How to Make Blueberry Soil
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- čas přidán 30. 03. 2022
- Blueberry plants need acidic soil and you can make it to grow blueberries in pots. Many gardeners don't have soil with a low pH and need to add ingredients like sulfur to lower pH. Gardener Scott shows how he prepares his acidic potting soil for growing blueberry plants. (Video #351)
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I had 6 blueberry plants that produced very little fruit in the last two years. I put Azalea food on them 4 months ago and this spring they have exploded with fruit.
I am growing blueberries in a raised bed which I filled with peat moss and compost, along with elemental Sulphur. One caution I would give your viewers, however, is to do a pH test on the water they use to water the blueberries. One can fairly quickly "deacidify" the soil by watering with alkaline water. And, whatever you do, do NOT use soft water. The sodium will kill most plants.
This is a very good point. Do you just use a fishtank ph test kit?
@Divinestyler22 I use an EZ-FLO fertigator that I fill with distilled white vinegar (approximately pH of 4.0). The fertigator is set to mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar to each gallon of water, reducing the water pH from about 7.5 to about 5.5. Obviously, these readings are approximate. I collect a little water from the dripline and use litmus paper to test and ensure I'm in range and to tell me when I need to refill the fertigator. If i have any doubts, sometimes I will collect more water and check it with a pH meter that will give me readings accurate to 1/100th pH. My 3/4 gallon fertigator lasts about a month, watering 3 times a week.
Update August 2023: I am now using powdered citric acid in my fertigator. (The fertigator automatically mixes the powder with the water). After doing some testing, I found I could get the same lower pH on the water using only one Tablespoon per gallon of water. So... citric acid is more acidic than vinegar but seems less caustic. The blueberries love ut!
@@tbluemel Wow, that's a great idea! I had never considered the water deacidifying all the hard work of lowering the pH either. My soil reads at about 7 on a meter, which is too high for what I'm growing (azaleas, gardenia and hydrangea) I planted with peat moss and holly tone, I was going to just add epsoma soil acidifier or some type of sulfur once or twice a year and was hoping that would be enough. I hadn't considered the water though. I'm going to test my hose water and see. If it's very alkaline I'll definitely be trying your method. Thank you so much!
Yes I have killed 2 blueberries this way because my water is more alkaline. So now I keep my plants in pots.
My pond pump went out last week and it is DRY here and fruit is trying to mature. Had to water from well and in 2 waters the new leaves already have mild chlorosis. It's crazy.
I've got over 100 blueberry plants. All in pots.
It's worth mentioning that when you choose 2 varieties to make sure they are both early, middle or late varieties or you won't get cross pollination. As they produce flowers at different times. 2-6 weeks apart.
Great video, good luck. 👍🙏
Good suggestion. Knowing the flowering time is important.
What is an adequate sized pot for a good amount of fruit?
Do you live in a climate with freezing temps in Winter? If so, what do you do with the potted plants when it's freezing outside?
After making the prescribed soil, you have to keep the pots watered for “a few months,” before planting the blueberries?
You need to check if they're self pollinating as most are, it is said though, that they crop more if cross pollinated.
I am not a soil scientist, but good soil and cow manure with blood meal and bone meal gets a party started… chicken poop and worm poop here and there keeps the plant babies happy. God has a green thumb and I love watching the miraculous things that happen in my garden beds😎🙏💕
This is awesome! New gardener here and I purchased two blueberry plants from HD. Almost everyone says to prepare your soul six months in advance. So am I supposed to keep my new blueberry plants in their original containers for six months and hope they don’t get root bound? I’m in north Tx. Thanks. 🌻
@@char8a291no your plant will stunt its growth…that’s what mine did ☹️
@@char8a291 Go ahead and put them in the ground. Preparing the bed ahead of time is probably a best practice, but I planted mine straight from Lowes three years ago without preparing the soil ahead of time. They are beautiful plants now.
I appreciate that you stressed that you should wait to plant in the pots until the Ph went down. Most CZcamsrs would toss a handful at the bottom of a planting hole, and put the blueberry in right away!
