Project: Protect the Blueberries!

June 18/12

The blueberry bushes are loaded with berries. Finally, a crop that is going to produce something this year. (No apples, no cherries, no strawberries, no plums, no pears—and I don’t think we are going to get any grapes either for some reason). So my supply of fruit is relying on the blueberries.

For the past week or two I’ve been saying that we need to put up the framework for the netting. Since tomorrow is golfing day I declared that today is blueberry netting day! :D

• put 8 t-bar posts in the ground, in groups of two, spread out along the row of blueberries
• create a hoop from 1.5” pvc pipe (sorry environment) joining the t-bars
• spread the netting over top
• smile at the birds

• how high do we put the posts, ensuring that the netting touches the ground?
• how wide is the netting?
• how to finish the ends so that the birds can’t get in?

• I have two nets: 1) I think I ordered from Lee Valley and 2) I picked up at Lee Valley on the discount table; #2 appeared to be longer so we chose that one to work with.
• we put the 6’ posts in the ground two feet, making then 4’ high
• we cut the pipe into 8’ lengths and slid the ends over top of the posts
• we spread the net over top … hmmmm our estimation was off and the net, although long enough, did not reach the ground
• contemplated options…
• decided to join the two nets along the middle
• turns out that net #1 is wider and, although not as long, covered the entire area with enough to sit on the ground on each side
• removed the #2 net (which is now a tangle of bindweed vines, but they should die off before I use the netting again)
• tied a rope from one end to the other so that the netting doesn’t sag in between posts

• it’s very important to keep the net from touching the bushes as they get all tangled up and rip off the berries so we will be buying 6 more posts and enough pvc to make 3 more hoops, in between those already installed.

The Benefits
1. the birds can’t get inside the netting and eat my berries. Yippee
2. I can easily get inside the netting to pick (and eat) the berries. (Last year we just had some wooden stakes in the ground the netting just cleared the bushes… kind of… it was a horrible job trying to reach through the netting that kept getting caught in the branches as well as on my fingers, rings, and shoes…
3. next spring we should be able to rig up the netting from the south side of this set-up to the outside fencing, which will then protect the haskap berries which are also located in this area.

Big Thanks To Rick
It was pretty hot and humid out there this morning and we took a few breaks but Rick was melting. But he struggled through—and he doesn’t even like blueberries! What a guy.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)