If your spreader type isn’t mentioned on the bag, follow these steps to figure out the proper setting:  If the bag says to use 2 lbs per 1000 square feet, start by measuring off 1,000 square feet, use a low setting and see how long it takes to cover the 1,000 square feet.  Adjust setting accordingly.

Close the spreader when you get close to beds or sidewalks so no product is wasted.  Remember, for good coverage, go one way at ½ recommended rate, and then the other way at ½ recommended rate.  Broadcast spreaders are made to overlap so don’t worry if your lines aren’t exact.  Rinse the spreader well after use.

Spreaders are used on lawns to apply insect control, pelletized lime, fertilizers, fungicides, weed preventers and weed killers.

That’s it! Now you know how to use a spreader!

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The post The Proper Care of Houseplants appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Correct plant methods relate closely to soil type, which is why it’s so important to get to know your soil before planting. There is a lot of information out there, and not all of it is accurate or applicable to all soil types. Here in central Arkansas, most soil have at least some clay in them and in many areas, the soil is mostly clay.

Clay Soils

What happens when you plant in clay?  The clay binds together and can form a kind of an artificial in-ground pot.  And most importantly, it’s an artificial in-ground pot that lacks good drainage, which can be very detrimental to plant roots.  If there isn’t a place for excess water to go, it stays in the soil near plant roots, filling air pockets with water as opposed to oxygen.  If the water stays near the plant roots for too long, and plant roots have no access to oxygen, the plant essentially drowns.

What is Good Drainage?

Sometimes the symptoms of too much water or lack of drainage can include wilting or yellowing of top growth.  These symptoms can be interpreted as a lack of water. This can result in a homeowner applying even more water to an already drowning plant.  It’s one of the many reasons that performing a drainage test and getting to know your soil before planting is so important.

What is a Drainage Test?

A drainage test includes digging a hole near where you will be plant, at least a foot deep and a foot wide.  Fill the planting hole with water. Take note of how long the water took to drain out into the surrounding soil.  If it takes more than a few minutes, the drainage isn’t good and adjustments will have to be made for better plant health.

How to Address Poor Drainage

There are several ways to address drainage. If you are starting over or building a new bed, either in your landscape or as a garden bed, we recommend building the bed with our blended soil.  This consists of compost, horse manure, leaves and sandy loam.  To amend existing soil, add one-third amendment, such as compost, to the existing soil. Try to keep an approximate ratio of 70% native soil to 30% amendment.

In both cases, address the top sixteen inches of soil; this is where most of the roots for shrubs to their work.

If your yard is compacted clay, dig down about two feet at planting and add some gravel at the bottom of the planting hole.  By doing this, you are creating a kind of french drain. The gravel gives the water a place to rest away from the plant roots.

Additional Planting Tips

Another planting tip is not to disturb the roots too much.  You don’t have to cut plant roots to get them growing, however, if the roots are bound and circling, loosen them a bit. This will encourage them to grow outward, instead of continuing to grow in that same root-bound, circling direction. The roots shown in the image just above are severely pot bound and will benefit from being cut or loosened. The roots shown in the How to Plant a Plant video linked below do not need to be cut or loosened, as they are not circling and severely pot bound.  If you have questions on this topic, email us or give us a call!

When you dig deeper than the root ball height, some settling will occur.  In this case, we suggest planting the root ball a little high, about an inch. After some settling occurs, the top of the root ball should be level with the surrounding soil. You don’t want to plant too high and create a volcano.  You also don’t want to plant too low and have excess water settling on the plant crown, which is where the plant top growth meets the soil.

The post Getting to Know Your Soil appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

It’s a great time to start transforming your warm season annual combo pots into fall combo pots!  Whether you are re-working existing containers or starting fresh, here are some tips from the professionals at The Good Earth:

Fall combo pots provide bright color all fall.  Consider plant options such as crotons, ornamental peppers, ornamental cabbage/ kale, rudbeckia, celosia and pansies.  And if you aren’t familiar with Cool Wave pansies, check them out.  Cool Waves trail over container edges for cascading color all winter long!

Keep your crotons!  With their colorful orange, red and yellow leaves, crotons fairly shout fall.  But they aren’t winter hardy so often times, people let them freeze.  There is another way!  Pop them out of your combo pots, pot them up and bring them inside when temperatures start dipping under 50 degrees at night.  They grow well as houseplants in areas with bright, indirect light.