Hey perfect! My good friend is bringing me two potted blueberries this weekend! Now I’ll have all the info I need to grow big beautiful blueberries! Thanks Gardener Scott! You are the best!
Hi Gardener Scott.
Here in Scotland 🏴 we are a 'Land' of Peat. YET its killing our Environment "Digging & Bagging this Up" for Gardens !
So I prefer to grow Blueberries in Pots and Collect Fresh Green Pine Needles & Pine Cones and adding these to my Containers.
Also anywhere with a Wood Shop should have loads of unwanted 'Pine Shavings' or Sawdust. Take this 'waste' and Garden yourself some Beautiful Blueberries. . .
My Bees will love those Flowers and me the Fruit ! 😎
Another great [timely] video. I just bought a few blueberry plants. Thanks for posting this!
What an excellent video. Thanks for all the work you put into these
Scott, you are the best instructor I’ve ever had !! Thank you very much.
Perfect timing! I was just doing some research to do this very thing and you video popped up!! Thank you for doing the research for me 😃
I have been looking for this information. Gardener Scott, you are the man!! Thank you!
Totally organized. Thanks for your dedication to your viewers. Definitely a fan.
Hi Mr. Scott, I live in São Paulo-Brazil and I have blueberries planted in pots in the backyard, Powderblue, Misty, Climax and Emeralds. I prepare the substrate with carbonized rice husk, ascicula, pine bark and cones, dry leaves, sawdust, sand and only 10% soil, all collected free of charge from the street plot. I mix everything, soak it a lot with water and iron sulfate, and compost slurry, cover it with a black plastic tarp and leave it to decompose and ferment for 4 months and then the final substrate will be ready and acidic to plant blueberries, thanks for the video!!!
Thanks Scott! I bought blueberries this year to plant, and didn't really think about the soil acidity. I will check mine before I plant them in a month or so.
The best ingredients for blueberry soil that I've ever learned!
I’ll be planting blueberries this season as well. Great because I’m in the same region. Needed a recipe
Tysm for this video ! I'm trying to grow blueberries in pots for first time this year in Indiana
Hi Gardner Scott, thanks for the info on blueberry soil conditioning. I will keep working with my blueberry beds to keep lowering the ph still. Keep up the good work.
Your expositions in your videos are always crystal clear. I like all your videos because they are very easy to understand because you don't talk so fast.
Thank You Gardener Scott for this info as I'm trying to grow blueberries for the first time 💯💯💕🙏 Kendra
Really looking forward to how this turns out in a few months time. Thanks for this.
Thank You for showing how to make acid soil for potted blueberries.
Nice video, I have that exact soil acidifier didn't realize initially that it took 6 months ish before it works the ph level down good talk about the microbes did a soil test back in the day and thought the soil tester was faulty wasn't showing anything significantly different for pH levels. Now I realize it's the microbes and giving them enough time to drop the ph doesn't happen overnight. 👍
Thanks so much . I have two blueberries plants that will benefit greatly from this mixture. Thanks again.
Interesting about how to acidify the soil. It is a process. Thanks for the asking the time to explain the soil chemistry with amendments and how long it actually takes to modify soil for acid-loving plants!
This was perfect timing.
I'm not big on blueberries but Amanda loves them. I picked up 5 dormant plants to go with the raspberries and strawberries that are already in. My soil ph is 7.2 and I need to adjust my soil down and will p h down with organic azalea food.
I grow other plants and always add dormant microbes to my soil free mix. I also dust roots before transplanting to help promote nutrient up take. I ferment this for at least a month to allow organics to breakdown.
My acting medium is ready.
My bare root berries are growing leaves .
Today I'm planting in 5 gal pots and will plant in the garden in 5 weeks when frost danger is over.
I'm going to look for 4 or 5 more plants of a different hybrid to add to the garden.
Good stuff here. I'm going to watch this again right now.
Keeping it organic here.
