March 2002

Hints on growing Blueberries

Site Selection
Avoid Frost Pockets as late frosts can severely damage flowers and reduce yields. Higher sites with a gentle slope have greater air circulation and are less prone to spring frost damage. Greater air movement also suppresses certain fungal diseases.

Soil Requirements
Blueberries have very specific soil requirements. They require a pH below 5.5 and do best where the pH is between 4.5 and 5.0. The soil should be high in organic matter that increases the water-holding capacity and improved the aeration of the soil. Blueberries have fibrous, shallow roots that are sensitive to soil compaction and poor drainage.

Watering
Blueberries benefit from irrigation during the dry season. Drought conditions during fruit development will reduce berry size, and drought stress may reduce flower bud development and yields the following year. Drought at any time during the growing season adversely affects vegetative growth.

Mulching
Mulch materials such as composted sawdust, bark, wood chips or straw will help to conserve soil moisture. Be sure that these materials are well decomposed.

Fertilising
The fertiliser program should encourage growth of vigorous shoots, that produce more flower buds and larger fruit. Blueberry soils and fertiliser requirements vary considerably.

Pruning
Blueberries require regular pruning to produce high yields of large fruit. Unpruned bushes usually contain a disproportionately high percentage of old canes that decline I vigour and fruitfulness and too few young replacement canes. The most fruitful canes are 4 to 6 years old. The bushes are best pruned either in late winter or early spring. Spring pruning is recommended as any canes injured during winter can be identified and removed. Young bushes require little pruning for the first three years. Remove damaged branches and less vigorous, spindly growth around the base of the plants to encourage vigorous upright growth.
Mature bushes should be pruned annually. The general steps involved are:
1. Remove branches injured by frost or other damage
2. Remove fruiting branches that are spindly or less that 30cm from the ground.
3. Remove one or two of the oldest canes and any branches that are low in vigour.
Pruning should be used to manage bush size and shape to facilitate picking, fertilising and spraying. Blueberry twigs require at least 15 percent of full sunlight to initiate flower buds, so varieties that develop thick upright growth need to be opened to sunlight.

Pollination
Though blueberries are self-fruitful and will set commercial crops without cross-pollination, some studies show that flowers receiving pollen from another variety will produce larger, earlier ripening fruit. Blueberries require bees for pollination and fruit set.

Weed control
Avoid using herbicides the planting year as it may injure young plants. Control weeds emerging the first year by hand cultivation.

Harvesting
Harvest throughout the season as the fruit ripens. Gently roll the berries between your thumb and forefinger.

Varieties (available online now)

The SUNSHINE BLUE is a blueberry that has it all. It is an evergreen semi-dwarf that features a highly branched compact habit to 1m. Sunshine blue makes an excellent ornamental plant that lends itself to containerised planting or patio planting. It is often covered with showy hot pink flowers that fade to white during the spring. Large fruit is produced in abundance at around 4kg per bush and the fruit has excellent tangy flavour and is of high quality with a long shelf life. It is a mid-season Highbush variety that is harvested for up to 9 weeks during the summer months. Bears later than Gulfcoast, Misty and Sharpeblue.
Sunshine Blue tolerates higher pH soils better than other blueberries. It is self-pollinating. The low chilling requirement of 150 hours makes it well suited to the subtropics but we find it is surprisingly cold hardy and a wonderful addition to both edible and ornamental gardens.

GULFCOAST - This low chill highbush variety has produced good crops of fruit especially in low chilling localities where it has been trialled. The fruit is medium to large with a good flavour. The colour is deep to medium blue. The fruit holds well on the bush and has a firm texture with a good picking scar. It is quite hardy as blueberries go and has a good tolerance of root rot. H November onwards (earlier north of Bundaberg)

Growing your future - Natural Forestry for small and large landholders

From January until May it is the perfect time to plant your favourite rainforest species. A rainforest can be recreated in a small back yard to a large landholding. Used as ornamental plantings rainforest trees offer a stunning effect. They are hardy and become established quickly giving you the look of a mature garden in a short period of time. They are loved by birds and other wildlife and add large glossy contrasting foliage and some delightful scents to the garden. Like our natives our rainforest plants are seeing a huge resurgence in popularity. Australia boasts some of the most spectacular rainforest plants in the world so why not show them off....

Rainforest trees grow quickly and once established require virtually no maintenance. The beauty of rainforest gardens is that you can include groundcovers, understory and taller species to create a perfect screen. This rainforest pool setting was planted just over two years ago.

