Blueberry - Outdoor 26

birdmountain Of the two Blueberry seeds, only one made it, and it's a three-leaf mutation. 😅 Other than that, it's growing steadily now. Its stem has already stabilized, and it's standing without support. In warm weather, it's already outside in the greenhouse during the day (third week of April).

birdmountain She was also transplanted into a larger pot towards the end of this week, which has done her good. She's the most delicate compared to Candyland and Fruit Bomb Punch, but she still has to develop three leaves instead of two at each leaf node. This makes her look denser. Otherwise, everything is going smoothly; light, water, temperature, soil, and nutrients seem to be on point.

birdmountain The Blueberry was also able to be topped this week. It has doubled its size despite the topping. The mutation is slowly disappearing in favor of standard growth. It will now stay outside in the greenhouse the whole time, as the weather allows.

birdmountain She is getting stronger week by week and has no problems with the rather low temperatures at night. The topping has suited her well, and she still gained 10 cm this week. Next week, after the Ice Saints, the repotting into the final pot will take place. So far, everything looks good.

birdmountain She is a robust, strong plant waiting for the final repotting outdoors. Aside from that, the three-leaf mutation at the beginning has reduced to two leaves, with one shoot being twice as strong and growing with very short internodal distances. I'll have to top it again. I could already notice a slight blueberry scent on the stem just before darkness. I'm excited for this next journey!

birdmountain She's developing really well, was transplanted into the final pot this week, in recycled soil, to which perlite, algae meal, BioBizz PreMix & horn meal were added. Hopefully, I managed to sort out all the grubs with my fingers while mixing. They were mostly the grubs of the rose beetle, which are flying around again to lay eggs before they die. Since the soil is probably quite low in nutrients, or the organic fertilizers need to be activated first, I'm currently also fertilizing with sugar beet molasses. Additional Cannazym doses are supposed to help replace the old roots and release nutrients. She remains a bit more compact than the Fruit Bomb Punch and has a denser leaf cover. Her internodal distances are significantly shorter than those of the Fruit Bomb Punch, raising the question: is it the genetics, or are it the external conditions like fertilizer, water & temperature? After all, she's almost caught up with the Fruit Bomb Punch. Finally, the wandering has come to an end, and now begins the time of hauling water, for which the drip irrigation system needs to be installed next week, and the water will be sourced from the cistern or well or spring. Thank you very much for your visit, I wish you a sunny, warm grow week!

birdmountain She has caught up with the Fruit Bomb Punch in terms of size and shows amazing growth. Her leaves are getting big and wide, and she loves her strong feeding with molasses every day. The second topping three days ago has been beautifully overgrown. She is generally a lush, fast-growing, robust plant, and she can keep this up for about 10 more weeks. I'm curious to see what kind of plant she will be then. Since she is growing in a pot, her size is of course more limited than in garden soil, but the substrate is better and the plant is more protected. Thank you for your visit!

birdmountain My Queen of Outdoor, in any case, regarding the current growth and also the nutrient needs. She is hungry, very hungry even. For that, her growth and leaf size are extraordinary. She was a three-leaf mutation, but has now reduced to double branching, which has led to two branches from three. This double branch is very strong, but it also has many more side branches due to short internodes and is slightly smaller than the other standard branch. However, in growth, she has slightly overtaken the Fruit Bomb Punch and shows slight deficiencies. Therefore, more nutrients and more minerals are needed to keep things moving positively. The Blueberry Monster is rising! It has rained a lot and stormed during this sheep cold week, and she has endured it without support. One downside of the strong growth is, of course, the softness of the branches; they still need to harden to withstand summer storms. Then, tying them up (so they don't run away from me... :)) and tying together the main branches will definitely be necessary, just like I have done in the past years. Thank you very much for your visit!

birdmountain She has the biggest leaves I've seen on my ladies so far and is growing pretty bushy. A bit of defoliation will be on the agenda soon. She has developed a lot of new shoots and continues to grow evenly, even with the bad weather this week. To protect against strong winds during storms, I've already tied some branches together for mutual support.

birdmountain Lady Blueberry is a water-guzzling beauty who is not willing to tolerate even a brief shortage of water. On the hottest day of the week, when the temperature reached 35°C, the water began to run low towards late afternoon. This was clearly evident as some leaves suddenly revealed their pale undersides. I then watered her thoroughly straight away; the leaves perked up again and turned green, but the damage became apparent the next day, when the edges of some leaves dried out and turned brown. This is clearly visible in the photos. Although the damage isn’t severe, the drip irrigation system – which I haven’t installed yet this year – would have prevented it. It has still grown a good 14 cm this week, though this is significantly less than the Fruit Bomb Punch and Rainbow Road. The Blueberry seems to cope better with moderate temperatures during its growth phase. It’s still an impressive sight, and I’m looking forward to the coming weeks. Thank you very much for visiting, and don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids in this heat, so you don’t suffer from dehydration!

