So i have decide to grow a few blueberries in containers. The containers i will be using are 25 gallon self wicking tubs (made from recycled cow mineral tubs). Im looking to build a blueberry specific soil for them. In my area i have a local place to buy bulk pine bark mulch and pine bark fines. Was thinking a mix of those 2 or 1 of those, peat moss and perlite would probably do the trick. Just recently joined here and thought, why not make a post and get the concensus of the masses!
Im located in central Arkansas, zone 8A. Thanks
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The owner of backyard berry farm recommends 50% peat moss and 50% mini pine bark mulch. I’ve had nothing but good results using the mix.
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I basically use the same - 50% peat moss and 50% pine fines, maybe going a bit heavier with the peat moss. For a self-watering planter you may need to be careful not to make the soil too well drained or it may not wick effectively all the way through the pot.
When I first pot them up I mix in a bit of soil acidifier and some hollytone which carries them through most of the first half of the season and then I topdress a little more of both in early July. While it probably should be acidic enough without the soil acidifier, I’ve had plants start to get a little chlorosis, probably because my water is fairly alkaline and that is slowly raising the pH. I’ve never killed a blueberry by making it too acidic, but I’ve certainly made them unhappy by letting the pH rise over time.
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Maybe like a 3-2 mix, being heavier on the pine fines? The more i run it through my head im thinking of leaving perlite out of the mix.
I think that would work, but you may need to experiment to be sure. It also depends on how much you compress it when load it into the tub and plant your blueberries, since a tighter soil structure will draw water through it more readily.
I mentioned it since one year I tried growing a bunch of dwarf tomatoes in self watering buckets and I used a little too much pine fines in my mix (mixed with promix BX). They never really wicked water all the way up through the mix. It wasn’t a big deal, since I could always top water, but it was disappointing since they could be trying out at the top in the heat of summer while there was still water in the reservoir.
Well i talk to Mr Leon out in Oklahoma (guy that put the wicking mineral tubs on the map) he said NOT to use pine fines but use pine bark for the mix and add some powdered sulfur to the top of the tub.
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Do this and have happy bushes.
Rule number 1: IGNORE all the internet ninjas with their ignorant advice they spew in their videos & on their sites. As ssoon as I see someone building blueberry mix with compost, pottiing soil, 14 different amendments, etc., I automatically know they are CLUELESS on how to grow these plants.They don’t understand the biology, nutrient requirements, or the sparse conditions under which they naturally grow.
All you need is 50% peat to 50% pine bark mini-nuggets, 50/50 peat & rice hulls, or 50/50 peat & pine fines. (Pine fines are shredded pine bark,but I don’t use them simply because there is a fair amount of pine wood found in them).
I personally use peat & rice hulls
You do NOT need any sulfur when doing this method, although mine still get some through Espoma Holly-tone fertilizer, but it’s only 5% I think.
Done
P.S I get all my organically grown berry plants from Keith at Backyard Berry Plants. He’s a great guy & a wealth of knowledge. He has pages dedicated to the proper way of growing them. They’ve been doing it at their farm for some 60 years…
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Hmm…I wonder when did Ed Laivo become an internet Ninja?
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I have done basically what zendog described. I also observed that it takes a bit of time for the pH of the peat/pine bark mulch to drop. After the first container planting I started adding small amounts tbsp/gal of sulfur and feeding with ammonium sulfate instead of urea.
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I just potted up 12 bluebs myself in some plastic half barrel planters that i am tired of growing annuals in… and have about 20 in the ground. My mix was pine mini nuggets, pine fines and peat… but i add local river sand to mine and all of my berry plants as well. I think i cut in about 5 gallons of sand. I top dress with woodchips on all of my pots and in ground…and everything looks happy and thriving. YMMV
Another nursery that gets it:
Any reason you don’t want to plant them in ground? It’s hard to grow blueberries in pots because they love damp soil and pots dry out so fast.
I agree regular pots dry out very fast. What i have is 25 gallon wicking tubs. They have a 3 inch water resivor in the bottom of them. Keeps the soil moisted in between watering.
I would not disagree with the successful mixes recommended here. But remember that those base products that you recommend are not available everywhere. The recommendation that i make in the video posted is one that I developed in the 1990’s over pressure from the Canadian Peat suppliers that the resource was being over mined. Also the tests that i was doing with Chunked Coir at the time suggested a porosity and Ph- gain when added to the mix. Then I had to create a recommended mix with products that would be generally available to all. I was always mostly sensitive to the cost, not the validity of the performance of the mix as i tested it over 5 years with 100’s of Blues.
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Are you an internet ninja? That sounds pretty cool but seems to have been intended as a putdown by someone who doesn’t know you, but doesn’t agree with your methods. Anyway, it should be a title that means high respect, after all, ninja’s are extremely competent at what they do.
You were very gracious in your reply.
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Thank You Alan, I am only on the internet anymore, but working closely with most all the companies that i have had the privilege to work for through the years. In particular Dave Wilson Nursery and Zaiger Genetics. I am on most Social Media platforms as Ed Able Solutions, where i talk fruit with different people, really focusing on young people. I think they need our attention in learning about good fruit
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I use this but when I’m out, i just add some soil acidifier to regular potting mix and they seem happy with that. I’m too busy these days to go out sourcing for materials so this is my go to for all my potted blueberries. Also if you pot a saucer under the 25 gallon pot, i think that would be better than the self watering ones but that’s my opinion and what i do sometimes.
It’s actually easier to grow them in pots than in native soil in my experience…
I’d have to say that has a lot to do with the native soil you are talking about. I have a stand of about 8 plants in soil and pull out 3 gallons at a time when they are peaking. My freezer has all the bags in it I need to get me through fall winter and spring. This has been going on for almost 25 years and started maybe 3 years after planting them, although my first crops were not so large.
I can’t imagine getting production like that out of potted plants. Here in NY, I don’t even have to water them.
The advantage of growing them in pots is that you can follow a recipe and as long as you don’t let them dry out they will do pretty well. However, this forum is to teach people about growing fruit and if you have the land to do it, growing blueberries in the soil should be much more productive than pots if you do it right and your soil isn’t excessively alkaline.
Years ago someone on this forum supported starting plant in pots and was doing so in commercial production. He did get the plants off to an amazingly fast start by keeping them in pots for the first two years, I think it was. He used peat and sand, as I recall, and a complete polymer coated fertilizer. Watering was done by drip and by a timer.