How to Start a Blueberry Farm - The Space, Soil and Water Requirements and Economics

Introduction
In the United States, blueberries are considered the second most important cultivated berry after strawberries. To start a blueberry farm could be a good long-term investment. Once established blueberry plants can be efficient for 25 years. To start a blueberry farm you must take a long-term view. Blueberries take about 7 years to reach full maturity and production. This means it takes a lot of investment, hard work and patience while it is being developed. however it can be rewarding in the long run. You can start getting some puny yield the third year of growth. The whole of yield will depend on the varieties selected. You will probably not see necessary blueberry yield until about the fourth year of growth.

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In starting a blueberry farm my guidance would be to first do research about growing blueberries, find the varieties that will do well in your area. Plant early, mid-season and late season ripening varieties to enlarge your time to harvest and sell blueberries. Give them fullness of space in in the middle of for air circulation by pruning them as needed. If you are planning to be a large market production, some varieties lend themselves good to machine harvest than others, chose varieties that ripening pretty much the same time for machine harvesting.

How to Start a Blueberry Farm - The Space, Soil and Water Requirements and Economics

Space, Soil and water requirements
Well drained soil rich in organic material is a necessity for good blueberry production.
Before starting growing blueberries it is necessary that you have your soil tested by the local extension aid to learn what amendments may be required. The soil for example must have a pH in the middle of 4.6 and 5.1. Blueberry plants will not grow adequately unless the pH requirements of the soil are met. Blueberries wish soils with good drainage and high organic matter. These two requirements can be met by adding organic matter to the soil and using raised beds to make sure there is good drainage. It is best to plant more than one cultivar to ensure good pollination and a continuous harvest of berries.
Also a source of water for irrigation is a requirement to grow blueberries commercially. You can expect to be able to grow adequate blueberries on 10 acres on suitable land once the plants have reached maturity make a livelihood. It is wise to start with a small whole of plants at first to go straight through a studying curve before starting with larger numbers of plants. You should start preparation you soil and killing weeds the year before planting.
Machinery Needed
Fixed machinery needed includes sprayers, rotary mowers, wagons, tractors, hedgers, trucks, spreaders, mulchers, harrows and rotary tiller
Plant selection and purchases
Usually two-year-old potted or bare-root plants are sold by nurseries are your best purchase. Older plants may give you a harvest sooner, but they are commonly not cost-effective because of their added charge and can be harder to establish. Younger plants must be grown in pots under nursery conditions before they can survive planting in the field so again are not commonly cost-effective. You want to grow varieties that will make good profit. Bluecrop, and blueray are two northern varieties that many use as their main plants. Bluegold is also a popular plant. In the south rabbiteyes such as Tifblue, Premier, Powder blue are popular money makers. Legacy, Misty, O'Neal and Ozarkblue are also popular with some growers. agree plants for your growing zone and plants with the flavor and keeping potential that suits you.
Economics of blue berry farming
The high first the start-up costs for blueberries is high, this is generally due to land preparation, labor costs and plant purchasing cost. However, after the plants reach maturity in roughly five to seven years, the profits should steadily increase. If you have puny funds you can start small, provide your own labor and hold your cost down while developing your farm.
In very broad normal terms for a mature ongoing blueberry operation about 50% to 65% of the sale price goes to pay expenses. For farms that sell as You-pick operation the expenses are lowest and can be only 35% of the sales. For sales to market and other markets the cost are higher. The longevity of a properly managed blueberry field is 15 to 30 years.
Establishing a blueberry planting requires a large investment of time and money. Based on a whole of assumptions, I estimate we spent preparation costs amounting to about ,000 per acre getting our plants growing. Before full yield is achieved in Year 7, in 2010 dollars you could spend well over 0,000 in cash to finance the preparation of a 10 acre blueberry operation.
Typically blueberry plants reach full yield in their 7th year after planting. The first year there is no production, the second you can expect about 1500 pounds per acre and then it grows exponentially till they reach full yield of colse to 6000 pounds per acre. The size of the harvest depends on many factors such as the blueberry variety, climate, health of the soil, water availability etc. Clearly you can see that the first three years are the toughest. You have made a huge investment and won't see any necessary return on it till the fourth year after planting.
Marketing
It is important to resolve the store before starting a blueberry farm.
If you are within about 40 miles of a large habitancy area u-pick is an selection to consider.
Marketing at farmers markets and sales directly to market is someone else alternative.
You can sell your blueberries as part of a society supported agriculture theory (Csa). This can give you a quarterly and steady market. It also provides an opportunity to build a connection with your customers.
Harvesting
The three traditional methods of harvesting are: 1) u-pick, 2) Farm hand picking and 3) machine picking. A u-pick or farm hand picking is most practical when first starting out with only a small whole of blueberry plants. It commonly requires at least 10 acres of blueberries before machine picking is cost effective.
How to Start a Blueberry Farm - The Space, Soil and Water Requirements and Economics .

Equipment for the Gardener - Make Your Life Easier And Save Time With The Right Tools

If you don't have a tool shed or room where you can keep your tools, as well as insecticides, fertilizers, stakes, paint, wire and other tool a well-prepared gardener should have, arrange to make some space ready in your garage, or build a locker in a angle of your breezeway or carport. As an additional one selection a tool shed could be added lean-to fashion to your stable or exterior wall.
There are basic tools everyone needs, including a metal shank spade or, even better, the easier-to-handle and extremely beneficial spading fork, and the small, handy planting shovel.

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Then, so you will have them when you need them, carry your steel shank hand trowel, hand fork and hand cultivator in a hand box, pail or basket,. An iron or bow rake is an additional one fundamental, of course, and so is a broom rake. A weed spud for hand dismissal of weeds is an additional one popular instrument, and a good pair of shears or hand pruners is indispensable. Other musts comprise your garden hose, watering can and wheelbarrow.

equipment for the Gardener - Make Your Life Easier And Save Time With The Right Tools

Not as vital but unquestionably beneficial are an edging sickle, lawn edger or grass-edging shears; pole-pruning shears, hedge shears and lopping shears. Also, a deep cultivator such as a potato hoe; a dibble for seedlings; a stapling gun; a pruning saw and soil sieves. For your hose, its nice to have a reel and perhaps a portable sprinkler. A wand for soaking the soil without getting water on the leaves is an additional one significant attachment.
The following may be luxuries, but they will help you do a pro job: a pressure sprayer, wheel hoe and cultivator, root feeder, spreader, soil-testing kit, garden tractor and lawn sweeper, or mechanical garden mower with mulching attachment, power rotary tiller, and, finally, an electric hotbed.
Power machines are unquestionably bringing about changes in gardening. For example, the mulching-mower allows you to mow the lawn in the usual way.
Grass and leaves are cut into small fragments and deposited beneath or to one side of the machine, where they sift down among the grass leaves and form a light, protective layer of mulch. This decomposes after a while, adding to the organic fertility of the lawn.
Other tool to have on hand that will help keep you from running to the store just when you want to be out working on the grounds, includes: garden line; a yardstick, a measuring cup and spoons, plant ties, stakes, labels; burlap or canvas, chicken wire, sand, peat moss, lime, plant foods, insecticides and other chemicals and, finally, you may want to have some pots and flats handy.
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