Drew, I use your soil recipe for blueberries. I think we can all agree, the problem is my limestone caps which I will seal as soon as weather permits (it’s 23 degrees). Next I need to figure out exactly what I will add and be super careful not to add too much sulfur! Than you for all your endless support Drew! Happy Thanksgiving! CC
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I assume it is pelletized sulfur which works but make sure you follow the instructions. If the ingredients are something different, post it.
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Hollytone and the Espoma product are both expensive. But they are mild and you can’t hurt acid-loving plants by using either. (Just your budget.)
I do have a bag of Hollytone sitting unopened…I had ordered a 40 pound bag of some other product this year of organic fertilizer having trace elements…maybe it AM Leonard, I forget.
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That product is not that high in sulfur. Gypsum is neutral but a great source of calcium. Use it, but when gone use pure sulfur
AM Léonard rocks, I think we have free shipping right now.
Yes Espoma products are expensive Walmart has end of year sales on it. I think I missed it again though! I didn’t see anything at AML, I’ll look again. I really would like an alternative. I buy all my fertilizer from AML except acid loving. I add trace with Hollytone and Peters acid loving fertilizer, also expensive! But does have trace elements.
On raised beds, I elevate plant when I move it to a raised bed. Over time as the planting medium composts the plant sinks. Look at these two blueberries, one to the left was elevated when planted. The one on the right was not.
I’m now transitioning my beds to metal. Well I’m about to, I have two new metal beds to replace two existing beds.
My native soil is 6.5 and I tried using it but the plants were not happy. Raised beds has worked very well for me, and the plants are happy.
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I really don’t think you need so much different input. Really, sulfur is what most of us use to acidify and the gypsum is neutral and apparently used as a carrier. I buy straight sulfur, but if you follow directions your product should work as well. The main use of gypsum is to loosen up sodic clays of the type found sometimes in the west.
Some people like the idea of organic fertilizers, but all you need to know about blueberries is to stay away from nitrate and stick to ammonium sources. The cheapest in that realm easily available is urea.
Harder to find is time release urea which is easier to use and harder to fatally misuse. If you mulch your plants with natural shredded or chipped wood, that in combination with urea and what’s in any native soil if, you are including that, should fulfill the needs of the plants.
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I find urea useful at times. It does not contain sulfur so it is rather neutral as far as pH goes. So if my blueberries are at the right pH I like to use it as a nitrogen source. If I’m wanting to lower pH I use Ammonium Sulfate as when the nitrogen is used the waste is sulfuric acid which immediately lowers ph. You do not have to wait for bacteria to break sulfur down, as you do with elemental sulfur. It takes 6 to 12 months for elemental sulfur to convert to sulfuric acid.
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I like the sandy red soil of the Carolinas that they raise yams/potatoes in for blueberry soil.
But, that’s not easy to get in Kentucky! But, adding some sand (coarse river sand for instance) to some local dirt, then adding peat and acidifying ‘fertilizers’…usually can come up and get a good mix. But, if the soil is heavy on clay, look for blueberry varieties that tolerate that…there aren’t many, and rabbiteyes do better than highbush in questionable soils.
If you are planting potted plants that shouldn’t be an issue. I don’t manage plants via products from big boxes or other sources homeowners tend to use. Is ammonium-sulphate widely available at such places?
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I’ve seen it at stores like Home Depot and Lowes.
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I think it might be a very good way to fertilize blueberries struggling with high pH soil- I’ve just never used it- I don’t manage many blueberry patches.
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Pure elemental sulphur is likely cheapest option…but takes time rather than quick reduction of pH.
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Ammonium sulfate is hard to work with. It absorbs humidity and often becomes hard. But many fertilizers for your lawn are ammonium sulfate. That form in pellets is much more easier to work with.
AMS is good fertilizer to use around blueberries but don’t expect it to lower pH. It won’t. Sulphur will in a raised bed. In ground with calcareous soils, even sulphur won’t.
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I’ve never read a label for lawn fertilizer that included ammonium sulfate. Can you name any specific major brands of lawn fertilizer that contain it, it is difficult to search up.
Lebanon Turf is a producer of fertilizer containing sulphur. Golf course and other greenscape supplier.
Exactly, it is a specialized product to my knowledge and is usually irrigated into the soil. I’ve not seen it in home-owner formulas. I was curious if I was missing something- maybe Drew has seen it in common sources. I don’t live in a part of the country where soil tends to be alkaline.
Actually I’ve seen a brand/label called “High Yield” at Tractor Supply and maybe the Meijers grocery chain. And the biggest of the ‘box’ stores also carry either that brand or their brand here in my area. But I typically prefer to amend soil using peat moss and maybe coarse sand in planting beds to buying rather expensive fertilizers. Certainly if you can prepare the bed in fall and not plant until spring … elemental sulphur gets the job done economically.
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They have a packaged straight ammonia sulfite but as far as I can tell, none of their lawn fertilizers contain it, which is what I was talking about- I’ve never seen it listed in a lawn fertilizer at any big box. Not that there isn’t such a formula in other parts of the country, but I’m waiting for someone to verify that.
It doesn’t really matter but I like to know as much about the landscaping industry as possible and keep the info on this forum accurate. We do have some alkaline patches even in my region so I would also like to know of lawn fertilizers that contain it if I happen to only need a little at a very alkaline site. Now I know I can buy straight aluminum sulfite without driving to my agricultural supply, or may be able to if TS carries it in my area. . .