The following Organic Spray Guide is a recommendation only and we shall not be held liable for plants failing to thrive. This is currently our preferred Spray Schedule and have had good results.
Keep in mind that when spraying, it is best to spray early in the morning, or late in the evening to prevent leaf burn. Early morning and late evening is also the optimal time for plants to take up nutrients. We hope this spray guide will help you as you raise your blueberry plants organically!
We often are trying new things, but as of 2023 this is our current organic Fertilizing/Fungicide/Insecticide schedule. Many of these products can be found at https://www.fertrell.com/ and some Fertrell Products we carry at our Farm. Please call us or email us at blueberrynurseryky@gmail.com for availability. The balance of the products can be shipped to you directly from Deerfield Supplies (270) 962-4722.
Winter
In Late February we have started using a dormant oil called Pure Spray Green. *It is important to use this at least two weeks before you put your Berry Mix Granular application down. It is not good to mix Pure Spray Green with Sulfur. As always, look to the label for directions. We like this dormant spray as it is much less likely to affect bees during a dormant time. We have found this useful against Aphids and other pests as it kills them at the larvae stage.
Spring
At Blossom show, and before they open, we apply Oxidate 2.0 or SporeQUELL. When leaves begin to sprout in March, we apply Berry Mix Granular around the base of each plant. We generally put 4-6 ounces per bush.
At this time, we also begin spraying Fungicide and Liquid Fertilizer.
We rotate each week using the following Fungicides: Regalia, SporeQuell, and Stargus. When spraying Regalia and Stargus we mix it with our liquid Fertilizer. However, we have found it best not to mix Oxidate 2.0 or SporeQuell with your fertilizer when you spray that product. We always look to the label of each of these products when trying to find out how many ounces per gallon of water they require for treatment.
The Fertilizers we like to use include: Fertrell’s Liquid #3, Worm Castings, Alfalfa Meal and CaluSolv Granular.
Since we have bees we generally don’t like to use insecticides. We incorporate Tritek at least once a month so that we don’t have aphid and other harmful pests bother the blueberry bushes.
Finally, if we notice any worms, caterpillars, etc. during this time, we will treat with DiPel ES.
Summer
We continue our weekly Fungicide and Fertilizer rotation. We also continue our monthly Tritek spraying.
During heavy berry loads it can be good to use sulfate of potash to help reduce stress on the blueberry bushes.
After the berry harvest is complete, we apply a granular application of Holly Care in August. We again use about 6 ounces per plant.
Fall
As things begin start heading towards dormancy we discontinue our Fertilizer, Fungicide, and Insecticide sprays around the end of September. After the first frost of Fall, we spray a combination of Alfalfa Meal, Cottonseed Meal and Fish Emulsion “Homemade Manure.”
We shall not be held liable for your plants failure to thrive when using this organic spray guide. It is important to always read the product labels and use ratios recommended.
For one acre, the granular fertilizers are about $550 per acre per year and the foliar sprays are about $350 per acre per year. So under this organic schedule you can expect to pay around $900 dollars a year.
There are always new things we are trying so we will try to keep you updated as we find new products that work great with blueberry plants.