birdmountain Despite the heat last week during the second heatwave with temperatures up to 40°C, it has grown another 20 cm in height. The price for that was watering three times a day; otherwise, it would have suffered from drought damage, and being present to quickly recognize any deficiencies was crucial. Being on vacation last week would have been deadly for the plants. Inside, a few yellowing leaves had to be removed, but otherwise, there was nothing unusual or noteworthy. She is a healthy, robust plant with perhaps a bit too much foliage. No pests No drought damage No wind breakage No underfeeding (possibly a bit too much) Actually boring... but the goal is a healthy outdoor plant with good yield. Thank you for your visit!

birdmountain A graceful, uniform growth form, not as sprawling as the Fruit Bomb Punch, but more yellowing leaves need to be removed from the center of the plant. It grows a bit denser. I can't detect a strong smell from it; that's more characteristic of the Seven Freeze. It requires a lot of water and nutrients, but the moderate temperatures this week have reduced the water needs by about a third. However, it seems like it is slowly transitioning into the stretching phase. Overall, a relaxing week, even for the Blueberry. Thank you for your visit, with best wishes for a great upcoming grow week!

birdmountain Blueberry is growing completely problem-free and is also developing many side shoots. It was a pleasant week that got warmer towards the end, and the next heatwave is approaching. This is also reflected in the daily water consumption, which is currently about 10 liters with watering twice. Liquid fertilization is done only in the morning. The leaves have a strong, dark green tone without any clawing. Good luck in the upcoming grow week!

birdmountain Lady Blueberry has become number 1 in height growth. She has clearly left all the others behind, and it doesn't look like she's planning to give up this lead anytime soon. Unfortunately, a little mishap happened; when I tried to secure her due to an impending thunderstorm that turned out to be not as strong as predicted, one of the main branches in the lower area broke. It has been carefully tied at the break point and higher up so it can't twist sideways and break off. 😩😱😅 It's clearly visible in a picture. To prevent mineral deficiencies, she received a foliar feeding with diluted seaweed extract. She is now so tall with the pot that a chair or ladder is necessary to photograph her from above. As far as I'm concerned, she can now stop growing in height so I can better control the buds later, but she's not going to do me that favor. It makes little sense to be excited about great, big plants that later mold because you can't control the height anymore and a large part of the harvest is lost. I've seen and experienced it all before. Next week, the equipment for making compost tea is coming (a small air pump and the appropriate tubing for circulation). This is supposed to multiply many, many microbes from my worm compost and actively contribute to plant growth and their health. It's a novelty for me; at least the worm compost is being used meaningfully here. Some humus from the ground of the Benjes hedge will also be added. I want to water with compost tea every 2-3 weeks. And it's time for a top layer in the pots with horn meal, cattle dung pellets, worm compost, and some soil. There will be pictures and bubbling videos. Thank you very much for your visit, I wish you a nice, relaxed grow week! 🍀

birdmountain The Blueberry requires the least effort. Just fertilize and water and watch. Summertime and the living is easy! Not quite, as the recurring heat and nutrient adjustments for flowering required some considerations. It was watered as usual with molasses and seaweed extract, but now also includes Epsom salt, bat guano, and compost tea. Worm compost, BioBizz PreMix, Wuxal Calcium fertilizer, seaweed extract, and molasses were added to the compost tea. All of this was enriched with oxygen in a 20L bucket, and after 22 hours, all plants were watered for the first time today with a 1:9 dilution. The compost tea smelled earthy, a bit smoky, slightly sour, and had also become a bit milky, not just a dark broth. Nutrient deficiency should thus be ruled out. This process will take place weekly from now on. Since the large pots hold 72L, the microbes should be able to survive in there for a while, until the refresh in seven days. On the other days, fertilization will continue with molasses and Epsom salt. I hope there won't be any over-fertilization. Wuxal Calcium has been added because I'm not sure if the compost tea contains enough calcium. Thank you very much for your visit!

birdmountain She said: Is there anyone more beautiful than me within a 5-meter radius? Isn't my appearance quite stately? But why have I grown less than 8 centimeters this week? The slave said: You are the Consistent, The Sublime, You have survived a branch break, You withstand the wind tied up, but allow me the words: Where is your much-praised scent? You grow and grow, but so far you refuse to enter the next stage of your predetermined fate. I do my best for you, be it water, fertilizer, and worm tea. In wind, sun & rain, I am powerless. Yes, you are not the only one still waiting, but your sister Fruit Bomb Punch has already revealed her scent. A scent that only she can explain. That you have grown a bit less this week is probably due to the fact that you cannot tolerate water shortage, so it happened this week only once. You can be proud that your sun sails are still large and green down below, unlike those of your sisters, which have already been removed, thus revealing the trunk. No, you can still shade the ground beneath you and reduce evaporation.

birdmountain This week just a quick update. She has grown another 14 cm, which isn't noticeable since she does it very evenly. She has also been freed from the large sun sails in the lower area, and her removed leaves are now mulching the soil. Additionally, I'm starting with a light calcium feeding so that there's enough available when it's needed in the soon-to-begin flowering. She will still need to be heavily defoliated, as there are still many leaves growing densely inside that could later promote mold. But for now, it's so dry and summery that there's no danger. Thank you for visiting, see you next week when the 2-meter mark is broken.