Ready set Indigocrisp

[WillsC]

And they are off........planted today. A lot later than I like to plant them but they will get daily water so should be fine. Just to be safe I kept 4 in pots. Can't wait to try them but I will have to

[Blueboy1977]

Envious in Seabrook Tx!!!!!

[Gina]

When I click on the attachment, I see nothing.

Good luck with your Indigocrisps.

[WillsC]

Gina,

Think it is just you, I can see it on my phone as well as the computer.

[Gina]

I couldn't see the fertigation photo either. Tried both IE and Firefox. Nothing on either.

[Gina]

I just signed out and can see it fine. Logged in, it's gone.

edit. Just signed in with a test id and can see it fine. It's just as 'Gina' that there is a problem.

[WillsC]

Have no idea

[m5allen]

Sorry Wills if I am confused, but you buried them in pots or put them straight in the ground?

[WillsC]

Mike,

I put all but 4 straight in the ground, left 4 in pots just as insurance.

There was one of my ducks in that BB bed this morning, probably flew in......she and I had a discussion that went something like......you step on those plants with those big fat webbed feet of yours and I swear I will be picking your meat from my teeth before the sun goes down. She got the message. I need to clip their wings again especially with the BB about to start coming on.

[JD]

Aflac!

[m5allen]

Well that plant sure looks a lot better compared to when you first got them. I'll be interested to see how they grow for you this year. I sure hope you can taste some berries next year. Are you already giving them some ammonium sulfate?

[WillsC]

Yep they are getting fertilized every day but very very weakly. I hope to have them at 24" by fall. No berries next year, it will kill me but I will remove all the buds.

[m5allen]

Wills, that is some serious restraint, I couldn't wait that long. If you plants are 2 feet tall by fall, will ripening just a handful of berries in 2016 really slow them down that much?

[Gina]

Wills, that is some serious restraint, I couldn't wait that long. If you plants are 2 feet tall by fall, will ripening just a handful of berries in 2016 really slow them down that much?

Lol, I'm with you. If the plants looked healthy enough, I'd go for a few of the berries - if for no other reason than to taunt us on-lookers.

[WillsC]

Probably not but I have the patience of a saint But ok fine......I will leave a berry or 3 on one bush. I had taken all the flowers off the ravens but I missed a couple and man those berries are HUGE already and no where near ripe. Think by next week I will get the first pound of berries.

[fruitnut]

Shoot I fruit one yr old bushes almost every time. Up to 1 lb, maybe almost two. I have been known to kill a few and maybe that contributed. But most times they continue to grow and fruit. I've probably got 1/2 to 3/4 lb on one yr old Snowchaser right now and I've had much bigger one yr old plants than these.

[fruitnut]

Here's a one yr Snowchaser. It was very small a yr ago. I've removed about 1/3 of berries because I think this variety is stem blight susceptible.

[WillsC]

Steve,

There is small and then there is small......a month ago these Indigos were 2" tall, just the two starter leaves from the mother plant. What you are calling a 1 year old plant was probably a year old when you got it so in reality your 1 year old plant is two years old. On a plant I could order online and replace if I killed it I might take more of a risk but these are not easily replaceable and will be hard to get for, well if the university has it's way forever. They do have a known blight risk and letting a young plant fruit is just asking for trouble.

[fruitnut]

The FHN plants are a couple of shoots 6-8 inches long. They might be tissue culture plants, not cuttings. But I could be wrong there. They do grow off nicely if treated with care.

I hear you about Indigocrisp. Far more valuable than Snowchaser that I can replace anytime and probably isn't a keeper anyhow.

[Gina]

... I had taken all the flowers off the ravens but I missed a couple and man those berries are HUGE already and no where near ripe. ...

I was just looking at a young raven and noticed it is growing some new fresh flower buds. Upon initial planting 3 months ago, I had removed every single flower. And in retrospect I had regretted that. But now the plant is larger, growing extremely well, so I'm going to monitor the flowers and any set fruits and probably leave some on the plant. I do not have the patience of a saint.

[WillsC]

Gina,

With Raven it is not as much of a risk as they don't have the blight issues.

[Gina]

Ah, blight. That may be less of a concern out here. I've had a bit here and there, but not much. It never occurred to me it would affect young plants.

As for letting any your Indigos flower/fruit, that's not really something you have to decide for almost another year after you see how well they have done.

[fruitnut]

I can see a heavy crop on a young bush being an issue. But a light crop on a bush that's growing well, I can't see that being a concern. Isn't for me anyway. I'd leave a few on anything.

[m5allen]

Wills, please post some pics of your Raven berries if you can. Can't wait to see if they really are the monsters they are supposed to be.

Sucks I am in the 200-300 chill hours zone, because I would love to try Raven.

[Gina]

Raven is 300 chill hours. http://www.ffsp.net/varieties/blueberry/raven-fl05-627/

Even if you are a bit below recommended chill hours, that does not mean they won't grow and produce for you, it just means they may not grow and produce as well. You may get fewer berries, but that means nature has thinned them for you and they may be larger. And not all years are the same.

I think chill hours, especially on relatively new cultivars, can be still a bit fluid. The fact that they are always stated in 'hundreds' in stead of, say, 275, means (to me) they are not absolutes, but general guidelines. While relatively good indicators, I think they are far more important in selecting varieties for commercial growers who need reliable harvests every year.

I would guess my chill hours may be in the 100 range especially the past few years. My berry cut off line for trying a variety is 300 hours. Even that is flexible.