Blueberry Confusion.

[BartJY]

Howdy,

I'm suffering from Blueberry Confusion!

I planted 4 blueberry plants according to what I found on youtube. The advice was to do a 50/50 mix of a potting mix and peat moss. Curiosity got the better of me, so I did ph testing on the 50/50 mix using a testing kit that received good reviews. After multiple tests, the results always seemed to be about 6.5. Because I read that blueberries need a ph of about 4.5 to 5.5 I added some organic acidifier to the 50/50 mix. Now I wonder if the ph test kit was any good. So here is the question. Is it standard knowledge that a 50/50 mix will produce the desired ph range and/or did I screw it up by adding an organic acidifier?

I no longer have any clue as to what I have done to my plants. Does your crystal ball tell you if my plants have to much, to little or just the right amount of ph?

Just call me confused
Bart

[imafan26]

read the label of the potting mix and the peat moss. If anywhere on the label it reads something like pH balanced, then lime was already added to it to bring the pH up to around pH 6-6.5

Addin soil acidifier (sulfur will raise the pH but it takes awhile, especially if this not in the ground since essentially it is the soil organisms that change pH. It is best not to over do it since soil organisms do not like wide swings in pH.

You could have added some vinegar to the mix to lower the pH but it can cause the same issues with the soil microbes and would only be a temporary fix. If you use acidic fertilizers it will make the soil more acidic over time as will the breakdown of the organic matter. 6.5 is not ideal but should still be o.k . for the blueberries. It will take a while for any sulfur to work. You usually should not try to change pH more than one point at a time.

[tomc]

There is no organic material that you can add that will permanently change PH. Even careful additions of sulfer will weaken in time.

[cruisin_psu]

I'm subscribing to this thread as well. My blueberry seems to have slown its growth/fruit is not ripening. The new leaves are very light colored. I tested my pH and am in the same boat as the OP with pH ~6.5. I also know my towns water is ~9+ pH. I added soil acidifying fertilizer and had cultivated some coffee grounds in - will recheck pH and report back. Lack of growth/ripening has me concerned though.

[Algida]

Probably repeating myself, but I tried with buried pots:



It seems that it does work. This way, I can better control the ph of the soil in the container. Select a bigger container, for allowing the plant to develop.
I'd probably have to change the soil every 3-4 yrs, since not using chemicals.