Clearing out our backyard (we moved in November) and it's cathartic! We've now cleared down to the class 2 wetlands that make up 8 acres of our 10 acre property.
Most of it we are leaving untouched but I was thinking of planting a few rows of blueberries and cranberries and I'm not sure if I should put them somewhere on our dry(er) 2 acres or if they'd do best actually planted in the wet.
The wetlands in the plantable area get 6-10 inches of standing water in mid winter and we *think* they get completely surface-dry in the summer. The 2 acres, by contrast, is always walkably dry even in high winter rains.
What would the better conditions for blueberries be?
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AreaCode707
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- Location: Mendocino County Wannabe
Blueberries have shallow root systems, prefer somewhat acidic soil (although it is possible for soil to be too acidic for their liking), and require well-drained soil. If you plant them where water stands, winter or summer, the roots will drown. Because of the shallow roots, it's good to apply mulch to the area in early spring. I just mulched mine last week.
I can't advise about cranberries. I've never grown them.
I can't advise about cranberries. I've never grown them.
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AreaCode707
- Full Member
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 4:42 pm
- Location: Mendocino County Wannabe
Thanks! That's kinda what I thought but somebody recently pointed at our bog and said, "you can grow blueberries there!" so I thought maybe my understanding was wrong.Kisal wrote:Blueberries have shallow root systems, prefer somewhat acidic soil (although it is possible for soil to be too acidic for their liking), and require well-drained soil. If you plant them where water stands, winter or summer, the roots will drown. Because of the shallow roots, it's good to apply mulch to the area in early spring. I just mulched mine last week.
I can't advise about cranberries. I've never grown them.
Well, the commercial cranberry fields I've seen, down in the south coastal parts of Oregon, around Bandon, have dikes around them to allow for them to be flooded. There are at least a couple commercial blueberry operations in my area, but none of the fields have dikes. I understand from friends that hail from Maine that blueberries back there grow in sandy soil. (I don't have any sandy soil to test that. Nothing but clay here! 
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