💪🇺🇸👍🖐
Thank you! I'm so glad I clicked on this video as I was scrolling..I was just looking at my blueberries yesterday wondering how to amend the soil
Excellent video - I wrote everything down & will have to order a couple of ingredients I do not yet have. Will put this mix in the garden & will not plant until Autumn - this will give the soil 7 months to reach the pH we need here (SW Arizona zone 9b - the heavy clay soil - will mix a tiny bit in but most will be dumped elsewhere). Thank you so much - our Blueberries will love you for this mixture. Judi
Highly of my interest I've have 2 half barrels saved for this project. Remember you said get the soil before the bushes.
Thanks for your teaching Sir
Thanks for sharing this very helpful information. Cheers, Scott! ✌️
This video is sensational mate, well done.
Great video. We just planted four blueberries two weeks ago. W e did add pest moss and wood chips but I need to buy a soil tester to see where our soil sits. Thank your for your knowledge. 🇨🇦
Great video Scott. Looks like a nice mix ,my blue berries are in the ground every spring I put holly tone ,and 15- 9- 12 around my bushes seems to do the job.
Gardener Scott is the Bob Ross of gardening.
I love this information. It will help me in the future.
Excellent information. A pleasure to listen to!!! Thank you sir.
Your timing is perfect. I just moved my lone surviving blueberry from the yard to a pot. Although my soil around here is perfect for blueberries there's too little topsoil (less than 6") before the clay underneath stops all drainage and roots. You confirmed everything I did was correct and it's already sprouted back up. Lucky for me I don't have to wait 6 months for the soil to acidify.
Blueberries need at least one other plant (with same bloom cycle) to cross pollinate.
Big thank you❤ i have a bush, loaded with berries, but it just seems gangly. So this helps.
This was informative! My yard soil here in the next state up is the same as yours. I've been growing fruit and veggies in raised beds. I've got lick tubs that I've grown carrots and various things in and they do well. I just bought 3 raspberry plants that I'm going to put in them since they won't grow in my yard. I gave up on blueberries but I'm reconsidering after seeing this video, it makes sense because you can control the ph levels this way.
I wanted to plant blueberries this year in pots and there was your video. A happy coincidence because I know nothing about growing blueberries. Tyvm for the video!
I have recently discovered you, and I can't tell you how much your remind me of the Roger Swain from Victory Garden on PBS. I would watch him every time he came on, and I was in my early teens! I thoroughly miss that show (wasn't the same after they had to change hosts), and am so very happy to have found your channel! ❤🥦🍏🍎
Thank you. That was the first gardening show I remember watching.
He does!!!!!
I live in Canada, and I love your channel. I grew up in Nova Scotia, and picked the native blueberries for my mother to use. A very different berry. Low growing. Now, decades later, I live in Southern Ontario. I am an old lady,living on two acres, with a few protected raised beds. I plan on growing what we call high bush blue berries. I was going to buy two ‘trees’ from a local commercial grower and plant some in a bed that is twelve by fifteen feet, amending the soil (sandy loam..not so acidic yet with soaked sphagnum peat moss to add. I will instead prepare one of my raised beds.. which is on an area which slopes, with peat moss and my compost. The ground here is notorious for being a weather challenge. The soil can have a freeze depth variance which is huge..from a foot in a mild winter,to five feet in a deep freeze. Climate change doth have its challenges. After watching your video, I plan on removing one foot of my bed soil in one three foot by eight foot bed, and replace it with a mixture of sphagnum peat moss (wetted with equal amounts of water because my soil is sandy loam, and on a hill, near its top, compost,(mine..household product, grass, leaf mix and remnant herbs and some small wood), and top some tree mulch from my own chipped trees. It is currently the second week of September here. I will be doing this next week. I will take the Ph levels after that. Hopefully I can transplant them in the spring. The vendor commended a fall planting, but the raised beds are not ready. The bed area I had prepared is still not right, but I can move my rhubarb there.
