28 responses
HappyEarth starts with ... Hey everyone - I have successfully grown four different varieties of blueberries in pots over the last couple of years. I made up a potting mix using an azalea potting mix (to get an acid soil) and mixing that with coco-peat and organic matter. Well now its time to plant them in the ground!!! So .. I was wondering what other people do to prepare their soil for these acid loving fruit plants? Ive heard of people buying peat moss (not very sustainable), mulching with pine needles and coffee grounds. Anyone have any good suggestions or ideas?? | About the Author HappyEarth Wollongong 16th November 2007 8:37pm #UserID: 215 |
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Shaun says... I was told to add a squeeze of lemon/orange juice to my Yates Thrive solution when I water my blueberries and camellias ..... and it worked wonders (& I got lots of blueberries) !!! My blueberries (Sharpeblue & Ned Kelly varieties) are grown in self-watering pots, and the potting mix comprised of builders sand, used tea leaves, some compost / soil improvers and some water crystals. So, you may wish to throw in a few over-ripe lemon (or other citrus) at the drip line of your blueberry plants if they are grown in the ground. | About the Author Shaun Perth 19th November 2007 2:10am #UserID: 0 |
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Roshan Fernando says... Dear Sir/ Madam, In Sri Lanka we manufacture and export “COCO PEAT” products (coconut pith) in various types to suit all needs of agricultural and nursery industry as well as animal sanitary use too in the world. This beneficial substrate can be used as a substitute for “PEAT MOSS “ too. Our products Category is subscribed in the website for further details. If you are interested in our products . Pls search our website www.srilankancocopeat.com & contact us. I here with sending you the “E-mail broacher “ for your earliest convenience. Your prompt & positive reply are very much appreciated. Thanks & regards, Mr. Roshan Fernando. (MD) ASHANI FIBRE PRODUCTS (PVT) LTD, THARANA, MADAMPE (NW) SRI LANKA. Tel : +94 773978700 Fax : +94 322248461
| About the Author Roshan Fernando Sri Lanka 28th August 2008 3:51pm #UserID: 1286 |
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| About the Author Larry perth 28th August 2008 6:22pm #UserID: 970 |
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| About the Author Anonymous sydney 29th August 2008 5:52pm #UserID: 0 |
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| About the Author cici jindabyne australia 21st May 2009 9:52pm #UserID: 2359 |
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amanda says... Hi HappyEarth - I use a pine bark mulch around my citrus trees. I have alkaline soil and find this really helps with the long-term control of the alkalinity. The cow poo I get is quite alkaline - maybe pH test 1st. It becomes acidic as it ages tho'. I might try the over-ripe citrus fruit trick on them too! (an ironic solution - but if it works...!?) | About the Author amanda geraldton WA 21st May 2009 10:35pm #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author amanda geraldton WA 21st May 2009 10:39pm #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... happy earth - just looked at your web-site (I'm green with envy....!) - just a quick question - does the banna grass set any seed? I have heard of this stuff b4 and am interested in it as a wind break - but we have a shocking problem with african fountain grass here (a Penniseteum spp - not sure how spelt..) as well as a few others and I am always wary of introducing anything else to the mix.. | About the Author amanda geraldton WA 21st May 2009 11:24pm #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 22nd May 2009 3:42pm #UserID: 0 |
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tecko says... From my experience (or rather observation), having grown 2 blueberry plants for the past (one year only), I think they do thrive in mult-mix and cow manure. One of my plants was planted in a half wine barrel loaded with multi-mix (from Waldeck's) and recently added with cow manure (also Waldeck's)- and this one has grown taller, is more bushy and has more branches and leaves. The other one that is planted on the ground (no multi-mix or cow manure) but NPK fed has not grown much taller, has only a few branches or leaves. My simple inference is that mult-mix and cow manure do impact on the productivity of this plant. However, I must add, that the one planted on the ground also has to share its ground space with some other plants. | About the Author tecko perth 29th May 2009 10:33pm #UserID: 2184 View All tecko's Edible Fruit Trees |
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HappyEarth says... Hi Amanda, As far as I know, banna grass does not set any seed. It certainly is not a weed and is great as a fast growing windbreak. They use it in commercial orchards for that purpose. Rich www.happyearth.com.au | About the Author HappyEarth Wollongong 31st May 2009 10:39am #UserID: 0 |
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amanda says... Thanks HappyEarth! Your web-site has been quite inspiring for me - as our block was just a paddock 3 yrs ago. I can appreciate your hard work. We are lucky to have one of the few 'arid' zone permaculturalists residing in town (Julie Firth). I plan on getting her up here one day! Hope your garden survived the recent floods ok. | About the Author amanda geraldton.WA 1st June 2009 11:29am #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 1st June 2009 6:35pm #UserID: 0 |
