How to acidify the soil for blueberries, our three experiences
We have not grown blueberries before, but the eldest daughter (she lives separately) wanted to plant her. I was attracted by the fact that the berries are super healthy, expensive, and few people grow them here.
What we learned first
Blueberries love acidic soils, with a pH of 3.5-4.5. More precisely, this acidity is needed by mycorrhizal fungi, which help blueberries to assimilate nutrients.
And mineral fertilizers are not suitable for her. Ordinary organic matter and classical humus are contraindicated.
Therefore, when planting, it is necessary to provide the blueberries with acidic soil and not feed them, and then acidify and feed them with special fertilizers every year.
It is important that you choose not less than 2, but better 3 varieties of blueberry blooming at the same timeso that there is cross-pollination, otherwise there will be no berries.
With this basic knowledge, we planted blueberries last year.
The third experience is the most successful.
Our experience # 1
- When planting in September, soil (pH about 5.5) was mixed with acidic high-moor peat 3: 1 (1 part of peat and three soils). Blueberries were planted in this mixture. Of course, watered moderately, this is important.
- All leaves after transplantation almost immediately turned red. Have read that insufficiently acidic soil may be the cause. They began to pour vinegar, 100 ml of 9% vinegar per bucket. There was no effect. Then I learned that vinegar acidifies for a very short time, and then, on the contrary, alkalizes the soil.
- The air temperature was low, this could also affect the color of the leaves, because in the fall they are supposed to blush.
- Since spring, they have been watered with fertilizers "For Blueberries" from Leroy Merlin, the bushes have become green and cheerful.
- They did nothing else.
And then my daughter started a reorganization, demolition of a barn, etc. Therefore, the bushes moved to us, there was still lingonberry with them. It turned out a second, completely different experience with transplantation and acidification.
Experience number 2
At the new location, we selected a piece of virgin soil for the blueberries, with a pH of about 5.5. There was no time, they were hastily planted in pre-prepared holes. Just with a clod of earth. Dug - in a bag - brought - dug in - watered. And then they watered little by little almost every day.
I reasoned like this: it won't start growing right away, there is acidic soil in a coma of earth for a start, and then we will acidify it.
Soon after planting, I mulched the bushes with sour high-moor peat.
The leaves turned red much more than that of the new daughter blueberry (it turned out as a control, we did not know how it should be).
Then I sprinkled it with organic fertilizer "For blueberries", which acidifies the soil well, and on top again with sour peat. The bushes stand with reddening, but not quite, leaves, there are few green ones. And October is warm! This means that the soil is not to their taste yet.
The consolation is that last year the first blueberry looked worse or the same. And the good news is that the lingonberry bush bloomed with such courting:
Experience number 3
This time my daughter decided to plant blueberries, and at the same time blueberries according to all the rules. The result is incomparably better.
She is a month later:
The soil for planting was mixed with high-moor peat, as well as September (completely rotted) coniferous litter, sand, in approximately equal proportions. Gone: a bag (50 l) of peat, a bag of litter and a bag of sand for 8 bushes. Watered and then watered frequently. It was September 9th.
I also put a little ABA “2-3 years” fertilizer under the roots of each bush.
A month after planting, the bushes look very good:
It was:
She is a month later:
We will also mulch them with coniferous litter, we brought 4 bags from the forest.
My findings
The main positive role was played by coniferous litter from the forest. As far as I understood, he was with the mycorrhizal fungi necessary for blueberries, plus he managed to slightly acidify the earth.
In general, I am afraid of forest humus and litter, diseases can be brought in. But we were lucky!
What else am I going to acidify the earth with, and this should be done annually
- Colloidal sulfur or Tiovit Jet (add to water for irrigation)
- Again mulch sour peat and coniferous litter
- The same organic and mineral fertilizers specially "For blueberries".
There are other options, such as sulfuric acid. But somehow I don’t want to really do it.
So, we learned how to plant blueberries and acidify the soil correctly, now we will wait for the fruits.
How do you acidify the ground for blueberries?
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