Blueberry Culture 



ADAPTABILITY— Today cultivated blueberries 

 are being grown successfully in any type of soil 

 that is retentive of moisture and has good aera- 

 tion. Small plantings of this new bush fruit are 

 being successfully grown in most every state in the 

 Union, except the deep South and where the soil is 

 very alkiline or dry weather prevails. If wild 

 huckleberries or blueberries grow in your locality 

 the cultivated blueberries will be successful. 



SOILS — In selecting the site for your blueberry 

 field, be sure to see that it is acid, with a PH 3.8 

 to 5.5, your County Agent will be glad to give you 

 a check on your soil, natural blueberry soil con- 

 tains an abundance of humus, has the proper de- 

 gree of acidity, is retentive of moisture, but has 

 sufficient drainage so that flooding will not occur, 

 this soil should be an open or loose type, not the 

 kind will become hard and packed in dry weather, 

 for blueberries demand good aeration to make fast 

 growth. With soil of the above type clean culti- 

 vation can be practiced with good results. If the 

 acidity of the soil is too high it can be reduced 

 by plowing down heavy cover crops, spreading 

 with woods mold, leaves, sawdust, etc., this will 

 also help open the soil and give better aeration. 

 In the garden or where plants are planted around 

 the home ornamentally large holes can be dug and 

 peat or woods mold added to give the proper 

 acidity. 



PLANTING — Upon arrival of your plants, soak 

 the roots in water for one or two hours, keep them 

 covered with wet bags or moss so they will stay 

 moist until planted, in commercial planting the 

 rows should be 8 to 10 feet apart, with the plants 

 4 feet apart in the row, dig the holes large enougn 

 so the roots can be well spread, we have been 

 using a mixture of l /> peat moss, well dampened, 

 and Y 2 sand around the roots when planting, this 

 retains moisture, has the proper acidity and has 

 given our plants a very good start, the plants 

 should be set slightly deeper than they were in the 

 Nursery. BE SURE TO PRUNE Yz to 2/3 OF 

 THE TOP GROWTH OFF, after planting to force 

 new growth and aid the plant in becoming estab- 

 lished. If the land selected is very low and sub- 

 ject to flooding, the plants may be planted on a 

 ridge, high enough to keep the surface water from 

 standing around the plant. On high, dryer soils 

 mulching will be very beneficial and the rows 

 should then be 10 feet apart. For the home or 

 ornamental planting they should be given about 

 32 square feet space per plant. 



MULCHING— On all high soils mulching should 

 be practiced, almost any type of mulch seems to 



give good results, straw, sudan grass, sawdust, 

 fodder, etc. This can either be spread about 3 or 

 4 ft. wide down the rows, it should be applied 

 one year after the plants are set, we have found 

 that clean cultivation is better in low, well aera- 

 ated soils, and for the first year on the high land, 

 for weeds are controlled easier with cultivation 

 until the plants have become well established and 

 a good growth has been made. In the home plant- 

 ing, grass cuttings, leaves can be used, covering 

 about 9 square feet around the plant. 



FERTILIZER — Larger berries and bigger crops 

 can be grown with an application of fertilizer to 

 your blueberry plants, using y 2 lb. of fertilizer to 

 the plant or 000 lbs. per acre, we have been using 

 a special mix consisting of 100 lbs. nitrate of 

 Soda, 100 lbs. dried blood, 400 lbs. rock phosphate 

 and 00 lbs. sulphate of potash, this was used on 

 soils with a PH of less than 5.0. If the acidity is 

 above that we would suggest Sulphate of Ammonia 

 instead of Nitrate of Soda be used. A 5-10-12 

 commercial mixture is being used in many sections 

 giving very satisfactory results. 



POLLINATION— For proper pollination two or 

 more varieties of blueberries should be planted, 

 using one or two rows of a variety alternating 

 across the field. For easier picking the early varie- 

 ties should be planted on one side and the late 

 bearing sorts on the other. 



YIELDS — This really depends on the condition 

 of the soil and the proper care given the plants, 

 en good blueberry soils crops of 4000 quarts per 

 acre have been quite often produced with plants 



years old, and even larger crops on the older 

 plantings with prices on the Wholesale markets 

 ranging from 40c to 70c per quart last year. A 

 nice profit can be realized from the fruit and as 

 a healthy plant will last from 50 to 75 years, one 

 can see how important it is to select only the best 

 plants obtainable for planting stock. 



Prices of Rayner's Superior Quality Cultivated 

 BLUEBERRY PLANTS 



100 or 

 Each 6-10 11-50 51-100 more 



1 yi\, 3-6 in $ .35 $ .30 $ .25 $ .23 $ .20 



2 yr., 6-12 in 70 .60 .45 .40 .35 



3 yr., 12-18 in 1.00 .80 .65 .60 .55 



3 yr., 18-24 in 1.25 1.05 .95 .80 .70 



Prices F.O.B. Salisbury, Maryland. 



Size, Beauty And Flavor All Present In Rayner's Blueberries 



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