Use evergreen plant shrubs or perennials, pansies, violas, panolas or Cool Wave pansies to fill in where crotons and other non-winter hardy plant materials have died back to give you color all winter long.

Use drainage rock, Good Earth brand Professional Growing Mix, and Good Earth brand Jump Start at planting.  For containers with flowering annuals, use Ferti-Lome Premium Bedding Plant Food.

Don’t forget to water your pots during the winter; plants do not like to freeze dry.  The is is especially important to remember for pots placed in covered areas.

Not sure where to start?  Bring us pictures and measurements of your pots and we will help you.  Also, don’t forget, our Potting Pavilion is open.  Bring your pots and plant them up here!  For more information about the Potting Pavilion, click here.

The post Fall Combination Planters appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Leaves prematurely dropping leaves, leaves turning brown or showing fall color early is often a result of root stress.  Often times, we learn from the homeowners that the plants are new.  This premature leaf drop isn’t unusual for newly planted materials.  This is because sometimes the root system isn’t well enough developed to support the top growth of the plant, without stressing a bit during extremely hot, dry or even overly wet weather conditions.

Check the soil with a Moisture Meter to see what is happening near the root zone of the plant.  If it’s very dry, adjust your sprinkler or watering schedule and duration accordingly.

When the weather starts to cool, begin reducing water applications by 10% every 2 weeks, until it has been reduced by 40%.  We recommend this because plants need less water during the cooler weather season, and over-watering can become an issue.  Damage from over-watering won’t show up until the following year.

If possible, cover and protect RPZ valve and leave on all winter or plan to hand water newly planted materials during extremely cold temperatures.  Freezing dry can cause significant plant damage as well.

The post Why are my leaves already falling? appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Summer watering can be tricky.  We consistently have customers come in and ask, ‘What is going on with my plant?’  Often times, improper watering such as too much water or overwatering, too little water or poor drainage is the answer.  Here are tips on how to avoid these issues:

1. We always suggest using a Moisture Meter.  These are inexpensive tools to help you learn what is happening in the root zone of the plant.  For complete information on how to use Moisture Meters, visit our recent blog post here.
2. Apply Jump Start at planting.  Good Earth brand Jump Start contains mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungi that helps plant roots develop thousands of root hairs.  This increases the surface area of roots, which in turn, allows the plant to increase its capability to absorb and utilize up to 1,000 times more water and nutrients.  Jump Start can be used at planting, and on already planted materials.  If your plants are already in the ground, pull back any mulch and apply directly on the ground within the drip zone of the plant, replace mulch and water.
3. Be patient.  It can take a few years for your plant to get established.  During that time, the plant may experience some stress.  Don’t get too alarmed; a bit of stress is normal during establishment.  However, if the plant consistently shows signs of stress, bring us pictures or samples so we can best advise you.

Proper watering is very important to plant health; visit this blog post for more watering tips.

The post Tips on how to avoid overwatering plants appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

What is Jump Start?

Jump Start is a nutrient rich, super plant food, in granular form, that we recommend to every customer for almost every plant! If you’ve shopped with us over the past few years, you’ve likely seen this item close to the register or heard us mention it in videos and other blog posts. We can’t help but advertise this fertilizer over and over again… we love it that much!

We named this product Jump Start because it gives plant roots a jump start! Using this at planting increases root production, which in turn, helps the plant establish more quickly.  What does this mean for overall plant health? An established plant is one whose roots have grown outwards from the planted root ball into the surrounding native soil.  Established plants can better handle environmental stress such as heat, drought and freezing temperatures.

What’s in Jump Start?

With a complex blend of 100% natural ingredients and enhanced with beneficial microbes, Jump Start is an all-star, professional grade plant food (see label at end of post). The ingredients provide a complete and balanced feeding to your plants, while the complex formula is both long-lasting and slow release. In short, it won’t burn your plants or leach away too quickly. Jump Start is equipped with 11 mycorrhizae that help keep your plants thriving. Mycorrhizae are a group of fungi that form mutually beneficial relationships with plants by increasing root volume, which in turn increases the uptake of nutrients and water absorption by an estimated 1,000 times.  This leads to improved plant growth and health, and faster plant establishment for new plantings.

