Blueberry Planting where Blueberries Don't Grow

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on which blueberries to grow: Best two northern blueberries to grow - #11 by Chikn. I settled on three varieties from Raintree: Patriot, North Blue, and Aurora. These should be a good start to cover us throughout the season…early, mid, and late season.

Unfortunately, our soil here is not suitable for growing blueberies due to the high levels if calcium carbonate. I had the soil tested and this was confirmed. So, ammending the soil with sulfer would not be sufficient enough to offset the buffering capacity of the soil. I had two choices: planters or a raised bed. I chose both! Thanks to Drew here on GF I came up with some ideas…not exactly the mounded beds he uses, but close enough.

I potted the North Blue which was fairly straightforward. I used a 20 in plastic pot filled with peat moss. I feel that the bloob should be able to survive the winter in it.

The Patriot and Aurora were planted in a burried bed as opposed to a raised bed both for cost and asthetic purposes. I dug out a 6x3 bed about one foot deep. I then laied down black plastic sheeting to separate the soil from our native soil. I also framed the rectangle with cheap lumber. Then, I layered four inches of wood mulch followed be two bales of peat moss and two bags of compost, followed by a few more inches of wood mulch. Finally, I built a cage to keep deer, elk, birds, and rabbits out. Just for kicks, I also planted some strawberries to fill in the gaps.

I’m hoping this experiment all works out! It was a fun project that I wanted to share.

North Blue in pot:


Frame dug with plastic sheeting and mulch base:


Patriot and Aurora planted:

Wood frame with netting for protection:


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Looks good! Another way to protect the potted plant in winter is to bury the pot. The ground will keep it warm.

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How have your berries done? I’d love to know as I live in Utah and have failed at blueberries several times. Our water tends to be alkaline, so soil has to be constantly amended or our water will change its ph.

It was a rough first year for the three plants. I experienced a lot of dieback from all three, but the roots are doing and the bluberries are growing well. I’m thinking the dieback could have been from a combination of damage from a late season hail storm last year, and a substantial cold snap in late March of this year.

I also have alkaline water…city water report says the water has a pH of 8.2. This hasn’t seemed to have any effect on the plants so far. They all appear healthy. I think using the peat moss and an acid based fertilizer is keeping the soil pH in check. Also, avoiding any native soil is key due to it’s buffering capacity…not sure if yours is the same due to your location.

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@richard is also in an area where blueberries don’t grow, and he goes above and beyond to fix the pH of his water. See this post. I wonder if using miracid would work for your situation, or if you’d need to purify your tap water first?

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In locations that require irrigation, the pH of the irrigation water will set the soil pH. If you try to use Miracle Gro Miracid for that you’ll kill the plants by over fertilizing; i.e. the acid component is weak compared to the nutrient components.

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I agree Richard, the main nitrogen is Urea. Capt Jacks would be better that uses Ammonium Sulfate. I like it as it has trace elements besides P and K.

I use rainwater, and I use sulfur at times, I use pH testers and the like. Mine are in raised beds. Native soil is too basic, so is tap. Using rainwater, or battery acid in tap has worked for me. I have enough rainwater for my 9 plants. Rarely if ever use tap treated with sulfuric acid.
Mine are just flowering and leafing out now.

My plants are surrounded by strawberries, Pink Popcorn is ahead. Leaves are a little purple, it’s still cold. It is the smallest plant I have. It’s been raining a lot too, so a little yellow! This is a 2nd leaf plant. As you can see if cared for, they will grow a lot!

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Thanks for the update! Our local ag extension talks about the calcium carbonate in our soil, so I think I’m in the same boat as you. I’m trying to decide how ambitious I am.

I used Pine bark fines and peat moss 1-1, and also add diatomaceous earth the size of perlite. I use nothing else. I use bigger pine bark for mulch. Sometimes, not every year.
My strawberries in these beds, and all over are just exploding this year. They seem to enjoy the low pH too. These are Musk strawberries.

I also grow arctic raspberries as ground cover for the blueberries.

So just to be clear, blueberries will not grow in ground here, but I grow 6 in raised beds, and 3 in fabric root pouches. Which are left as is all winter. Here is Raz 2nd leaf.

Yields are very good in the raised beds

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Soil and water PH is too high here in the Austin, TX area to grow them in the ground so I have mine potted with mostly peat moss. I lose most of my berries every year to the birds.

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I planted blueberries in a raised bed filled with pine bark and peat moss mix. Just tested the mixture after a year, and it came back 6.9. Am I missing something here. Is there any explanation to why this mixture could be so close to neutral? Thanks!

What is the pH of the irrigation water?bb

No, makes no sense? Unless tap water, or compost was added. It has to be pine bark, not hard wood bark. Both peat and bark have a pH of 5.0 Why it would be almost 100 times more basic is beyond me? Add sulfur to get it back and wait another year.

I read somewhere that pine bark and pine needles lose their acidity rather quickly after being removed from the tree.

That could probably explain it. But something has to pull the hydrogens ions off the bark. They just don’t disappear. Something basic. The hydrogen ions had to go somewhere?

Here from a site that covers gold course maintenance

Soil pH. Long-term use of the same type of mulch may change the surface soil’s pH. Acidic mulches such as pine bark, pine needles and peat moss may have a pH of 3.5 to 4.5. When you apply them continually, they may, over several years, cause the surface soil to become too acidic. Acidic mulches such as pine needles are beneficial for maintaining the acidic conditions required by acid lovers such as rhododendrons and azaleas.

Doesn’t sound like they decrease!

Pretty much everywhere I look it says pine bark is extremely acidic.
The SF Gate articles are extremely good. Very impressive

I use a mix of both becasue I red a study where they used pine bark and peat alone and mixed together. The plants that did best were a 1 to 1 mix of the two. So tht is what I use. It has worked well for me.
I don’t have time. My peppers need to be planted out!
I’ll research more later.

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Thanks for the response bb, the irrigation water was the only other factor I could think of as well. I’m going to test it tonight. Thanks for your time.

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Thanks for all of the responses everybody, I really appreciate the help. I had done extensive reading on this matter as well, which included the info about pine needles and bark losing their acidity as they degrade after harvest. It just doesn’t explain the peat moss with its ph of 4 which made up half of the mix. Also, I was paranoid at the time, wanting to make sure I got the right bark without any hidden fillers from other trees. Even calling the bark companies to make sure. Thats the only thing I can think of besides the ph of the irrigation water. Maybe I was fed a line from the company providing the bark and it wasn’t completely pine? Its discouraging, especially given we’re in Michigan, one of the blueberry capitals of the world :frowning: I appreciate everybody’s time and help.
best,
Mac

Thanks for the response Drew51! No compost was added, and I was extra cautious about buying the the correct pine bark, unless the the company adds filler from other trees. Just added the sulfur last night :slight_smile: Thanks!

Hey don’t give up, not sure what happened? I hate that! At least you were right on top of it, good job!

Here is a link to what the Utah State University Ag extension recommends for Utah soil and water, which sounds similar to what some other people have.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1667&context=extension_curall