3:30 What you don't understand is that it is not so much the intial pH of coffee grounds that matter, but the acids that are generated during fermentation and oxidation of coffee grounds that lower the pH. I got blueberry bushes growing in almost pure composted coffee grounds. It should be composted to get rid of residual caffeine (detrimental to many plants) in coffee grounds and because it can generate huge amounts of heat during fermentation/composting and this will burn the plants. The main disadavantage of pure coffee grounds is that the soil generated from them is dense and has a tendency to become anaerobic, which is something blueberries do not like at all. So you should add a non-alkaline material that allows access of air to the roots.
Organic pot soil from home depot (here in san diego) is at 5.0, ill see if it stays acidic long enough for the blubes until the acidifier to starts getting broken down
Interesting.👍
Thank you so much! This video was so helpful!
I live in eastern Utah and this video helped me adjust my soil for my blueberries.
I'm in UT as well, may I ask how do yoj protect the containers during the winter?
Love blueberries and have 7 plants myself. They do need a little help with soil amendments but worth the hassle. Great video Scott
We purchased blueberry bushes at a fundraiser for our local extension service. I've been curious about what we should do with the soil. Thank you for the information!
They do sell soil with the perfect ph already dr earth makes a great one! Since you already have the plants you probably don’t have time to make your own. I’m in the same boat lol
Learn something new every time. I wish your video had come up when I was mixing up my blueberry pots. They're doing ok, but maybe they would be better.
Thank you for this valuble info. ❤
Thank you for these very useful informations Sir , great informative video!
I’ve been wanting to get some blueberries and have been holding off because I knew they needed acidic soil. I’m getting some now because I know what to do now! Thank you!
Love the doggo!♥️
If roses grow in your area without an issue, blueberries should also grow. Mainly because they both require the soil to be at the same acidity.
Thank you, great practical and visual tips. I’m off to get my soil ready…Cheers😇
In spring of 2022, i made a big batch of Mels Mix. home made compost 33%, sphagnum 33% and perlite 33%. I didn't test it immediately but it grew beans, peas, radish and lettuce just fine. A few weeks ago (June 2023) i did a test of that raised bed. pH came back at 6.8.
I put in 3 blueberries back in '16 and they have actually shrunk since planting. I live on limestone bedrock so my native soil trends towards basic, and the deer and rabbits aren't helping either. Next spring I'm going to build a raised bed and move the 3 bushes up out of the native soil and into something I can manage more closely so this video is well timed for me. In the meantime I have my eyes on Honeyberries (also called Haskap) as they are basically a highbush blueberry that grows well without the soil constraint; however I already got the stop order on new plants for the year so they will have to wait.
This is Not the year for a "stop" order my friend. Override.
Hi, I just found your site and this is the first video I've watched. I really enjoyed it, you're very easy to follow, and you give some really good information. Thank you !
amazing...my boysenberries and tayberries all have yellow emerging leaves...definitely need some sulphur should have done it sooner!
Nice video , very well articulated and good information . I would recommend using a larger pot though if you are trying to get a decent harvest and large berries . Lastly , keeping mind that when planting blueberry in pots its a constant battle to keep the pH in the right zone so in my case for my potted blueberries I periodically add sulfur and water with ammonium sulfate solution. As the plants get bigger and start to produce fruit calcium will need to be added to help with fruit production . I find that blueberries are quite a labor intensive plant to " properly " care for but is also fun and rewarding . All the best with your blueberries plants , thank you for sharing .
If you ph the nutrient water you won't have problems. Do you have a ph meter and ph down?
@@kenshinhimura9387 I do have a pH meter which I use almost twice each month . I also do have the " pH down liquid in a bottle " but have not used the pH down on my blue berry plants . I need some time to better understand what is inside the pH down and how it will affect my plants . Keep in mind that the Ammonium Sulfate solution does reduce the pH and adds nitrogen at the same time .
@@powersonic6255 PH down is just an acid. It's 100% safe to use. You use it on food crops all the time. You would mix your nutrient solution in water, check the PH with your meter and let's say for Blueberries you want your PH to be at 5.5 or something. You just add a drop at a time depending on how much water you're using. I normally make a 5 gallon bucket when I want to hand water some plants. So a drop at a time or a few drops at a time of the PH down then stir that crap up and check with your PH meter. When it starts getting close to the number you want you need to be careful not to overdose with PH down.
