GrowLog
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Jelly Bean Blueberry Bushes in Grow Bowls

Grow log by serri588 · Original thread

3 visual updates3 photos22 replies
View recap
CropBlueberry, garlic
VarietyBushel and Berry Jelly Bean blueberry
MethodAeroGarden Grow Bowl ebb-and-flow hydroponics, soil-to-hydroponic transplant
Equipmenttwo AeroGarden Ultras, Grow Bowls
Plants2
AudienceExperimental

What you can learnA rare perennial hydroponics experiment documenting soil-root cleaning, establishment, flower removal, nutrient concerns, dormancy requirements, and eventual failure.

Actions:1 Transplant1 Nutrients1 Pruning1 Planting
Useful practices

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Problems encountered

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*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.

Day 124
UPDATE#3
Grower update

Update #3

S By serri588

I haven't posted many pictures of these because they are bushes, so not very interesting. Pretty soon I'm going to start making it "fall" for one of them. I don't keep much food in my fridge, so they will probably go in there in order to get enough "chill hours" to fruit again. There's only enough space for one at a time, so I'll need to stagger them out. The need around 1,000 chill hours, so that'll take about two months of going in and out of the fridge.The fact that they are still healthy after 4 months in the grow bowls I think means that I'll be able to let them fruit next "growing season".
Conversation
U
Unknown

They ARE DOING SO WELL!!!! And just think...no critters to steal your crop. I see something that looks like leeks or scallions to the left..care to share?

S
Shawn

Very nice, can't wait to see them fruit

S
serri588

Those are my green onions.- Burpee Parade. They do just fine in the AG, but I've just never put up a thread for them.

U
Unknown

Thanks. I am going to do some of those green onions!

M
MaryL

I’ve never gotten my green onion seeds to sprout. Maybe I have a dud pack. Hooray on the blueberry bushes!

U
Unknown

I ordered some Parade Onions from Park yesterday...serri inspired me to try my hand at it.

S
serri588

FYI I sprouted these green onions in sand back when I was messing with that. Not that they won't sprout in an AG, but I haven't done it yet.

U
Unknown

ah yes I recall now. I thought you started these from seed. Nevertheless I am inspired to try these from seed and will start a thread when they are planted

S
serri588

I don't think the bushes survived the "winter" in my fridge, but I'll leave them in the Ultras for a few weeks to make sure.So far I don't see any evidence of buds forming, and when I snapped off a piece of a branch the inside seemed pretty dry.

S
Shawn

Hopefully they will survive

S
serri588

I'm going to go ahead and call this one- There is still no evidence that the first bush survived it's "winter" in the fridge. If I had to make a guess, it's that the root damage from moving them to the hydroponics may have kept them from storing enough nutrients. I might have more success growing them from seed, but feeding and watering a plant for years in an Aerogarden on the off chance it will work doesn't sound worth it. If I get a place with some outdoor space I would absolutely do these blueberries again in a container.

Day 57
UPDATE#2
Grower update

Update #2

Actions taken

PruningRemoved all flowers to prioritise establishment.
PlantingPlaced one garlic clove with each blueberry bush.

S By serri588

Sorry for disappearing for awhile. Here's where the blueberries are at. They seem to be doing well- at the very least they didn't keel over and die on me. I did pick off all the flowers so that they would be able to establish themselves before trying to fruit. There is a clove of garlic in each one- one of the articles I read suggested this since blueberries need sulfur which is not a mineral contained in most hydroponic solutions. Those are doing not so great, but I think it would be okay to sacrifice a clove a couple times a year if it keeps the blueberries healthy.
Conversation
K
Kate

Wow, they look great! They really bounced back from the bare branches!

M
MaryL

How exciting!! And what a brilliant idea about the garlic.

Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update

Update #1

Actions taken

TransplantRemoved soil and mulch from two mature blueberry bushes and transferred them to Grow Bowls.
NutrientsUsed half a teaspoon of MaxiGro per gallon.

S By serri588

Variety: Bushel and Berry Jelly BeanPump Setting: 2/480Nutes: 1/2 tsp MaxiGro/galwww.bushelandberry.com/varieties/The "what can I grow" adventure continues! After looking around, Bushel and Berry seem to be the only varieties of blueberry that will fit under the 2' hood (at least according to the specs). They also have a variety of bush raspberries that might work in the AG, but I wanted to start with the blueberries- I'm not sure how I'm going to get enough chill hours to get more than one season out of them- I'll need to do some experimentation there.According to Park Seed, blueberries aren't available in my area until March, but since it was 70 degrees in Atlanta today, the local nursery was busy and had plenty of these babies in stock. I really hope these work out as it took hours to get the dirt and especially the mulch out of the roots. The flip side is that they are two-year-old plants, so as long as the transfer to the AGs doesn't stress them too much, they should fruit this year.
Conversation
K
Kate

Well, this is very cool! I hope they do well. It would be amazing if you could grow blueberries. The setup looks great!

M
mike

This is interesting. Following...

S
Shawn

Following too

S
serri588

I think my two biggest challenges are going to be the transfer from dirt to hydro and trying to get the plant enough dormant hours. I know I didn't get all the mulch out, so there are some challenges there in keeping the plant healthy. I also have no porch, so I can't just set them outside to cool out. I'm hoping that throwing ice cubes on them combines with a shorter light cycle will be sufficient. I've also read that garlic extract has been used on grape vines to encourage bud burst. I also saw a suggestion somewhere to grow garlic along with the blueberries from the start to ensure the blueberry bushes get enough sulfur. I might try it, though I'm not sure there's enough room in the AG. I'm going to be really sad if they don't even make it through the transplant process.....

D
drbanks

Wonderful! Bookmarked.

M
MaryL

I’ll bet. And I think we will all feel the pain along with you. (Even though we didn’t do any of the hard work). Fingers crossed.

S
Shawn

How are the blueberries coming along?

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