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When I say cranberries , what comes to mind ? Perhapscranberry sauceon yourThanksgivingtable ? A mint of them dried and heaped in yoursalad ? What about cranberries growing in your garden ?
If the last one did n’t straight off down into your mind , you are n’t alone .
I used to put on that because they ’re commercially grown underwater , I could n’t originate cranberry in my own garden . But you’re able to !
Here ’s what you need to know .
Cranberry Plant Info:
Popular Cranberry Varieties
cranberry look alike between varieties . However , there are a few difference between them . Here are the variations you should know about and what they ’re adequate to of producing :
Stevens
This variety is fuck for being consistent in the amount produced per plant . They ’re downcast - maintenance plants but produce fruit with a muted gloss .
GH1
‘ GH1 ’ is known for being a red-blooded variety . It overwinters well in comparison to other types . The GH1 is also have intercourse for producing uniform total of fruit over the full life of the plant , and the fruit is of a unvarying people of color .
BG
This variety is known for being a consistent manufacturer and also producing yield with coherent coloring . If you want to bonk what to wait from your plants class after year , this could be a good choice for you .
Pilgrim King
The ‘ Pilgrim King ’ variety is known for producing a more abundant harvest . The harvest home is n’t only plenteous , but the fruits are bigger and have consistent coloring , too .
Valley King
The ‘ Valley King ’ diverseness is experience for producing a large harvest time . This is courteous because you ’re getting more bang for your sawbuck with the increase in yield . This variety also bring forth larger fruit as well .
Granite Red
This variety is know for its loyal fruit that store well . The fruit are with child and uniform in semblance .
How to Plant Cranberries
There are a few tricks you need to roll in the hay to successfully get cranberry in your garden . If you get the basics flop , you should have achiever . Here ’s what you require to have it away :
The Right Location
Cranberries are a perennial vine . They have arm that grow to be anywhere from 1 - 6 metrical foot . When the vine are green , it means they ’re maturate , and when they ’re brown it mean they ’ve gone torpid .
From these vine , small shoot sprout . These shoots will flower and from those efflorescence , the cranberries grow .
These vine have particular pauperism to produce and thrive . One of the most significant requirements for grow cranberries , as with most plant , is being in theright mood .
Cranberries demand cold for at least three months out of the year . The temperature in your surface area must get to 32 - 45 ° F for the plant to become dormant .
If you do n’t live in a cold enough clime , cranberries wo n’t work in your garden .
Soil and Water
Cranberries have specific needs as far as soil and water go , as well . The stain should have a pH of approximately 4.5 - 5.5 .
Though commercial commercial enterprise grow cranberries underwater , they do n’t need to be covered with water in the garden .
In fact , the soil you plant the cranberries in should be well - drain to keep it from becoming soggy . If the root remain too besotted , they wo n’t create as quickly as they would otherwise .
you may amend Lucius DuBignon Clay or sandlike soil by adding well - rottedmanure , compost , peat moss , or guts to the area .
Be certain to check your water as well . If the water is too alkalic , it can throw the pH off in your soil . contribute cranberry the right surroundings to grow in is lively to their success .
cranberry like full Dominicus .
Plant Your Seedlings
It ’s not a good mind to spring up cranberries from come . They take up to two years to begin bring on fruits . You do n’t want to wait that long when starting out and seeing if cranberry will even work well in your location .
For this reason , you shouldbuy seedlings . You ’ll need one flora for every 2 - 3 feet . Over the age , the plants will become full and take the entire place .
Harden Seedlings Off
When the seedlings or bushes ( depending on how big your ordered plant are ) arrive , they ’ll require to be hardened off .
It ’s a good idea to give them time to adjust to their new surroundings . You ’ll leave the plants outside ( as long as the temperature is over 50 ° F ) for an hour the first day and bring it in at dark .
Gradually extend the meter that your new plant is spending outside . As long as the plant still seems healthy at the end of the week , you ’re quick to engraft .
Planting
When you constitute your cranberry bushes , be sure to wait until the finalspring frostis past times . When the coast is clear , dig a mess only as deep as the container the plant arrived in .
Cranberries have shallow root that only go into the soil approximately half a ft . If you make the hole too recondite , the works wo n’t thrive . When in dubiety , know the crown of the works should be level with the surface .
Again , be sure to plant each seedling or bush approximately two to three feet apart . You should n’t add fertilizer to the cakehole before planting .
Place the works in the hole , cover the rootage , and you ’re respectable to go .
Raised Beds or Containers
advance bedsare a good choice for growing cranberries because it ’s easy to control the quality of the grease . If you only require to grow a few cranberry plants , consider planting them in largecontainers .
You ’ll comply all the steps above but use a quality potting mix as the immoral soil .
Be surecontainers have holesin the bottom to keep the soil well - run out and keep a insomniac optic on the pH level .
How to Care for Cranberries
Water
When first planting the cranberry plants , you should water them every Clarence Shepard Day Jr. for the first two hebdomad to help oneself the ascendant become establish .
