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Post by chuckie on Aug 18, 2019 9:47:55 GMT -6
I have two blueberry bushes in my back yard. I read where they love acidic soil so I save my coffee grounds and dump them around the plants on my way to the barn to feed the cows. They are doing so much better, putting out new growth since I have started doing this. The coffee grounds not only make the soil more acidic, but has nitrogen as well. Coffee grounds are great for certain shrubs in the flower beds. I have ferns growing around the house and all winter long I am dumping the grounds on those as well. They really take off fast when they come up. I have a rhododendron that I sprinkle around, that really put out a lot of new growth this year. So don't throw you coffee grounds in the garbage.
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Post by greybeard on Aug 18, 2019 10:20:44 GMT -6
Is it Rhododendron ponticum?
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Post by chuckie on Aug 18, 2019 13:00:30 GMT -6
Greybead, I had to look that up. It surely is a Rhododendron ponticum.
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Post by greybeard on Aug 18, 2019 14:12:58 GMT -6
I don't allow them on my place. Almost as invasive as chinese tallow........no one can have just one.
it also uses a form of chemical warfare – allelopathy.
Allelopathy is a mechanism whereby plants produce and release compounds which directly inhibit and suppress the growth of other plant species around them.
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Post by chuckie on Aug 18, 2019 14:46:13 GMT -6
I have just one and it has never spread. I see them in the mountains of Tennessee, and they cover the hillsides. But in West Tennessee, the conditions are not perfect for them to take hold. They grow as a single plant.
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Post by okie on Aug 18, 2019 14:47:02 GMT -6
Be careful with nitrogen this time of year. If you push plants that need chill hours this time of year they struggle to go dormant and the next years crop suffers.
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Post by okie on Aug 18, 2019 14:50:16 GMT -6
Rhododendron is a bad word for me. The pollen is semi toxic to bees and the honey is to humans. There was one in the yard when I bought this place and one of the first things I did was spray it.
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Post by greybeard on Aug 18, 2019 15:29:02 GMT -6
Castor (Ricinus communis) is another plant I won't allow here. The pods look pretty when they change colors and the beans are patterned intricately but the hull of the bean is incredibly toxic. The poison Ricin is made from those hulls.
There's no vaccine or antidote for ricin poisoning. Treatment is primarily supportive care.
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Post by chuckie on Aug 22, 2019 17:27:28 GMT -6
I did not know that Rhododendron were toxic to bees. Come to think of it, I have never seen anything visit the flowers. Toxic to bees is not good.
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Post by okie on Aug 23, 2019 8:12:36 GMT -6
I did not know that Rhododendron were toxic to bees. Come to think of it, I have never seen anything visit the flowers. Toxic to bees is not good. It would take a whole lot of them to make much of a difference. Bees will forage up to a mile and a half away and use the best sources first so one or two plants in that area are a drop in the bucket. When you have fifty hives sitting in one spot they tend to push a little harder and use everything there is to be had in the area and toxic plant's become more of an issue. |
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Post by chuckie on Aug 23, 2019 12:57:47 GMT -6
Okie, that makes sense.
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Post by chuckie on Apr 7, 2020 9:28:12 GMT -6
The Blueberries are growing and will have quite a few more berries than it did last year. This is the third year for them. Next year, they will make a better showing. I see the bumble bees all over them. I think the flower is too deep for honey bees. I do have a large holly tree that gives off the sweetest perfume that the honey bees cover as I walk by it each morning going to the barn and I always enjoy the sweetness of the air.
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Post by chuckie on Jun 3, 2021 8:34:50 GMT -6
Last fall, I put manure around the blueberries and they came up larger. Placed more manure around them before they put out and they grew more. They have grown a lot. This spring and early summer have not been the best for fruiting plants. The frost kept showing up long after the temps got really warm. It may have got some of the blueberries, but not enough to hurt the much.
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alex
Newbie
Posts: 10
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Post by alex on Jun 14, 2021 0:24:59 GMT -6
That's an interesting thought. I've never thought about it, and I've only used coffee grounds in the winter to sprinkle on the ground. Instead of salt and sand, because they are really bad for the earth. But this is the first time I've heard of it, and I want to try it.
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Post by chuckie on Jun 14, 2021 8:25:19 GMT -6
Hi Alex! What state are you in? I noticed that you stated you have a lot of sunshine. I hope you are in the South.
When I use the horse manure around the blueberries, it really makes them grow. I am noticing this year that there are new shoots running off from the main plant. I have never seen that before. The manure from the horses does have alfalfa in it, so it may be the reason it is causing the new shoots to form. Alfalfa has triacontanol that causes new basal growth in plants and it works great for plants that seem to be running out of steam. If the branches seem to be thinning out, be sure to sprinkle alfalfa pellets around the drip line of the plant and some toward the inside. I make an alfalfa tea at times that works well. But it can really make a bush fill out again. Odd how it causes new branches to form from the main stem.
The coffee grounds and the alfalfa pellets are a favorite of earthworms. It is amazing how they will come and pull the pellets and coffee grounds underneath. Anytime you have earthworms working the soil around your plants, it is a plus as they make their tunnels that allows water to go to the roots, and they are leaving their castings (worm manure) for the nutrient of the plant.
There is a lot of info about using Alfalfa pellets for fertilizer. I used it on roses for years and they did beautifully.
I know if I feed the worms around my favorite plants, then the plant will do well. I just have to think about the pH of what I am feeding.
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