This 8 x 4 foot area has a neutral pH and is covered with turfgrass. It is in zone 5 - Iowa.

The only idea I can come up with is to collect and compost massive amounts of pine needles on the area. Does anyone know what kind of "mass" I am looking at here and how long it will take to break down and acidify the area? (For sustainability reasons I don't want to use peat moss.)

Do any herbaceous plants naturally acidify soil?

Another thing rattling around in my head is whether or not I should even do this. If the area is not acidic to begin with, it seems as if I should find an alternative berry bush that will thrive on the site as it is; i.e. "use onsite resources" and "make the least change for greatest effect".

Thanks!

Keep your plants' soil damp (and hopefully your undersoil is well drained).

I use a pH meter, and I find the original mix (which was made 10 years ago now), plus the yearly addition of sawdust mulch breaking down, tends to keep the pH on the acid side. But if the pH rises to around 6.0, I apply a light layer of sulfur powder. Then I re-test the soil in that spot after about 10 days, to make sure the pH is below 5.5.

Due to the constant breakdown process of the mulch, nitrogen tends to be bound up for a time - and you can have a nitrogen lag or deficit for your plants. So you may want to also annually add some nitrogenous material as a top dressing.

These days people are often more conscious of the "draw down" of peat bogs, as a semi-limited resource. I relied on sphagnum to drop the pH substantially. The use of pine needles as a soil mix ingredient might be a good option. Or maybe you could find enough natural acid soil somwhere, bring it home, and mix it in. Or you could try a more substantial addition of sulfur powder than I have used.

Good luck with the blues.

Joel

heavy mulching with pine needles should go a long way to achieving this for you or even using shredded pine bark will do the same, so maybe lay a heavy layer of pine needles then cover with shredded pine bark. you could when you dig the hole add the needles in the bottom of the hole so dig deep enough to allow for you to cover that material, then plant you plants.

len

I love oranges, too, but I will content myself with picking them while in Florida and otherwise being happy with pears, apples, peaches, etc. Some things aren't meant to grow in certain places.

Marcia, lazy gardener

For one thing, it is possible to effect the drop in pH (i.e., to acidify) a neutral soil to where blueberries will grow successfully, in very many cases. My experience proves that. Starting with a neutral soil (as I described), I got a very small crop of berries after one year, but it has pretty well doubled in volume each year thereafter. After planting, the amount of work I have put in has never been terribly much. I did have to replace a couple of weak plants in my first few years. I happen to love blueberries, so to me the berries are worth the "work."

If you can keep your berry patch damp, and if it has a soil (an undersoil) that is well drained, there doesn't seem to me to be a reason why blueberries would not work out.

Joel

James

Everyone mentioned pine needles and pine bark as helping to make a soil acidic for blueberries, what about cedar? Are there any drawbacks to using it that I should know about?

Eric in Japan

I have now re-potted the plants in an rich organic acid-loving potting mix with some coco-peat. The PH of the soil ranges between 4.5 to 4.8.

One plant (sunshine blue) has nice dark green leaves with some. The other plant (also sunshine blue) seems to have some burnt bud tips but I think this had to do with the earlier potting soil.

I have 4 other plants (2 sunshine blue and 2 misty), They are producing a lot of leaves and the new leaves are now a darker green as opposed to the lighter green older leaves. So my guess is the plants are liking the potting soil. The problem is that I see no flower buds on these plants. I don't know what the problem could be? I have looked for diseases but nothing. Last week the leaves were curling up but after transplanting the leaves are looking healthier. However the leaf texture is different from the other 2 sunshine blue plants I received. The leaves are not a deep dark green and they aren't as sturdy as the other plants.

Any help or suggestions would really be appreciated.

Also, it has to be the right time of year for flowering.

I have noticed that some of the blueberry plants have stems with a fuzzy texture to it? I am not sure if they are supposed to be like that. I have two other plants of the same variety which don't have similar stems.

Also because of the PH of the water the PH of the soil is above 5.0. How do I keep the PH below 5.0 without overfertilizing. I can't seem to get elemental sulphur or peat moss anywhere in my area. I have ordered elemental sulphur which should be here in about 4 weeks.

I have access to ammonium sulphate as well as cottonseed meal. But again I don't want to overfertilize. Any suggestions?

Thanks

I just bought some sulphur powder from an industrial chemical factory. I was wondering how much would I add to my plants and do I sprinkle it on the top or do I burry it deep in the pot. Thanks

My patch of 40 bushes has pH ranging from 4.5-6.5 and all bushes are doing well and are full of berries at this time. I spread about a handful of agricultural sulfur around each plant every three years. Am now searching for large wood chip chunks (not shredded) to add to the sawdust mulch. I try to spray the plants with Calcium 26 every few weeks, after the berries form and before they ripen.

One NAFEX fellow in CO raises his blueberries in a giant bag of peat. Pic may still be on the web.

With a 4x8 plot, you could easily make a raised bed and have delicious berries by 2010 if you plant now.

Welcome to the blue addiction!