Dave Smith wrote:
> Mr. Bill wrote:
>
>> Sounds so good!! We had three blueberry bushes...they just didn't
>> do a thing...and we tried everything. I guess it just isn't the
>> right soil here on our red clay ridge we live on. And blueberries
>> are the best thing you can eat!!

Bilberries are a European relative that I like even better when I can
find them. I tried growing bilberries but they did not survive the
first winter. Here in Chicago metro it's easy to find sizable blueberry
bushes in big pots to survive the winters but bilberries are only
available shipped and are small.

> When I first planted my blueberry bushes they didn't do very well. My
> neighbour suggested digging some peat moss into the soil around them and
> using an acidic fertilizer. That did wonders. I watched those little
> suckers grow from little green balls, to yellow to light blue.

Ours are doing well this year. Thanks for the advice on acid. I will
check and feed them some.

> Then,
> just as they ripened, the birds got them all. I now have a wire mesh
> covering them and hope to get a small crop this year.

Ours has berries that are getting towards full size. There's a screen
for it in the closet somewhere.