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Dekka says... Here is a link you might want to visit before growing Bana Grass. http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=&ibra=all&card=G23 | About the Author Dekka Newcastle 1st June 2009 10:25pm #UserID: 102 View All Dekka's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... thanks julie - things have a very bad habit of becoming weeds here - so far I have (thru' no fault of my own): african fountain grass stemless thistle purple thistle crown beard wild turnip (like canola) a solanaceae (can't remember name) bali/chillie needle grass deadly nightshade box thorn pattersons curse and then all the regular stuff! I am just about to pull out some wattles that i purchased at a fete as I have a bad feeling that they are going to be a problem - full of pods even without water for 2 yrs... I will look into this stuff very carefully and maybe talk to Julie too. | About the Author amanda geraldton.wa 1st June 2009 10:30pm #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Thanks for link Dekka - not sure if it's same but that fact that u n julie have both alerted me makes me think I might just stick to my native acacias - they grow 3m in 2yrs and they belong here. I'm a bit neurotic about being the one to introduce the next 'rabbit'/'fox'/'gorse' or whatever!! | About the Author amanda geraldton.wa 1st June 2009 11:41pm #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Dekka says... Hi, Amanda Yes. The Banna, Bana, or Barner Grass is actually a hybrid being Pennisetum purpureum X Pennisetum glauca. It is on several local weed species lists in Queensland as well as being listed as an invasive weed in the Pacific Islands and Florida. I think in Australia it is probably recorded as the weed generally known as Elephant Grass or Cow Cane and not always recognised as the specific hybrid. I understand being neurotic about weeds...Whoever introduced Lantana, Bridal creeper and Madiera vine over here has a lot of guilt to live with...probably nurserymen. | About the Author Dekka Newcastle 2nd June 2009 1:36pm #UserID: 102 View All Dekka's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Ta dekka - I actually spent most of this weekend burning off our resident Penniset' - african fountain grass (as did both my neighbours on their 30 acres) It's hard to watch all that biomass go up in smoke - but there's nothing else for it - it's a totally (ob)noxious weed! I have tried almost everything but it's root system is massive and full of corms that go dormant when u stress the plant. I'm slowly winning the war tho' | About the Author amanda geraldton WA 2nd June 2009 3:37pm #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Julie says... Hi everyone. Did anyone watch Australian Story last night? Mostly a personal story about Maarten Stapper and his struggle to get CSIRO to accept his ideas (he worked for them). Biological farming was his thing, and the short interviews with farmers told it all.You might see some weeds (not all) differently after watching this. It is repeated tonight (Tuesday) on ABC2 at 8.00. Or go to www.abc.net.au/austory for more info. | About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 2nd June 2009 4:15pm #UserID: 0 |
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Julie says... (Wish we had an edit button!) What acacias are you growing amanda? 3m in two years is pretty good. When I move to Chidlow, eventually, I will need to plant a kangaroo-proof barrier, as we will not be allowed to have fences. I was thinking of one of the prickly acacias - not native to WA, can't remember the name right now. | About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 2nd June 2009 4:24pm #UserID: 0 |
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amanda says... Hi julie..buggared if i know!! :) but I will take a photo and see what i can find out - they are all over the place here (indigenous). I have a really good prickly native too - so i'll snap that as well. Can I send to your e-mail address? The one's I use for wind breaks get a litte bit of water tho' - but they are still very fast - on my driveway photo in blackwater topic there is one of the original windbreak trees left - it's on the corner - (it's been chopped a fair bit) It is not more than 2yrs old maybe even a bit less and the barrier is approx 3.7m high sent off gooseberries this morning. | About the Author amanda geraldton wa 2nd June 2009 4:44pm #UserID: 2309 View All amanda's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 2nd June 2009 4:50pm #UserID: 0 |
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| About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 2nd June 2009 8:25pm #UserID: 0 |
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Brad says... Digging up this old topic as a warning to others. When I potted up my blueberries I had bulk potting mix which i tried to acidify. The pH was 5.5 but within months has risen to near 7! I incorporated peat, coffee and lemon bits and mulched with pine needles. My best guess is that the organic acidic components broke down into neutral components in the soil quite quickly. (I knew lemon needed regular topping up but am surprised how high the pH got when my supply ran out.) Time to add some Iron Sulphate which will get it back down and hang around longer. PS don't bother with vinegar - that will be very acidic for a very short time | About the Author Brad Como, Perth 6th March 2010 3:22pm #UserID: 2323 View All Brad's Edible Fruit Trees |
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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says... My blueberry plants had exactly the same problem. I used azaria mix when I potted them up. I noticed 3 months ago that they did not wake up or grew after winter and I measured PH and found all soil was 7 so I have since added sulphate to correct the soil. My trees have started to grow. Yes, I agree with Brad that Vinegar changed the soil PH for a couple of hours only. | About the Author JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE Melbourne 6th March 2010 3:48pm #UserID: 2706 View All JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jim says... Hi, I would just like to offer a little advice learned in my growing of Blueberries. I have found that the most valuable Mulch/Growing medium is undoubtedly one of AGED PINEBARK. My last berries were picked this AM 16/3/'10. I have bushes around 1.6m tall which bear very well. They are mulched each year with Aged Pinebark with occasional doses of Seasol. Pruning of Old Wood seems essential for heavy cropping but this should be done with care. Cheers and happy growimg, Jim. | About the Author Jim NW Tasmania 16th March 2010 11:43am #UserID: 3485 |
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| About the Author JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE Melbourne 16th March 2010 11:51am #UserID: 2706 View All JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Mary Melbourne 17th March 2010 9:55pm #UserID: 0 |
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