Blueberries and stupid birds.

[Midwestnoob]

So I purchased 2 varietes of blueberries expecting a bountiful harvest the first year and I hit a brick wall. I had about 3 to 4 dozen blueberries and the stupid birds picked them clean. I understand the buds will start this fall and bloom in the spring. Is there anything I can do this year to start healthy buds. Should I top the plant or prune it back on specific areas? I started with potting soil and peat moss and mixed in the recominded amount of soil acidifer.

What else can I do this year to help growth next year. Im not past hand polinating and propping up 2 Or 3 owls and snakes next to the plants next year cause I looooooove blueberries.

Any advice would be very appreciative.

 

[CrazyConure]

Hang CD's off of the trees. They will cast reflections that scare the birds away.

 

[Chuck]

So I purchased 2 varietes of blueberries expecting a bountiful harvest the first year and I hit a brick wall. I had about 3 to 4 dozen blueberries and the stupid birds picked them clean. I understand the buds will start this fall and bloom in the spring. Is there anything I can do this year to start healthy buds. Should I top the plant or prune it back on specific areas? I started with potting soil and peat moss and mixed in the recominded amount of soil acidifer.

What else can I do this year to help growth next year. Im not past hand polinating and propping up 2 Or 3 owls and snakes next to the plants next year cause I looooooove blueberries.

Any advice would be very appreciative.

What I do to have a peach crop is summarized as a Mossberg 7 shot 12 gauge shotgun. Not really an option for most folks. I suspect this also applies to birds eating your blueberries too. If netting doesn't work then what is more important? Your berries or the birds? If your plants are producing like they should then what will changing growing patterns help, if at all. Seems like your problem isn't producing berries it is being able to harvest them. All of these owls and rubber snakes, fake deterrents, Christmas ornaments and CD's work...................for about 30 minutes, until the birds figure out they are fake and/or harmless. STUPID BIRDS?????????????? Good netting works....................if you do it right

 

[Midwestnoob]

Will netting hinder the growth of the plant? And I was also looking for ideas to help grow the plant healthier this fall? Like topping tomato Plants will make for a bushier plant. Can or should I do the same with blueberries?

 

[Chuck]

Will netting hinder the growth of the plant? And I was also looking for ideas to help grow the plant healthier this fall? Like topping tomato Plants will make for a bushier plant. Can or should I do the same with blueberries?

NO Tomatoes are annuals and topping them may or may not help in a fall crop of fruit. A blueberry is a long lived perineal. Netting is ultra light and can be removed at any time. The only time netting is applied is when the berries are ripening. If you want to help the growth and production of the plant next year add a good compost to the base of the plant

 

[Beth_B]

Look to how commercial blueberry farms do it...there are several "pick your own" farms around me and they use netting. It's suspended on poles or hoops along/above the rows. Certainly doesn't impede growth!

I imagine any good nursery or Tractor Supply or farm type store will have what you need.

 

[MaryMary]

I have no advice for strengthening the plant or ramping up the production of blueberries.

But if you don't like any of the bird deterrents offered, I'd suggest adopting a cat or two. Birds are not really stupid, and they will understand that you have installed a predator! For best results, I'd suggest two spayed females. Females rarely travel more than 300 feet from their "home base," and definitely spayed, because you don't need a hundred of them!!



(I have 7.5 cats, and 6 bird feeders. The birds rarely eat the seed that has fallen to the ground, and if they do... they post a look-out! )

 

[petesede]

I have no advice for strengthening the plant or ramping up the production of blueberries.

But if you don't like any of the bird deterrents offered, I'd suggest adopting a cat or two. Birds are not really stupid, and they will understand that you have installed a predator! For best results, I'd suggest two spayed females. Females rarely travel more than 300 feet from their "home base," and definitely spayed, because you don't need a hundred of them!!



(I have 7.5 cats, and 6 bird feeders. The birds rarely eat the seed that has fallen to the ground, and if they do... they post a look-out! )

7.5 cats? I don´t want to ask.

This worked in my vegetable garden, what I did was bought a few rubber snakes from a dollar store and put them around the garden. The birds were afraid to come down.

 

[atlmom5]

Go with the netting. It's simple and should be effective for a lot longer too.

 

[Daniel Thomas]

Netting has worked super great for me as well.

 

[marlingardener]

I love the heading of this topic--"Blueberries and stupid birds". So far we've had seven gardeners weigh in with ideas to deter the birds. All great ideas, all good gardeners, but we still haven't completely out-thought the stupid birds. Those beady-eyed feathered raiders may be smarter than we think!

 

[Fernsdaddy]

I use netting to keep the birds away from my blue berries. Wait until spring to prune your bushes, prune back any dead wood or new growth that you don't want. I keep the soil damp and use a good compost manure to help the build stronger roots.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Birds are not stupid. They could see that the human had no fore thought to protect them ahead of time so they took advantage of the situation. Bird point one, human zero.

 

[marlingardener]

Esther, I cannot count how many times I've been outfoxed by birds. I keep chickens, who are constantly finding new ways of getting around my protective devices; The wild birds can take down a suet feeder or swing on the seed feeder until it is empty; and I don't want to discuss what the mockingbirds do on my tomatoes ("doo" is the operative word").

I realize that I'm not #1 in the hierarchy of smarts, but I keep trying to out think our little feathered friends!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Birds are not taking your suet feeder down, squirrels are. Squirrels are doing the other stuff with the seed feeders.