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Any blueberry growers?

Edmick

Edmick

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So I picked up a blueberry bush from home depot and put in a large pot with some standard potting soil. I did some research on growing them and come to find out they like acidic soil so my question is, what is the best way to go about adjusting the ph for them? Ideally I would have amended the soil but I didn't so I imagine that just adjusting the ph of the water would work fine too. I have a 30-10-10 plant food/soil acidifier but I really dont wanna hit it with any ferts yet since the potting soil is new and already nutrient rich as it is so what would I ph the water to at watering times to acheive the desired acidity?
 
Edmick said:
So I picked up a blueberry bush from home depot and put in a large pot with some standard potting soil. I did some research on growing them and come to find out they like acidic soil so my question is, what is the best way to go about adjusting the ph for them? Ideally I would have amended the soil but I didn't so I imagine that just adjusting the ph of the water would work fine too. I have a 30-10-10 plant food/soil acidifier but I really dont wanna hit it with any ferts yet since the potting soil is new and already nutrient rich as it is so what would I ph the water to at watering times to acheive the desired acidity?
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I would replant it in some acidic soil or do something like this with your existing soil. Add 4 parts organic matter, 1 part sand, 1 part perlite to existing soil. Also a wider container is better for blueberries than a taller container. I just transplanted my 10 varieties last week into 1/2 wine barrels where they will live until they die. I'm in my 4th year of growing them.  
 
SavinaRed said:
I would replant it in some acidic soil or do something like this with your existing soil. Add 4 parts organic matter, 1 part sand, 1 part perlite to existing soil. Also a wider container is better for blueberries than a taller container. I just transplanted my 10 varieties last week into 1/2 wine barrels where they will live until they die. I'm in my 4th year of growing them.  
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Repotting would be really difficult because I buried the root zone under the neck of the pot so it had room to grow and tucked it in pretty good so I was HOPING to handle any ph requirements through adjust the water ph.. I know it's not ideal but I got a little ahead of myself and didn't take the soil into consideration. Would adjusting to a ph of 4.0 everytime I water be sufficient? I know it'll be a pain in the ass to do everytime I water but I don't mind doing it. Like I mentioned too, I have that soil acidifier plant food but I don't want to hit it with any nutes yet so I'm trying to figure out what to do in the meantime. Thanks for the input.
 
Edmick said:
Repotting would be really difficult because I buried the root zone under the neck of the pot so it had room to grow and tucked it in pretty good so I was HOPING to handle any ph requirements through adjust the water ph.. I know it's not ideal but I got a little ahead of myself and didn't take the soil into consideration. Would adjusting to a ph of 4.0 everytime I water be sufficient? I know it'll be a pain in the ass to do everytime I water but I don't mind doing it. Like I mentioned too, I have that soil acidifier plant food but I don't want to hit it with any nutes yet so I'm trying to figure out what to do in the meantime. Thanks for the input.
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Also a companion variety will help for larger berries and more production on each plant. I'm just passing on information that I learned as I went along after buying my first plant.  :)
 
SavinaRed said:
Also a companion variety will help for larger berries and more production on each plant. I'm just passing on information that I learned as I went along after buying my first plant.  :)
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Yea I read about the whole cross pollination thing. I actually had to contact the nursery that grew this one to find out what variety it was cuz i know SOME varieties do fine without a pollinator and this one is a "misty blueberry" and they apparently do just fine without one.. I dunno.. This is all new to me. Never grown them before. Been doing a lot of work on the backyard lately and was just looking for some sort of edible/ornamental/long living plant to put in this pot and settled on a blueberry.
 
Edmick said:
Yea I read about the whole cross pollination thing. I actually had to contact the nursery that grew this one to find out what variety it was cuz i know SOME varieties do fine without a pollinator and this one is a "misty blueberry" and they apparently do just fine without one.. I dunno.. This is all new to me. Never grown them before. Been doing a lot of work on the backyard lately and was just looking for some sort of edible/ornamental/long living plant to put in this pot and settled on a blueberry.
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Don't listen to the nursery lol I have misty southern highbush as well and trust me it will do better with a companion. This is why growers use pollinators as well for several fruit tree varieties is for the cross pollination. I hear this as well from those who have single avocado trees and no production from established trees while my young tree's produce for me because I have several varieties of A/B pollinators growing. I have nurseries asking me what I'm doing to produce them at such a young age. I tell them if they sell an A type tree then recommend another B type tree to the customer. Sorry if I went off on a rant here but this has been my experience with both blueberries and avocado tree's that are sold as " self pollinating ". A companion plant will do wonders IMHO. 
 
Edmick said:
I've been looking for new excuses to give the wife on why I need so many plants so this is perfect. Haha
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You're approaching this all wrong.  Don't give her "excuses", give her blueberry bushes. 
Tell her she can set them by yours and you'll pollinate her flowers.
 
Here are a few of my blueberry plants in the 1/2 wine barrel containers
 

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I don't know much about blueberries, especially in pots, but I have 3 ten year old plants that 
I purchased online.  Can you plant those in the ground?  I think it would be a lot easier.  Even
though we have acidic soil, I still add some espoma for camellia's and blueberries around them
in March.
 
midwestchilehead said:
Plant your next ones in peat moss. It is naturally acidic. If you add any soil to the ones you already potted, add peat moss instead of soil. And mix in some aluminum sulfate.
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Do you grow berries John?
 
I guess my next question would be about watering. Do you ph the water you give them?
 
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