Your little mascot wants to help . Great information .
Thanks 🙏 I thought I new what I needed but I planted the blueberries 🫐 before waiting and yup they died. . They both have one green stock left . So I will try again .
I prefer perlite over vermiculite.
Vermiculite has tendency to absorb moisture, thus make the soil more soggy.
I have a clay soil (Illinois), and perlite works better to help drainage.
Great video ! Thanks for sharing !
Thank you so much. I have been wanting to grow blueberries and didn't know exactly how to do it. I know they don't grow in my soil without some kind of help.
Perfect timing! I was just about to transplant my blueberries to bigger pots
Thanks for excellent info on potted blueberries. I
Fine pine chips and sand hint is what the commercial growers use. There is an ideal ph 5.8.
Had a blueberry bush that was doing okay….but certainly not thriving….will try some of these tips.
I am Indian from punjab I like this video so nice thanks for information thankyou.☺
Our soil Ph is 7.2, and I amended w/ Peat Moss and a lot of Sulphur to start a Blueberry Patch a few years ago. I still lost about half the Blueberries and this year switched the Blueberries to pots in the Chicken Yard and planted Elderberries in the Blueberry Patch. Vermiculite is no longer available here, but they have big bags of Perlite at Home Depot. I've been using it in most of my raised beds too w/ good results.
What does the perlite do to help?
@@caritasdecaro8019 Better drainage and fluffier soil in containers/raised beds, similar to vermiculite I believe.
Perlite is actually the better option for improving drainage as vermiculite actually retains water. Perlite is essentially a lightweight small aggregate. A bit like adding coarse sand to the soil, just lighter and without any potential clay contamination.
Thanks for the info. I'm debating putting blueberries in the ground or in pots. I think I'll opt for pots to start off.
This was very helpful. Thanks.
Glad I found this video. I just got my berries from starks
Thanks for making this vid! 👍following from Southern Australia.
Well im starting year 3, with 20 bushes in the ground..My native soil is not great, clay with about 8ph..I dug about 3ft diameter, by 2.5 ft deep, and removed the soil..I then filled the bottom of the hole with pine bark nuggets about 1/3 for drainage..Then the rest of the hole i filled with Canadian Spag moss, Black cow 1/2 bag per hole, "Black Velvet Peat "dirt, a little more pine nuggets mixed in,and a a little of the native soil..About 1.5 red solo plastic cup per hole of Espoma organic soil acidifier , and About 1 plastic cup of Espoma Holy tone..At the end of the summer i added another round of Organic Soil acidifier at the same rate, then last month in Feb i added another round (same rate of Organic Acidifier..Ive also used Liquid Iron plus soil acidifier, and lots of pine mulch around each one, and getting ready to put down another 30 pounds total of Holy tone for the Spring..Clearly i should have watched your video first, and just put them in pots..Ive spent much more on each hole, then the 3 ft tall bushes i bought..I figure in just a short 100 years ill break even on this investment..😂....Good news is the Ph is down in the 5.5 range, and the plants are really growing nice..Once i got in to this situation i just had to keep going...Like that old Randy Travis song "The Hole"..lol...Excellent video you have here, and as i get more bushes im doing it your way..Thanks for the video
Excellent video! I also live in Colorado and didn't think I would ever be able to grow blueberries. Now I have hope! Thank you!
Pine bark is a good amendment for blueberries, acidic and allows good drainage with moisture retention.
Looks like a good plan, hope it went well for you. I wondered about this property if it was the same as video I had seen a number of years ago...so now I know.
Very clear and concise. I bought some rooted blueberry cuttings from Home depot and planted them immediately. They all appear to be dead, just twigs sticking out of pots. I think k I killed them 😢
Thank you! Loved your video!
Thanks brother!
Thanks vrry much for the sharing, woww..