Tired of mowing a large area. It won't be long before these trees form a canopy to block out all undergrowth. The planting will provide a natural habitat for wildlife, help to preserve out rainforest species and add value to your property.

Perhaps you have a property with marginal areas such as those with soil erosion or problem soils, creek banks, laneways, steep areas or gullies these areas can be planted out with natural forests. There are many success stories of forest projects throughout the northern rivers, a region that offers some of the best Agroforestry potential in Australia.

The logging of rainforest timber in state forests is almost non-existent so there exists a very real need to establish alternative plantation resources. The local growing conditions of the northern rivers together with the future demand for high value timber and the spectacular and valuable local species that are available is attracting many landowners towards these type of projects.

Establishing a plot has many advantages other than wood production. Natural forests can substantially increase the value of your property and they offer aesthetic, environmental and social values that are of great importance to our future. They are easily integrated into agriculture to benefit farm productivity and sustainability and offer additional benefits such as the sale of timber and associated product; shade and shelter, additional fodder, lowered water tables reducing salinity, reduced wind speed and evaporation and fewer pests by maintaining beneficial predators or used as buffers between neighbours".

Look for more information in our future issues that will assist you, the farmer or small landholder to plan, select, plant and maintain a natural forest on your property. The final 'Natural forestry' article will cover just some of the successful and spectacular projects in our local region.

Some of the most popular and beautiful rainforest species available now.

Syzygium australe - The Brush Cherry is a common plant of coastal and highland rainforests from southern New South Wales to central Queensland. Known to reach up to 25m in its ideal habitat it is usually much smaller in cultivation. The leaves are opposite, rounded and bright, glossy green in colour. White flowers are followed by large, fleshy, red fruits in profusion. These are oval in shape and around 20 mm long with a large seed. The fruits are edible and are often made into jams. They can also be eaten fresh and have a crisp, refreshing texture. It is a hardy tree in most temperate and subtropical climates and is cultivated in most Australian states. It prefers rich soils and assured moisture.

Syzygium Leuhmanii - Riberry is native to coastal sub tropical rainforest areas of eastern Australia. Crimson in colour, this pear shaped berry is rich in essential minerals with a strong aromatic flavour. It was one of the first ever Australian native fruits to be eaten by a European and Joseph Banks recorded that Captain Cook first tasted the Lilli Pilli in 1770.

Flindersia australia - Teak Tree A medium tree much sought after for its durable timber. The leaves are aromatic when crushed. The white flowers appear from Sept to Feb. The fruit is a woody, prickly capsule which opens into five segments releasing winged seed.

Harpulia pendula - Tulip wood An attractive spreading tree with glossy leaflets. Flowers are insignificant. Showy fruits occur during winer and are two-lobed, yellow or red with large black seeds.

Toona ciliata - Native to the rainforests of the east coast Australia. The highly valued timber has now become rare. The fruit is a capsule which splits open into five segments when dry. Seeds are winged. Fruit is ripe from January to March.

Baby Kiwi

Let us introduce to you the BABY KIWIFRUIT also known as "Hardy Kiwifruit." latin name Actinidia Arguta. It's known as Hardy Kiwifruit because the vines can withstand some pretty cold temperatures.

We in Australia are a little behind the US when it comes to the use and marketing of specialty fruits but we can tell you that these little beauties are the biggest thing in Kiwifruit today. It is one of the most unique fruits available and although tiny they still have that beautiful emerald-green flesh surrounding small black seeds. As you can see from the photo they resemble an olive or english gooseberry more than a kiwifruit.

They are bite size and fuzzless meaning no peeling and no mess and as if that isn't enough they are also sweeter than their cousin the Actinidia deliciosa or kiwifruit. Like their close relative they are packed with just as much nutrition, loaded with vitamins C, E and Potassium.

In the wild the vines can have a will of their own but under cultivation they are much better behaved, however still need to be supported by a strong trellis. They also require cross-pollination. The plants purchased from Daley's are female plants and successfully cross with a regular (delicosia) male plant. When harvesting the fruit must be soft-ripe at harvest and will not ripen if picked while too hard.

For best production they prefer a well-drained, somewhat acid (pH 5 - 6.5) soil and will definately not tolerate salty soil. They need adequate water thruoghout the growing season and regular watering throughout summer is a must.

Although its short shelf life (short in the terms of supermarkets) will be a challenge its envisaged that the baby kiwi will be one of the next speciality fruits to hit the markets in both its fresh and processed form.

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