 100% pure spaghnum moss and they've always done excellent in that. My oldest potted blueb is 7 or 8 years old now. I fertilize it with urine throughout the summer and keep other plants from moving into the container with it. They overwinter in zone 4 just fine for me, and have endured -20º without fuss. Perhaps you have warm loving varieties though?

Mar 20, 2020 15:14:27

Peat moss and rainwater works for me. I top dress with compost each year. I think my previous failures have been the alkaline well water. Once i got rainwater storage established, they are doing VERY well.

Mar 21, 2020 20:31:44

Nice containers!
I would be tempted to paint rather than use burlap, just because they do look so nice.
The only downside is their relatively small base.
Hers how I make wicking containers:

Mar 22, 2020 07:06:28

they also like conifer duff, needles, chips of conifers / evergreens. and peat moss.

one other suggestion i have is to plant them deeply. most of the time you want to transplant a plant at about the same level of the soil it's already in, but with blueberry i find it best to plant them way down deep and smother them with mulch on top too when first planted.
they are very sensitive to drying out, and yet tend to make shallow roots sometimes, so you have to encourage them to root down deeper where water levels are more constant and even. in this way, planting them way down deep and really burying them at first...well they grow up bushier and more full, you can even divide them up long after because the buried stems will eventually wake roots, where you can divide up some suckers.

some other thoughts, you could partly bury the bottom of your pots a bit, sink them in a hole some.

but yes, as mentioned, most blueberry types require cold.
there are some species that do better in the south and warmer areas, and these are categorized as "southern blueberries"....not needing as many cold hours per year. so yeah shop locally or look for someone who sells specifically "southern" blueberries...also i believe "rabbiteye" blueberry types would work for you too.

i have seen some companies all around who do more southern types than northern (more common) types.

ummm looks up a link...o yes here --->
http://ouachitablueberrynursery.com/product-category/southern-high-bush/

^^ this is a nursery i keep wanting to order from.... they have a good selection of southern blueberries, and rabbiteye types...

Feb 11, 2021 04:09:47

I think i've read somewhere that blueberries don't mind a high watertable and/or boggy/swampy areas.
Is this correct and how does it translate to large containers?

Let´s say I take a container with no holes in the bottom and just fill it with blueberry compatible earth.

Now if i just let it stand outside it might fill to the top with water. Propbably not good?

Not let's assume i drill a hole at about half of the height of the container so that
water does't accumulate all the way to the top of the container, but only on the lower half.

Probably the earth in the lower half will get anerobic, is that a Problem for the blueberries?

Now comes the part where it cross-overs with another thread ( https://permies.com/t/40/14249/berry/guild-ideas-blueberries )
where people ask for guild ideas for blueberries :

If i do the aforementioned setup with the standing water in the lower half of the container, could i migitate
the anaerobic soil by putting plants in there that emit oxygen through their roots (like the ones used in wetland filters) ?
Or other swap-dwelling plants?

Should the lower part of the container then be filled with sand so that less oxygen is used by the decay process of organic matter?

Feb 11, 2021 05:02:06

R. Han wrote:

Not let's assume i drill a hole at about half of the height of the container so that
water does't accumulate all the way to the top of the container, but only on the lower half.

This is how we do it here, though the holes are drilled about 2-3 inches up and the bottom bit is filled mainly with stones but that's purely to keep the cost of the compost down.

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