When and How to Use Jump Start

Jump Start should be added when planting new plants, as mentioned above, to give the roots a jump start on establishment.  It is also a vital fertilizer for already planted materials. Good Earth brand Jump Start will help your plants happy, healthy and growing.

Garden Beds

Mix into the top 4 inches of soil at 4 lbs per 100 square feet.

New Plantings

Mix recommended amounts based on the plant size into the soil and place around the plant’s roots. Water well and mulch. See following chart for recommended application rates:

Established Plants

Feed trees and shrubs twice a year, spring and fall, with 1 cup per foot of branch diameter. Feed flowers and vegetables monthly during their growing season by sprinkling 1 cup in the root zone.

Potted Plants

Mix 1 part to 25 parts soil- not much product is needed to maintain your potted plants! Feed established plants monthly 1 teaspoon per every 3 inches of pot diameter.

Once fed, don’t forget to water your plants thoroughly! Do not apply the product directly to the stems or foliage of your plants- always apply Jump Start straight on the soil and maintain 3 inches away from your plant’s base.

Check out some of our previous posts and videos below about how and when to use Jump Start. We stand behind this product wholeheartedly and if you have any further questions about it, please stop by the shop and ask!

Learning Center Video on Bulbs:

https://thegoodearthgarden.com/bulbs-jumpstart-critter-ridder/

Flower Power: How to Keep Annuals Blooming All Season Long

https://thegoodearthgarden.com/flower-power-how-to-keep-annuals-blooming-all-season-long/

Whip that landscape back into shape blog:

https://thegoodearthgarden.com/whip-that-landscape-back-into-shape/

The post Jump Start Your Next Planting! appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Japanese Beetle

We have been seeing a little bit of everything this summer.  One thing is for sure, due to our warm, damp spring, and fairly mild summer, plant diseases and detrimental insect populations have flourished throughout landscapes in central Arkansas.  It’s time to walk through your landscape and address issues before the heat sets in and further exacerbates possible infections of both diseases and insect infestations.

Many landscape pest can be prevented with proper watering and plant spacing. To avoid foliage diseases, water in the early morning instead of at night. With insects such as whiteflies, plant at good spacing intervals to insure good air flow. Once your landscape is in place, it’s almost inevitable that these pest will show up at some time and that controlling with chemicals may be necessary. Fall, winter and early spring sprays with Dormant Oil is a good way to preemptively treat for possible diseases and insects.

Keep reading for common landscape pests and issues we are seeing right now as well as control methods:

Bagworm

Bagworms

It’s a great time to start looking for this summer pest because timing is key in controlling it! Read our full blog post on bagworms here, including why waiting to treat is a bad idea.  Last year, we saw bagworms on unusual host plants such as camellias so check landscapes carefully and thoroughly.  More common hosts include conifers such as juniper, arborvitae, cypress, pine, and cedar.  Products containing one of the following active ingredients will control this pest: spinosad (Ferti-Lome Natural Guard Spinosad), bacillius thuringiensis (Ferti-Lome Natural Guard Caterpillar Killer Spray with Bt), acephate (Bonide Systemic Insect Control), permethrin (Hi-Yield 38 Plus).

Japanese Beetle

We have a whole post on these; here is a link to it.  The image at the top of this post is of a Japanese Beetle; be on the look out. They can do a tremendous amount of damage in a short time; and when they find a tasty plant, they communicate it to friends and they quickly join the feast!

Spittlebug

Spittlebugs in Zoysia and St. Augustine lawns

One of the main reasons we blog about issues like this is to illuminate issues that may be occurring in your landscape right now, unbeknownst to you!  Spittlebugs are black leafhoppers that have two red-orange stripes across the back.  While in the nymph stage, spittlebugs suck plant juices from some of our commonly used turfgrasses such as zoysia grass and St. Augustine grass.  This weakens the grasses, causing them to turn yellow then brown and in severe cases, the grasses may not recover.  Acephate (Bonide Systemic Insect Control) is an effective control method.  Here is a link to more spittlebug info.

Scale

Scale can be commonly found on magnolias, crapemyrtles, and many other plants. Treat with Dormant Oil when seasonally appropriate (link to that post here), Triple Action containing Neem, Ferti-Lome Tree and Shrub Systemic Insect Drench as well as other chemicals that list scale as a controlled pest.

