ust not have raccoons there or hungry birdsI got maybe a cup full out of 2 bushes

jean

We have raccoons and birds, The cardinals especially like the berries. But we have 7 bushes, and they are about 6 years old. Two bushes are eight years old, so they are as tall as I am.

kay

oh ok, you have plenty of beries to share some of them, good.the cardinals evebn pulled the green ones off my bushes and dropped thenm on the ground.I dumped a pile of moth balls iaround mine for a couple weeks to run he coons off,and they left them alone then the birds ate them.

jean

All that spring rain must account for the largeness of the berries. What do you think causes them to be sweeter this time? I wish I had room for some blueberry bushes. Space is at a premium here.

Debra

I only have two but they are about 10 years old. The birds have never bothered them much. Mine aren't ripe yet but I will pick when they are. That's a tedious job Kay and you are one busy lady!!
Ellie

Lucky you I love blueberries but I can never grow them even the ones that are supposed to grow in my part of FL.
Linda

My blueberries are just starting, & the birds are getting a head start on me. Just one bush seems to be ripening right now, must be a different variety. The other bushes are just loaded.

Raccoons can be discouraged. They have a habit of pulling up newly planted plants, but we've put a stop to it.

There's a product called Shake Away. It's made from coyote urine, and when it's sprinkled around the plants, the coons recognize the odor as that of a predator and they stay away.

Works like a charm.

That is a great harvest kay. My blueberries have started up and I have been eating them just snacking out in the garden. Those berries never seem to make it into the house. The birds do get more than their fair share.

Love blueberries, Kay. We have one dwarf bush, and this year, I wasn't careful and the birds got most of them. We will be netting the bush this coming year. Avedon

My husband is a blueberryaholic. Loves to have them with his cereal or on top of vanilla ice cream. We have to buy ours from the local market though. Home grown sounds so great.

Julia

We will actually have fewer than usual his year. the two older bushes had a very small number of berries, but there are new striplings growing up that will improve it in a year or two.

Debra, I am crediting the rain with the sweetness and size since we had much more rain this early spring than the last few years.

The nine quarts are what haven't been eaten. I usually have enough to supply the family and my friend, Linda, but there will be fewer to giveaway.

Julia, it's a shame you can't grow them since DH loves them.

Ellie, it is tedious, but thanks to the PT followed by my continued Gym time, I am not having all of the sciatic pain that made picking them so painful the last couple of years.

Rita, I eat them every morning when I go out to take pictures. I will miss the ready supply when they are finished.

Faraway farmer, you are right. I used it after the raccoons dug up a plant two nights running. they left it alone after that.

Nancy, mine are like that too. One bush ripens before the others. Avedon, netting should work for you. Mine are big enough that the birds thieving isn't too bad. Now when the figs get ripe, that's another story entirely.

Linda, it's a shame you can't grow them. the things are expensive!

kay