Hicks plant 13,000 blueberries

By Carrie A. Mizell

Most 20-somethings don’t think twice about their retirement years, but Ronnie and Shelly Hicks are anything but typical.
The young couple, who will celebrate four years of marriage in August, planted 13,000 blueberry plants on eight acres near their Gilchrist County home last week. One day they hope to retire from their day jobs, and they think growing and selling blueberries may fund their retirement.

“In the next five years we hope to have 30 acres of blueberries, if everything goes well,” Ronnie explained.
It will be two to three years before the plants produce berries, but the Hicks are just delighted to see the plants finally in the ground.
“We started putting the pipe in back in January,” Ronnie explained. “And we started planting on Thursday, so it’s been a long time coming. We’ve really been working on doing this for about two years.”
The Hicks have planted four different varieties of Southern Highbush blueberries. According to Ronnie, every fourth row is the same, so the varieties will cross-pollinate. Initially the soil the blueberries are planted in was rotavated with pine bark to prepare it for planting. Hicks also put down ground cover for weed protection and drip irrigation. Pipes are strategically placed throughout the field and act as sprinklers simulating rain that according to Hicks acts as overhead frost protection.
Before planting eight acres, Ronnie and Shelly planted a small test area of 600 mature plants behind their house in January 2010. The blueberries flourished and the Hicks have sold quite a few berries this year.
“I just made blueberry jam last week for the first time!” said Shelly, who works as a nurse at North Florida Regional Medical Center. Like Shelly, Ronnie has a day job running a seal coating and striping business.
“These blueberries seem more like a hobby than work,” Ronnie said.
For more information, call Ronnie or Shelly at (352) 318-3287 and (352) 535-5479.