We had some tough choices when it came to our land and what we were going to grow. The best spot in terms of sun had no soil (the previous owners pushed the top soil onto the adjacent land and put in a gravel riding ring). The best spot for soil was completely treed and at the back of our property. It was going to cost the same to prepare both spots so we decided to bring in the soil rather than cut down trees.

Our next step was to prepare the field for the soil. Because the ground was hard packed from years of horse riding, covered in gravel and only a few inches up from the hard pan we brought in a machine to claw up the ground and then had a front end loader with a rock sifter go through the field and take out the larger rocks.

After that we were ready for our soil. It was peaty, black, acidic soil. Exactly what we needed for our future bushes. We paid for a soil test to be sure it had all the essential elements and then bit the bullet and ordered 10 truckloads. I won’t tell you how much it cost (mostly trucking fees) but I will say these berries better produce!

We laid out 15 one foot high mounds with 10 feet between the rows and when that was done we ordered our blueberry plants.