Whiteflies

These can be on several different plants but are very common on both gardenias and hibiscus plants.  When you brush up against the plants, clouds of well, white flies emerge.  Also check the back of the leaves for translucent oval eggs and nymphs. Control with HiYield Systemic Insect Granules or other chemicals that list whiteflies as a controlled pest. Treating with Dormant Oil and Ferti-Lome Tree and Shrub Systemic Insect Drench earlier in the year is a good preventative measure if you have had them in the past.

Spider Mites

These are tiny red mites that are in the spider family. Unless you look at them under a microscope, you most likely won’t see the similarities though. This pest is commonly found on houseplants like ivy, as well as evergreens like spruce and herbs such as rosemary, vegetable crops and perennials like mazus and verbena.  Yes, they have many plant hosts! Look for stippled leaves showing a rust color and tight little webs.  Tap a branch against a white piece of paper and look at it closely for these tiny pests.

Spinosad, Triple Action contain Neem, Ferti-Lome Tree and Shrub Systemic Insect Drench are some of the control methods but there are others.  Timing is key; once you know you have this pest, we can help you figure out the best control for the time of year and severity of infestation.

Rose Rosette Virus

One of our beloved landscape plants, the rose, has been increasingly affected by this virus, which is spread by mites.  Symptoms include thickened stem growth, excessive thorns, witches’ broom growth at end of stems, branch dieback, discolored and distorted leaves.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for viruses and affected plants will need to be removed.  For existing, unaffected roses, treat with dormant oil after cutting back in February, which will help control overwintering mites.

For full blog post, follow this link.

Black Spot

The most common host plant for black spot is the rose.  One of the best control methods is to plant varieties that are resistant to the disease such as those in the KnockOut and Drift roses.  Diseases such as black spot, leaf spot and powdery mildew are prevalent after periods of warm, damp weather.  Avoid watering the foliage as much as possible, and provide good air flow with appropriate plant placement.  Black spot symptoms include leaf spots and severe leaf drop.  As leaves drop, remove them to reduce disease spread.  As the plant goes dormant, remove leaves and debris for the same reason.  For plants with a history of black spot, preventative treatments should be applied as the plants sprout new growth in the spring. Treat with propiconizole (Ferti-Lome Liquid Systemic Fungicide II), Bonide Copper Fungicide, tebuconazole (Bayer All-In-One Rose and Flower Care) or other fungicides labeled for black spot control.

Leaf Spot

Entomosphorium Leaf Spot

The most common host plants for this disease are Indian hawthorn and red tip photinia.  In fact, this disease is so prevalent and damaging to red tip photinias that we have stopped carrying this plant, although many can be seen around town.  There are disease resistant varieties of Indian hawthorn such as Snow White but if conditions are just right (again humid, frequent rain, warm temperatures), any variety could become affected.  As with other plant diseases, avoid watering foliage if possible, and provide good air flow.  Remove any dropped leaves and treat with propiconizole (Ferti-Lome Liquid Systemic Fungicide II), Bonide Copper Fungicide or other fungicides labeled for leaf spot control.  For plants with a history of disease, apply preventative sprays in the spring as new growth emerges.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew may affect a variety of plants such as dogwood trees, crapemyrtles, lilac, monarda, and more.  Symptoms include gray-white powdery looking areas on foliage, distorted foliage and leaf drop.  Choosing resistant plant varieties, providing good air flow, clean-up of dropped leaves and avoiding overhead watering will help control the occurrence and spread of this disease.  Treat with propiconizole (Ferti-Lome Liquid Systemic Fungicide II), Bonide Copper Fungicide or other fungicides labeled for powdery mildew.  For plants with a history of disease, apply preventative sprays in the spring as new growth emerges.

Large Patch/ Zoysia Patch

Our common turf grasses including zoysia, bermuda, St. Augustine, and centipede grasses are susceptible to this disease.  Symptoms include large semi-circular, circular or arc shaped area with damaged turf including yellowed leaf blades.  In zoysia, the interface between healthy lawn and diseased areas might become bronze or orange.  As with most diseases, cultural control is important.  Avoid high nitrogen applications in early spring, night watering and over watering. De-thatch areas with over 1/2 inch of thatch.  Apply mycobutanil (Ferti-Lome F-Stop) or other labeled products for systemic control.  Treatment may be required for several growing seasons for good control.