That's why I'm growing in pots and beds. I'm making each bed to requirements for the plant.
amazing!! thanks so much.
THANK YOU!!!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤ I get so confused about fixing my soil. Growing in SNOW weather areas because even on a July night we can drop to 30s
i had 40 large blueberry bushes the pine trees around them must of really helped
Cute dog, please involve and introduce him/her. Great vid, I wondered why my blueberries seem to struggle. Won't those elements etc leach out of the pots? There is SO MUCH to learn, we need lifetimes for it all!
I talk about Mala in some of my other videos. Re-application of the sulfur is usually needed.
Thank you for the video G.S. I've been super busy and haven't been able to contribute much lately, but I hope to be back soon!
Excellent video 👍
I want to plant of blueberries here in the Philippines but the problem is I think is good to our weather here ....
Thank you for sharing I loved blue berries
My berries are doing well. When we have leftover coffee, I dilute it a bit and supplement the drip system water with it. Vinegar? I use it to kill weeds. Caution trying to acidify with it. I mulch with cocoa fiber, but much of it has been rafted in salt water, so I soak it in vinegar then dry it before I use it - seems fine, plants are happy.
Very good advice
Thanks so much for doing this video. I love how simple you make gardening. I planted blueberries last year and I didn’t acidify much soil as much as I should have. Can I still add sulfur now or will it not work as well?
Yes, you can top dress with sulfur. It will still acidify the soil in time.
Thank You
I like to make acidic soil by going to some old pine trees, brushing aside the needles that are recent and digging up the older rotted needles. They are very acidic and are a great soil additive.
I've been growing blueberries for years and have been using pine needles for mulch since I put them in over 20 years ago. I get a great crop every year and my plants are very healthy.
@@trcorbin any advice to use the pine needle compost, I just got a full 5 gallon bucket of the composted pine needle and soil. thank you.
@@estherfan4021 Nothing really special about using them. I just put them all around the base of the plant . I start a few inches from the stems and spread them out to just passed the drip line. Make them 3 or 4 inches deep.
@@trcorbin thanks, so you use them as mulch, but not mixing them into the soil. Am I correct ? thank you again.
@@estherfan4021 Yes, I use them as mulch. They continually break down and add compost and nutrients to the soil.
Great video. It is so refreshing to find a CZcamsr that is local here in Colorado. I hope that you'll consider having a cup of coffee if you are ever up in The Northern Colorado/ Loveland area. -Bruce.
Well I did use coffee grounds however as an experiment I used fresh grounds, as opposed to used grounds in hopes I’d reap the benefits of the acid. I have no idea if it’ll do anything but as long as it doesn’t hurt it, I’m happy. So far so good, it seems to be budding out really well🤞😅🤞. Thank you for the helpful advice!
I also heard used coffee grounds on soil will cause the side effect of food tasting a bit sour? Is that true?
@@FeelingShred I’ve never heard that so I’ll have to remember to pay attention to that when it’s harvest time, thank you.
@@LLAMA-LLAMA I'm not 100% sure, I was asking as well because that's what I've heard. I can only know for sure that coffee grounds modify the taste of mushrooms, but I don't know if they also interfere with the taste of vegetables as well.
Unused coffee grounds (used are close to 7 in Ph) are more acid but it won’t overcome alkaline soil conditions, especially in the small amounts I typically see being added.
@@DovidM I have grown oyster mushrooms in small pots only with used coffee grounds mixed with some cardboard. They survived just fine, even when people say coffee grounds are acidic and fungi very sensitive to acidic ph. So nature does weird things like that sometimes. I'm not sure how many "rules" we can blindly trust like that. I'm all about No-Fear-Farming
Thank you Gardener Scott for your information especially now while we’re all looking to grow better and get our most.
Awesome video, 😀
Very nice 👌
Thank you ❤
This is an excellent video I have been needing to create more acidic soil for my high bush blueberries to see if I can get them to do better this year. I am going to give this soil recipe a try this summer see if I can get my new ones off to a better start this year! Thank you!