Blueberries in mounded soil over a drainage pit.

I have an area measuring 6 x 10 feet which contains a new rock-filled drainage pit topped with landscape fabric. I will have about 6 inches of soil on top to grade level and can add more. It has sun/part shade. I have 10 blueberry plants in 1 gallon pots that need a home and i'm wondering if I could heap more soil over the rock pit and plant them there. I note that the Fraser Valley farmers have their berries growing in mounded soil. As the plants have green berries on them now, would it be a bad time to transplant?

 

Blueberries in mounded soil will need to be irrigated more frequently. However, if the entire area is one big mound that should hold the moisture in better than mounded rows. And yes you can transplant containerized blueberries anytime.

 

Thanks 'Tree Nut'. I'm going to give it a try. Wondering how deep their roots will get. And how wide apart should I plant them. They are in 1-gallon pots right now. Some have been 'pruned' by our marauding bands of Victoria deer and others have berries. Thank you.

 

I have over 300 blueberries in my mixed tree orchard, and i plant them 5 feet apart in rows 8 feet wide. This allows for maximum berry production in the smallest space. They can be planted closer to form a hedge as well. Blueberries can actually get quite large over time.

In a 6x10 area I would plant two rows of four plants the long 10 foot way spaced evenly, perhaps one foot in from the edges. The other two plants will have to be put in elsewhere. This will create two hedges over time. You'll probably have to prune to keep access to the center of the rows over time.

Blueberries have shallow roots. They also like acidic soil, and should have their roots mulched with wood chips.

 

Thanks tree nut, I'll follow your advice. Sounds like you have a lovely orchard. The only reason I was thinking of planting them closer together is to make is easier to put netting around them to keep out the freeloaders. If I had 300 plants like you, I probably wouldn't mind losing a few to attrition. : |

When I was a kid I worked the summers picking blueberries in Richmond. I remember that some of the bushes were really large. If I had a really good day I could make 6 dollars.