Drainage Issues

Last but not least, this rainy spring and early summer paired with our typically poor draining, heavy soils has caused visible issues.  We have had many visitors bring pictures or plant samples showing symptoms such as yellowed leaves, branch dieback, and wilting.  Unfortunately, the symptoms for over or under watering and poor drainage can look similar; proper assessment includes considering rainfall, watering schedule and maybe most importantly, how well the soil drains.

In an ideal situation, there are equal parts solid matter and pore space voids which may be filled with air and water.  In poorly drained soil, these pore spaces are filled with water for too long, which suffocates plant roots due to lack of oxygen.  If a large area is consistently wet, consider planting with water loving plants as amending the soil might be cost prohibitive.  Smaller, more manageable areas can be addressed by raising the beds, adding a drainage system, re-grading  and most importantly, amending the planting area.  If your landscape is already installed and you are trying to figure out what is happening in the root zone of your plants, you need a moisture meter.  They are inexpensive ($10), and will provide you with useful input on what is really happening below the surface.  Keep in mind that plants may have experienced stress and some root decline due to excessive rain and poor drainage this spring, and not show symptoms until the heat arrives this summer.

Bring us Samples!

This is a few of the common summer landscape pests but there are more! It can be difficult to diagnose issues without images or leaf samples; the more information you can provide, the better.  We encourage you to take a walk through your landscape weekly and come see us or email us about any issues so we can help you properly address them!

The post Summer Landscape Pests appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Warm Wet Weather

Warm, wet weather brings on fungus…and we get our share of this kind of weather, which means our landscape plants and lawns often have fungus issues.  Let’s take about landscape plants first!  So what does a fungus look like?  Usually, the symptoms of fungus are easily identifiable…round black spots, irregular brown spots or a downy, white dusting on leaves.  Some of our most beloved landscape plants are susceptible to fungus including Indian Hawthorn, Roses, Lilacs, Hydrangeas, Columbine and Dogwood trees to name a few.  While some plants are more susceptible, keep in mind that pretty much any plant could get a fungus if the conditions are conducive and the fungus spores are present. However, there are some things we can do to help avoid fungus infections.

Good Air Flow

Space plants based on mature size.  Properly spaced plants have more air flow between them, which keeps foliage drier both after a rain and after irrigation applications.  For example, KnockOut Roses can grow to at least four foot tall.  Ideally, they would be spaced about five feet apart, from center to center, at planting.  We understand the temptation to plant closer together when the new, young plants are small, but the extra maintenance involved with pruning and harder control disease outbreaks just aren’t worth it!

Proper Watering Timing

We mentioned irrigation above; the amount of water is less important than when you water, at least when trying to avoid fungus issues.  Watering early in the morning is ideal so that the foliage can dry fast as the sun and wind pick up for the day.  Conversely, watering in the evening provides the perfect circumstance for fungal growth…hours of water sitting on foliage in a dark environment.  Bottom line, water in the early morning and space your plants out properly.

Prevention and Control of Fungus in Landscape Plants

That covers all that we can control; the environment and weather have big roles too.  Obviously, in an area with warm, humid spring and fall seasons, no matter how carefully you have taken care of your plants, fungus is unavoidable. Once a plant is infected, the best solution is to treat it with a systemic fungicide such as Ferti-Lome Liquid Systemic Fungicide.  For roses, there is also a product from Bayer called All in One Rose & Flower Care that includes a fungicide as well as a fertilizer and insect control product; this works well as a preventative treatment.

Apply fungicide sprays when the foliage is completely dry and will remain dry for about 24 hours; this will allow it to be fully absorbed.  Take note of how long the products treats for; additional sprays might be necessary during prolonged wet spells and while conditions are good for fungal growth.  The systemic fungicide will be absorbed and distributed throughout the plant, protecting new leaves from being infected and kill spores present on leaves which will reduce spreading.  Non-systemic fungicides such as Bonide’s Copper Fungicide will kill active fungus spores already on leaves and is good for edibles.

Keep in mind that the treatment process can take several applications and infected leaves will most likely turn yellow and fall off.  Be sure to remove and dispose of infected leaves to help reduce spread of fungus.  Plants that are susceptible to fungus can be sprayed at a preventative rate; read labels carefully, the rate for preventative sprays is different than the curative rate.

