For the past month have been picking blueberries from two 8 foot-tall bushes. Going to make the final push this weekend on the last of them and looking to pick 3-4 more gallons before the season is over by week's end.

They just get juicier and sweeter by the day.

That's excellent! How old are the bushes? I hope you have your freezer bags ready.

They're at least five years old.

There used to be three bushes but one of them was stunted and two of the three got too much morning shade from come crap tree in the back yard. The stunted blueberry bush and the tree were both cut down over the winter and the two remaining blueberry bushes have gotten full sun this year and consequently have yielded a HUGE harvest of berries. Both bushes are of a different species (don't ask I don't know).

The freezer currently holds about five gallons of berries and this is not counting the ones we've eaten over the past month out of hand or on cereal and in cobbler, gallettes, clafoutis, in salads and even given some to the neighbors (but not too many!)

How do you deal with birds ? Netting ?

No netting.

No fertilizer

Water them fairly regularly during the warm/hot months.

That's it.

That sounds like darn good production from two bushes!!
Especially younger bushes!!

You say you "Cut down" the stunted bush. If you didn't dig up the root crown, it will produce new canes this year and will reinvigorate the bush. Don't mow that spot, and keep the water on it.
Some our best production has come 3-4 years after mowing the things down.

It's a common practice to get rid of a bad Phomopsis infection in a field. 3-4 years later, they are back to producing, and healthier than before.
It makes me wonder if the thing got a bad case of Phomopsis or Botrytis. Blueberry bushes grow well in partial light, and are commonly found wild at the edges of clearings in the shade.


If you don't Fertilize, consider amending a bit this year, based on tissue samples.
Fruit production relys on Ca and Mg, and the bushes absolutely hammer the soil during a heavy production year.
Soil samples taken in spring and fall show it clearly...even with fertilizer and Cal-Mag applied. It drives me nuts, because I can never get ahead, and the things will go from sufficient to deficient in just a couple seasons.

Got any pics of the fruit and leaves? I might be able to discern variety. Some are obvious.

No pics, sorry.

The offending bush was completely removed.

Picked the last of the berries about an hour ago.

Will give them a good dose of Ca and Mg for next year.

Hey bear!

Birds have had a good year from my blueberries, me not so much. I look at them almost every day and there are always only green or slightly red on the bush. As soon as they turn they disappear. Tried netting a few years ago which helped but king snakes were constantly getting stuck in the net along with the occasional squirrel.