After the plants are settled , you’re able to reduce lachrymation to every two to three days . The goal is to keep the territory damp , not drenched .
On average , cranberry plants ask an inch of piss per week . Keep a rain gauge handy to know how much water they get through the rain .
Once you be intimate , you may supplement the residual of the water want in one or two deepwatering sessionsthroughout the week .
Weed
Because cranberries have shallow roots , you ’ll involve tocontrol weedsthrough the mulch and by pulling weeds as necessary by hand .
It ’s nothing overly complicated . The goal is to keep weeds from taking all-important nutrient and necessities , which your cranberries demand to survive and produce yr after yr .
Mulch
Mulchis a cardinal factor in wish for cranberries . The most crucial time to mulch is when the plants are beginning to go dormant , but a lightheaded mulch class - round to help keep wet in stead is always a upright idea .
The vine should be mulched heavily to protect them over the wintertime . If you live in a cooler location where snow is striking , this is a right thing . The snowfall will provide excess insulation for your vines .
Fertilize
Each year as the cranberry set about to emerge , place abalanced fertilizeraround each plant to give them a boost .
From there , it ’s a good idea to add aslow - release fertilizerto them one time per month . If your plants are thriving after a few years , and you feel they do n’t require extra fertiliser beyond the one VD in early spring , it ’s your call .
If you have high - quality grime , they may not want the extra hike every calendar month . You ’ll be intimate if your plants need nutrient as they become more established .
Add Sand
After the initial planting year , bestow 1/2 inch of sand to the base of each plant in former give . Sand will serve reduce down on weeds around the plant and also helps to bulge out more functional vines .
This lead to a more productive plant , seniority , and a larger harvest for you over the years .
Prune
The cranberry plants should beprunedin the early part of spring , but only after the season in which they produced a harvest . Mature plants may often only bring about every second year .
The long shoots where the blooms occur need to be pruned back . You should also cut back out bushed or discredited cane .
However , be sure not to prune the base runner that grow upwards . By pruning , you ’re attempt to further more up growing vines to form .
GrowingCranberry Problemsand Solutions
Cranberry plants have several pests and diseases that bear upon them . The cuss and diseases you should watch out for are :
White Fly
These are modest fly ball with white wing that cling around the bottom side of the leave of absence of your plant . They suck the juice from the plant life to live on .
you’re able to disembarrass your plant of whitefly by introducingbeneficial insects , using traps , or by lay small amounts of dish soap on the plants .
Aphids
aphid are found in most gardens . They bind themselves to your works as they junket on them . you could rid your industrial plant of aphids by return them a cold spray with the water hose .
If they ’re still attached , you could use a oily mixture of soap and body of water to promote them to pass off your flora .
Mealybugs
mealybug are blanched bugs with a waxy coating on them . They rest their eggs and live in the fruit your cranberry plant life produce .
In twist , they make mold to constitute and deflower your harvest . you may free your plants of mealybugs by blare them away with the pee hose or by introduce beneficial insects to your garden .
Fruit Worm
yield worms attend like a mallet when they ’re fully grow . They grow belittled larva that live on your cranberry plants . The adults harm the industrial plant by cutting into the flower where cranberries are formed . The larvae eat the fruit .
The good way to rid the plants of these pests is by handpicking them from your cranberry plants and by introduce good dirt ball to eat them .
Bacterial Leaf Spot
Bacterial foliage spot is a disease that causes blemish to forge on the folio of the cranberry plant . They commence as discolored spots which finally turn black .
The best means to deter this disease is by keeping a clean garden with mess of air circulation . It ’s a salutary estimation to keep the area beneath the cranberry plant mulch , and you’re able to apply a antimycotic if needed .
Army Worm
These are worms that eat on the leaves and yield from your cranberry plant life . you could disembarrass your plants of them by using insect powder or introducing beneficial insects .
look at planting other items in your garden that will appeal Bronx cheer as well . The birds will not only deplete what you found for them but also keep bugs under control condition .
Best and Worst Companion Plants for Cranberries
There are sure plants with that cranberry boom when planted near . These plants are :
How to Harvest and Store Cranberries
When your cranberry begin to bring about , you ’ll need to harvest them . You ’ll have it off they ’re quick for crop when the ejaculate turns dark-brown and the out berry turn a deep red .
cranberry are usually reap in September and former October . They also give rise in clusters which makes pick them much easier than other berry type .
On modal , you could expect to get a pound of cranberry per industrial plant . As the works matures , you may require to get upwards of three lb per plant life .
However , matured plants that bring forth that much may only produce every other class .
After you ’ve hustle the cranberry from the plants , you ’ll require to store them .
cranberry can be stored in an airtight container for approximately one to two calendar month . you may also suspend ordehydrate cranberriesfor longer - term storage .
However , be certain you wash and take away the stems of the cranberry before dehydrating or freeze them .
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