Prevention and Control of Fungus in Lawns

Now on to the lawn!  Lawn fungus symptoms include large circular or slightly irregular, thinning, brown spots that grow in size each year.  As with landscape plants, there are some control measures we can put in place before the occurrence of fungus to help reduce the chances of infection and impact the recovery time.  Fertilize with slow release fertilizer instead of a fast release, high Nitrogen fertilizer.  Water lawns deeply, less frequently, as opposed to more frequent, shallow waterings.  This will encourage better root growth.  Provide good drainage, both on the surface and subsurface of the lawn areas.  Good drainage insures that water can quickly move out of lawn areas.  As we talked about above, clearly we aren’t in control of the rain and temperatures.  However, we can control the fertilization and water we apply, as well as address drainage.

Once symptoms of fungus are visible, treat as soon as possible with Bonide Infuse Systemic Disease Control or Ferti-Lome F-Stop granules or Ferti-Lome Liquid Systemic Fungicide, available as a liquid spray.  Treat the entire lawn area to help control spread.  This will need to be done while conditions for fungal growth are present and for the next few years as well.  Preventative applications on lawns before the wet, warm season are helpful.  Apply in March at preventative rates as the warm season grasses start greening up.

For plant materials that are too large to spray, keep in mind that most foliar fungus diseases on trees and shrubs will cease being active when we reach temperatures consistently above 90 degrees.  For large healthy plants, the issue will more of an aesthetic one than one that could cause plant death. The same is true for shrubs like hydrangeas; it’s more unsightly than dangerous but if let go too long for too many years, it could cause a decline of plant health.

The post Prevent & Control Fungus in Landscapes appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

We have some other Arkansas fruit growing posts too; check out the following:

How to Grow Blackberries in Arkansas

Fruit Trees in Arkansas

Planting blueberry shrubs

Start by picking a sunny location; it can be in a garden, a raised bed or somewhere in your landscape.  These fruits will do best planted in a mounded area at least a couple of inches (or up to a foot) high, and a couple of feet wide.  Next, consider the soil.  Blueberries prefer well drained, acidic soils with a pH in the 4.8 to 5.4 range.  Arkansas soils tend to be acidic although it’s a good idea to get your soil tested.  We can help with that; ask us about our Good Earth SoilKits!

Prepare the soil by adding some peat moss and Good Earth potting soil.  The finished soil should be about 65% original soil to 35% amendments.  If you need to acidify your soils, consider adding coffee grounds as this will both add organic matter and increase the acidity.

Blueberry varieties

Choose your variety of blueberry; both the southern highbush and rabbiteye types are good in Southern Arkansas, and Northern highbush varieties are good in Northern Arkansas.  All three types can be grown successfully in Central Arkansas.  Here are several varieties within each type:

Northern Highbush- Bluecrop, Duke, Elliot

Southern Highbush- Ozarkblue, Summit, Legacy

Rabbiteye- Climax, Premier, Tifblue

We typically carry Rabbiteye blueberries here at Good Earth.  Plant multiple varieties of the same type to increase fruit set and berry size. Figure on planting about 2 plants for each person in your family and double that if you plan on growing them for baking or freezing.

Growing tips

After planting, add five to six inches of pine bark or pine needle mulch.  This will help the soil retain moisture and reduce the weed growth (sawdust would also work well).  Add an inch of mulch material each year.  Blueberries need irrigation here in Arkansas in order to be successful so water well at planting and water throughout the year as needed.  Prune off the large flower buds at the tips of the shoots the first and second seasons, especially on smaller plants.  This will allow a larger, better producing plant to develop.

After the second growing season, remove some of the canes and reduce excess flower buds.  In addition, cut back any canes that are much taller than the overall height of the blueberry.  Too many blooms can result in a weaker plant and small fruit so remove weak or twiggy growth.  After the fifth year, begin removing some of the old canes.  Ideally older blueberry plants will have equal parts of one-, two-, three-, four-, and five-year old canes.

Feeding blueberries

Blueberries can be planted both in the Spring and Fall.  Fertilize the plants only after new growth has began with our organic Espoma Holly-Tone Fertilizer and then after 6 weeks, start applying Ammonium Sulfate unless otherwise directed by your soil sample results. Avoid applying fertilizer to the crown or stems of the blueberry.

Now, all you have to do is collect blueberry recipes!

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