Thursday, May 18, 2023

Blueberry explosion

If you remember, we planted blueberries two years ago, and then last summer I engaged in nuclear-level weed control.

This year, the plants are exploding with flowers.


Bumblebees have been appreciating the bounty.


There's just something about blueberry flowers I find fascinating.

Which is why I didn't appreciate seeing a doe reach through the cattle panel protecting the berries and nibble on a tender shoot.

Plus, as a reader pointed out, I didn't want to risk any animals getting caught in the panel sections and panicking.

So yesterday evening I cut some deer netting and "sewed" it to the panels.

It was easy to do, and doesn't affect the ease with which I can drop the panels to gain access to the berries.

I plan to cover all the cattle panels with the deer netting. Better safe than sorry. I like deer – a lot – but I also want a solid crop of blueberries this year.

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad they're doing well.
    I too was excited about my blueberries, then it turned extremely cold for the south, after being unseasonably warm for a while. Very few survived.
    Also pear blossoms had even turned into baby pears. All dead. And the figs died back to the ground but are putting out new growth.
    I hesitated to get the strawberries you mentioned because they aren't recommended for this zone. Now I'm thinking it might be a good idea to not just stick to recommendations. It certainly would have benefitted my blueberry crop to have some colder varieties included.

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  2. Where I live, the deer completely ignore my blueberries. Now the bears are another story!

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