What determines if your berries are sweet?

[Darkman]

I'm picking my first berries this season. They are Austin. They have good size and flavor but are not real sweet. What can I do to have sweeter berries. Last years seemed sweeter. They have been fertilized with acid loving plant fertilizer are on irrigation in full sun with heavy leaf mulch for constant moisture to roots.

[WillsC]

Let them hang longer.

[Darkman]

The Austins I picked yesterday could hang no longer. In fact if you bumped them they would drop. Completely colored and full size. They just aren't as sweet as I think they should be. Is there anything else?

For those of you growing Austin are they normally sweet?

[Harborseal]

Stevia helps Wills got the low hanging fruit, so to speak. That was my first thought, also.

Have you measured your soil pH? What kind of leaves are in the mulch? Is your fertilizer for azaleas or BBs? Check it for muriate of potash and potassium chloride. If it has those throw it on something else and get something designed for BBs. There's nothing available for me locally but I found this on Amazon and it seems to have helped some baby blues that were struggling before I added it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[fruitnut]

Pruning/thinning, ie crop load, can have an effect. Some just set too much fruit and berry quality can be reduced as a result. And others can leaf out poorly or late if low on chilling.

[Darkman]

Fruit set is a mixed bag with some heavy and others light but all Austin.

They seem do have good growing conditions. Maybe next year.

I am going to send in a soil sample just to make sure everything is in balance.

I am finding out that growing fruits on general is a lot like a trip to a casino!