Catch-Up: Blueberries and Cranberries

I had no original plans to plant blueberries and cranberries. The idea came to me while looking on the Gurney's website. I noticed a Dwarf Tophat Blueberry bush for $12. The bush grows only to about 1 1/2 inches high and wide and it's supposed to work well in a container. I love blueberries, so it's worth a try.

I bought a 5 gallon container at Loew's (a store that could break me if I don't stay out of it) and waited for my blueberry bush to arrive. It came a couple of weeks ago and I planted it immediately in an acidic soil made by combining potting soil and Canadian sphagnum peat moss with some Holly-tone. Here it is next to the strawberries:

Blueberry bush hanging out next to the strawberries.

It looked a little lonely in the pot.
Then, the next week I got a book on container gardening from my local library and it had a lovely picture of a container blueberry bush surrounded by cranberry bushes. So, I went back to Gurney's and ordered 2 cranberry plants to plant around the blueberry bush. Apparently, cranberries have short roots so the two go together nicely. The good news on the cranberries is that, despite those commercials, no bog is needed. I don't have to be knee deep in water to grow cranberries.

I got the cranberry plants on Wednesday and I planted them right away. Now, it looks like this:


Blueberry bush surrounded by 3 cranberry bushes. I probably
could have centered the blueberry bush better.

 When grown, the cranberries are supposed to look like groundcover and replace mulch for the blueberry bush.

One problem that I'm already experiencing is that the drain dish of my planter leaks when I water the bushes. I've already had a couple of floods, and like I mentioned earlier peat and Holly-tone don't smell too good.
Since they both need a lot of water and the soil has to remain moist, I'm going to have to find a large tray to sit the container in. Since my garden is going to be on my balcony and I'm on a second floor, I have to prevent the container from leaking after watering.

What I've learned about blueberries and cranberries:

1. It could take 3 years before I get a a single blueberry and 2 years to get a cranberry.

2. You don't need a bog to grow cranberries, but both the cranberries and the blueberries require a lot of water. That's another reason they make good roomates.

3. The plants are self-pollinating, but I'd be bet off to find other varieties to plant near these to get a better yield.

4. It would be a good idea to collect rainwater to water them to maintain acidity. Wish I learned that a few days ago as we've had a lot of rain here recently. This is April in Chicago, however, so there will be more.

5. When I bring these guys outside, if they fruit at all, I'm going to have to net them off to prevent the birds from getting at the fruit.

Next time: My cute little seedies become monsters of the 36 cell greenhouse kit.