Blueberries
Blueberries make a good fruit crop for home gardens since they require small space. At present, blueberry plants are not common in home plantings because the plants require highly acidic soil conditions for best results. Few backyard soils are naturally acidic enough to grow quality blueberries.The grower of blueberries must, therefore, make extra effort to acidify the soil before plant establishment. Then, the acidity level must be maintained over the life of the planting. Due to the special concerns associated with the rather demanding soil requirements of growing the crop, the soil must be amended with organic matter and the pH must be corrected before proceeding to establish the planting. Test your soil with a Soil Test Kit or pH Meter to determine if you need to adjust the pH of your soil to suit the needs of your Blueberry Bush. Use Kellogg Gardner & Bloome Acid Soil Mix, Grow More Soil Acidifier or Sunshine Peat Moss when you transplant to acidify your soil.
Blueberry plants begin to produce fruit in the third season; however, they do not become fully productive for about six years. Once in production, it is necessary to protect the fruit from loss to birds
Citrus & Avocados:Follow these planting guidelines to ensure your new tree is transplanted correctly.
1. Dig a hole much wider than the ball of your tree. An 18" auger makes an ideal hole. If your soil is good you need not add any soil amendment to the hole. Avoid adding more than 5% (by volume) organic manure to the soil.
2. Adjust the depth of the hole so that the upper surface of the tree ball will be just even with the surrounding ground when the tree is lowered into it.
3. Lower the tree into the hole, slice the container open vertically on one side, and backfill with 6" to 8" of loose soil.
4. Gently tamp the loose soil around the ball immediately. Promptly fill the rest of the hole with loose soil, gently tamping as you fill. Fill it up to the top, but leave the upper surface of the original ball exposed.
5. Build a basin with a three foot diameter around the tree, sloping the bottom of it so that all water drains to the exposed surface of the ball. The basin should have a capacity of about five gallons.
6. Fill the basin with water once. If it drains rapidly, fill again. If it requires two minutes or more to drain, do not refill.
7. Reform the bottom of the basin, as the dirt in the hole should now have settled somewhat. Be sure that the top of the ball is still exposed. It is a good idea, once the basin has stabilized, to cover the bottom with straw, sawdust or some other mulching medium.
8. Once your tree becomes established and the roots start reaching out into the surrounding soil (usually about 1 to 2 months after planting), the emitter should be moved away from the top of the ball to a distance of about 6" to 8".
9. Under normal circumstances, water the young tree every 5 to 10 days for a period of 6 to 10 weeks. Two to five gallons of water per irrigation will be sufficient provided the ball itself receives water each time and remains damp inside. Do not allow the soil to remain soggy; a happy medium is mandatory.
Watering
Do not allow the ball - ever - to dry out. Avocados are native to areas which, unlike California, have almost daily rains during the summer. Their favored soils under these conditions are often acid, sandy and weak, characterized by good internal drainage which doesn't allow them to remain soggy. Therefore, once your tree has begun to establish a root system, keep the soil damp but not soggy. Water deeply. We recommend the use of a soil core probe, slanted toward the side of the ball so that it penetrates the ball about 12" below the soil surface, in order to determine soil moisture. Apply water according to the needs of the tree.
The tree may be watered by basin for a full year. However, the basin should be broken down during the wet season if water has any tendency to stand in it. After a year you should consider the use of sprinklers or drippers.