Nyboy
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I am going to put in a raised bed for blue berries. I know they need acid soil , what should I add to soil as I fill the beds?
Acid Soil
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catjac1975
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I would think your soil is already acid being in the north east. You can add pine needles or wood chips. There is fertilizer for acid loving plants. I do nothing to my blueberry for the most part.
thistlebloom
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I agree with Cat. You shouldn't need to do anything to your soil.
Blueberries have shallow roots so you'll want to mulch them.
Blueberries have shallow roots so you'll want to mulch them.
TheSeedObsesser
Deeply Rooted
Definitely test the soil's pH before you start, and after if you really need to amend it.
At our last house we made a bed for blueberries and assumed that we needed to make the soil more acidic before planting somehow, we didn't test the soil before we planted. We added loads of well-composted pine needles to the bed, got the soil tested a week or so later, and it had an alkalinity of 8. Pine needles are supposed to make things more alkaline.
At our last house we made a bed for blueberries and assumed that we needed to make the soil more acidic before planting somehow, we didn't test the soil before we planted. We added loads of well-composted pine needles to the bed, got the soil tested a week or so later, and it had an alkalinity of 8. Pine needles are supposed to make things more alkaline.
bobm
Garden Master
Go to or Google fallcreeknursery.com ... they are the world's leading wholesale blueberry nursery based in Oregon. They have very good information for commercial as well as home growing blueberry information that I have seen. They do not sell directly to the public, however I bought 10 blueberry plants ( directly from his truck load shipment of 3,000 1 gal. plants ) from a nursery distributor that services the public as well as commercial growers. Have fun !
journey11
Garden Master
This is what I use on mine:
Do test your soil first. You are aiming for a pH around 4.5 to 5.5. It will tell you how much to add to raise it by a point on the back of the bag. My clay soil runs acidic, but I still need to lower it a bit for blueberries. Working in some sphagnum peat moss is also a good thing to do, since blueberries really like a lot of humus to their soil and it also gently lowers pH.
Do test your soil first. You are aiming for a pH around 4.5 to 5.5. It will tell you how much to add to raise it by a point on the back of the bag. My clay soil runs acidic, but I still need to lower it a bit for blueberries. Working in some sphagnum peat moss is also a good thing to do, since blueberries really like a lot of humus to their soil and it also gently lowers pH.
thistlebloom
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I got an entirely different perspective on this topic last Tuesday.
It was kind of an eye opener to me.
My MG class was taught that day by a blueberry farmer up north of me.
He's been successfully growing and selling blueberries for going on 22 years, and he opens up some of his fields every summer for U-pick.
What was eye opening to me was his discussion on soil acidity.
Something I was particularly interested in hearing explained by someone whose business would seem to be dependent on getting it right.
I have had difficulty growing healthy blueberries and always blamed it on the pH of my soil. Not necessarily a problem evidently.
He related that when he had his soil tested before he planted any blueberry shrubs it was up close to 7 and the Ag. Extension advised him on methods to lower it, which he did. When it was tested again it was closer to 6.5, still much higher than we are told blueberries are happy at.
And yet there he is. A very successful blueberry grower. He sells over 70,000 pounds of berries every year.
His take was that a low pH isn't as critical as we think. He said getting the watering right is more important in his opinion, since they are so shallow rooted.
One thing he did say which was directly related to my bb failure was that they don't like being moved. I moved mine 3 times before I settled on what I thought would be their permanent location, and they sulked every time. The cumulative sulking after 3 moves was more than I could take and I pulled them out. Now I think if I had been more patient they would have turned the corner and established themselves.
I was surprised to learn of their longevity too. He has a neighbor who has some blueberry shrubs his grandpa planted 80 years ago.
It was kind of an eye opener to me.
My MG class was taught that day by a blueberry farmer up north of me.
He's been successfully growing and selling blueberries for going on 22 years, and he opens up some of his fields every summer for U-pick.
What was eye opening to me was his discussion on soil acidity.
Something I was particularly interested in hearing explained by someone whose business would seem to be dependent on getting it right.
I have had difficulty growing healthy blueberries and always blamed it on the pH of my soil. Not necessarily a problem evidently.
He related that when he had his soil tested before he planted any blueberry shrubs it was up close to 7 and the Ag. Extension advised him on methods to lower it, which he did. When it was tested again it was closer to 6.5, still much higher than we are told blueberries are happy at.
And yet there he is. A very successful blueberry grower. He sells over 70,000 pounds of berries every year.
His take was that a low pH isn't as critical as we think. He said getting the watering right is more important in his opinion, since they are so shallow rooted.
One thing he did say which was directly related to my bb failure was that they don't like being moved. I moved mine 3 times before I settled on what I thought would be their permanent location, and they sulked every time. The cumulative sulking after 3 moves was more than I could take and I pulled them out. Now I think if I had been more patient they would have turned the corner and established themselves.
I was surprised to learn of their longevity too. He has a neighbor who has some blueberry shrubs his grandpa planted 80 years ago.
journey11
Garden Master
We've got one on my dad's farm that is somewhere around 50 years old. It has petered out and doesn't produce well anymore for some reason.
Yes, lots of mulch for those roots!
Yes, lots of mulch for those roots!
thistlebloom
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Has it been pruned much? The fruiting stems only produce for two years so it's important to keep them pruned so there's new wood growing every year.
journey11
Garden Master
I don't think my dad does anything with it. I'm sure it's been completely neglected.
