Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Eric Krewson on March 24, 2019, 01:45:11 pm
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My blueberry plants put out dozens of straight shoots every year that I have been cutting and throwing away. This year I decided to keep a few to see how they stack up as arrow shaft material. I have partially dried a few, scraped off the bark and put them on a spine tester, these things are stout. They are highly tapered from the big end of about 3/8" to a small end of less than 5/16". They spine out very high for the size with the above mentioned one coming in at about 75#.
The things are very wavy and will be difficult to get perfectly straight. after an initial straightening I put them in my drying box to make sure they are dry before I go any further.
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is this going to be a build along? or a test? if it is Im all ears! (-P
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Pie or cobbler? Ala mode? Mead? Sound like a very interesting experiment!
Hawkdancer
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Im watching this
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Eric, my sourwood shoot arrows are generally 3/8" to 5/16" for 30" arrows. They don't have to be perfectly straight as long as the point and nock line up and they spin true. Looking forward to seeing how the blueberry shoots work for arrows.
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Must be a different species of Blueberry than mine. Mine have no long straightish shoots. Darn ;)
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Im going to plant a hedge if blueberries here soon, Eric if you happen to know the variety, and if it will grow in eastern NC, id be interested in getting some to plant. Do they produce well?
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There are two main species of blueberries for home use; highbush for the north and rabbit eye for the south. The highbush is very prolific and great tasting but doesn't do well in summers where the temp may hit 100 degrees or stay hot for months. The rabbiteye varieties have a waxy leaf covering that prevents the hot weather from sucking the life out of the plant.
You need two different varieties for pollination, I have 3 or 4 rabbiteyes, don't remember all of them but know I have tifblue and climax plants. Some plants make tons of medium fruit, some make huge sized fruit but less of it. Different varieties ripen at different times so one may be coming in while the other is going out.
In planting you need to space them out at least 6' apart as they get pretty big. You will be lucky to get a 50% survival rate on your plants but once established they produce for 20+ years. Lots of youtube videos on planting blueberries.
My plants are huge, I tried to cut them back and did more harm than good. I was picking 70 qts off 6 plants at their prime. Lately I get almost none, the birds and the squirrels get them all. Lets say, I don't eat many blueberries but my squirrel consumption has gone up a good bit. Almost every squirrel I shoot out of my blueberry bushes goes to the freezer, in season or out of season, I feed them, they feed me.
On my initial planting I dug a huge hole for each plant and layered peat moss and topsoil to fill the hole, my plants really took off planted this way. Blueberry roots are very delicate and need the peat moss mix soft soil to expand and thrive. Lately I have been sticking replacement plants in the ground and they just sit there for years and never take off with new growth, my soil is very poor and hard as a rock. I have moved a sprout with roots from one bush and planted it, it has formed a fine bush. I have had little luck rooting cuttings.
A proper blueberry bush hole;
(https://i.imgur.com/Z2ia9ZP.jpg)
My patch about 15 years ago;
(https://i.imgur.com/ofAfsAy.jpg)
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As for the shoots, I have them dry and have been trying to straighten one, after heat and lots of tweaking it is still a bit of a snake but I have not given up. This stuff is as tough or possibly tougher than hickory, very dense.
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Eric, that read like a very well written article for Mother Earth. Thank you. You should consider writting articles for PA like this. I think most of us enjoy gardening.
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I did a bit of research on blueberries, and came up with the heirloom variety called "Rubel" that matures over 6', one of the oldest varieties cultivated. Pull up the extension service for your state and punch in blueberries to get good information. I will also check a variety I saw at Lowe's that is supposed to grow over 6'. Will post that later today, I hope. Got me fired up to try blueberries again!
Hawkdancer
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It's a high bush, if you have hot summers it won't work for you. I learned the hard way, I bought 6 highbush plants not knowing better, in three years they withered up and almost died I planted two that were living in the shade of my back yard and they grew but didn't produce over 6 blueberries a year. I finally mowed them down. I the bought rabbit eyes and made a productive patch.
Lowes sells a lot of high bush plants even here in N Alabama, you have to check and make sure.
If there are any blueberry farms near ask if they plant highbush or rabbit eye and follow their lead.
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I finally got one of my shoots straight with heat and an aluminum arrow straightener, I needed concentrated pressure for the little snaky places.
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I double checked the the cultivar, and it is "Jersey", apparently from the "Rubel". Supposedly 6' or so, when mature. The extension service at Colorado State University believes soil acidity, and winter protection along with water are the major factors in success. They recommend peat as the planting medium, and trickle watering. We do get hot summers, with low rainfall. Almost time to start working the garden. Can't do worse than failing to work! Will also try to find a couple rabbit eye cultivators to try
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My blueberry plants are 7' tall and would be taller if I didn't cut the tops out of them, rabbit eyes can get to 10' tall if unpruned.
You have zeroed in on highbush pants in spite of your growing conditions, good luck.
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Eric, as a side note- thats a very interesting shaft straightener.
i imagine that it works really well with heat and the applied pressure.
Did you build it?
do you have any other threads related to the little unit?
this far NW, anybody who plants Blue berries here- the bushes never get more than about 3' high.
i will ask what varieties they have here. Our soils are very acidic, around 5 to 5.5 PH, lots of rain, around plus 5c in the winters to max of 25c in the summers
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I'm going to check out the Rabbit eye varieties as well, and a couple of self pollinators. I'll re-read the CSU report and probably try a couple of the varieties they planted. As far as I know, that project is on going in Longmont.
Hawkdancer
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The shaft straighter is a standard aluminum arrow straightener from when people shot aluminum instead of carbon. It once had a dial indicator with a plunger to show minute bends in a shaft, I lost some of the tiny screws in the back of the dial indicator so I took it off. I got really good with it and could straighten almost any aluminum shaft back to perfect if I spent enough time.
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Apparently, there are some differences in the high-bush varieties. Some have a southern flair and others are better suited to cooler climates! Time will tell, and if I get berries, I will put nets over them! And maybe get a live trap to get around city ordinances!
Hawkdancer
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Good looking arrows Eric, should make some good ones with a little time and efforts, but that is what will make them special. :)
Pappy
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I have found these shoots taper too much from tip to tip, the nock end gets down to about 1/4" with the point end being 3/8" and they still spine out very high. The small end is pretty wimpy and easily bent.
I have one much thicker shoot that I am going to chuck up in my drill land sand down to be more even from end to end and see how that turns out.
I probably threw a dozen of these on my burn pile before I thought of making shafts from them. I will be more selective next year now that I know their characteristics.