Triple Creek Berry Farm

Posts Tagged ‘blueberries’

Periodically I will post tips of what we are doing with our organic blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I hope my information will aid you in your efforts of growing berries organically.   Its autumn in Kentucky and what a wonderful time of the year! The leaves are brilliant with their many shades of yellow, gold, and red. It is breathtaking to stroll around the farm, enjoying the warm sunshine and the smell of fall in the air. Fall is also our time to tuck the berries in for their long winters nap.

We began planning a few months ago by hauling six loads of cow manure that was generously donated – all we had to do was provide a trailer. With advice from our local extension office staff we added a generous heaping of pelleted sulfur to the manure intended for the blueberries in order to get a head start on the breakdown process of the sulfur. You see, we have a lot of limestone in our fields and will have to work on a schedule of applying sulfur regularly to keep the pH low. After many times of turning the manure our efforts paid off in beautiful composted “black gold”!  We applied a generous shovel of this formulated boost material to each plant on Saturday, November 7^th. The nitrogen will stimulate root growth during the winter and the sulfur will lower soil pH. It is of the utmost importance to take a soil sample every year to ensure you apply correct formula of nutrients.

In addition, you may want to consider a leaf analysis, to be taken midsummer. I sent a sample in late June when the plants were full of fruit. The analysis showed that not only nitrogen was low, but the pH was a bit too high. As we have been told, no two farming years are the same, and with the large amount of rainy days in 2009 it is understandable why nitrogen was low – as it can leach out of the soil.

It was much simpler for the raspberries and blackberries. We composted some of the manure without sulfur and applied heaping shovels. By February and March we’ll begin preparing them for their summer fruiting, so stay tuned for more details.

I hope this information helps you in your efforts. I will continue sharing our efforts of growing berries organically. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!