There are definite signs of Spring even though Phil, the Punxsutawney Groundhog, has predicted six more weeks of winter.
Last year, Spring came too early. The problem with temperatures getting really warm in February is that fruiting plants will bloom even though frost is still likely to happen. Frost kills the blossoms and also any fruit they might produce. That scenario is exactly what happened in 2022. Luckily we have several varieties that mature at different times. (All the varieties that bloomed later were fine and produced blueberries in June.)
June is not our busiest month, January is!
Who would think that the dormant season would be busy? In January, the blueberry plants are sleeping, grass isn’t growing, weeds have died back, its cold, days are short, and we certainly don’t need to irrigate. However, to stay healthy, the plants require maintenance. Come to think of it, that is true in just about every aspect of life. If its important, you need to take care of it. Sometimes its easy, other times it requires a bit of effort. Blueberry maintenance is no different and is needed when the plants are dormant. In Georgia, they aren’t dormant very long, so January is basically it.
This year began with trying to acquire enough pine straw mulch. How could that possibly be a problem when pine straw is everywhere? Our blueberries require over 250 bales. We are a small farm using organic practices, so we prefer to rake our own. However, that has not worked out for a couple of years. This year we had to purchase and haul it from central Georgia.
Putting the pine straw down is actually the last step in this maintenance process, so let me back up. First, underneath each blueberry bush, all the plants that are invasive like honeysuckle, wild muscadine, and briars have to be rooted out by hand. Yes, pulled by hand because we do not use any herbicides. Have you ever tried pulling out wild muscadine and honeysuckle? There is very little fun in it.
Secondly, each blueberry plant was pruned. (This is where you cut out branches that are too high, too low, too old, or rub across another branch, etc.) The next steps in the process were to fix all the places in the irrigation that the neighbors dog dug up and chewed in half, and then apply compost to all the rows. After all this was done, we could finally cover all the rows with a thick layer of pine straw. Whew!
Spring temperatures
All during this time, the weather has been getting warmer. Each day we can see the buds getting bigger. Blueberry buds are a reddish color on the stem. The blossoms emerge white, but are closed at first. Right now, there are only a few blossoms that have fully opened. They look like old-timey lady bloomers.
Blueberry buds 2023
First Blueberry Blossoms
The temperatures are supposed to be really warm this week. Take note of all the signs of spring with daffodils blooming and birds making nests. I even noticed a moth at my kitchen window last night.
I will try to keep you posted on the blueberries. They won’t be ripe until June, but things are starting to stir. Right now, things are looking really good. Everything is fresh and renewed. (Luckily the mosquitoes have not gotten the spring message yet.)