A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Fruit Forum Blueberry problems

Again this year it isn't growing. I added Hollytone at the beginning of the growing season along with some composted peat moss. But inspite of the soil being very rich it's not growing.

I hadn't planned on adding any more hollytone until the end of the season but maybe I should add another bunch now?

Any help would be appreciated.

Blueberries seem to grow best in 'bad' soil...which you have clearly provided. Does it get lots of sun and watering? The roots are close to the ground in those bushes..

So maybe it's as simple as more water? I'll try that. How frequently would you water and for how long of a period?

I'd give it a gallon of water twice a week to be sure..

Suppose to add acid to the blue b

Peat moss is suppose to be acid so is the hollytone fertilizer.

I recently picked up the soil testing lab information for my area. I have to find the information and boxes to do it. And of course come up with the 7.00 fee plus the shipping and handling. I'm hoping I'll have the money in September.

Then I'm going to test the soil in that area and see what the problem is. If there is one with the soil.

I put 2 tablespoons vinegar to gallon water for acid .

mine are no problem

I've never heard of that. it sounds interesting. I'll have to try that.

Careful not to get it on the leaves, Tammy. It can burn them some.

I agree with Tamara's comment. The most common problem with blueberries is lack of watering. Their roots are close to the surface. Young blueberries may need 1-2 inches of water and mature ones about 5-7 gal of water per day. I understand your short supply of water from a well; a 6" thick mulch will help conserve moisture. Blueberries are related to Rhodos, so if you need to fertilize, you can use Rhodo fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 18-4-7. Apply as per label direction. Highbush blueberries grow best in acid soil in pH range of 4.5 to 6.0.

Thanks Papito

I'm definitely going to have to water water water to keep them happy then. And I'll work on getting enough mulch on them to do some good.

I got the soil box and information sheets to take samples of the blueberry bed and the shade tree bed. I've got my fingers crossed. Wish me luck.

who knew preparing soil samples would be so much work? And researching Soil Maps of the county wow. But it's all done and addressed and ready to go in the mail. Of course today I don't have a car, maybe wednesday or thursday.

I got the results from t he soil test.

These are in pounds per acre:

P 15
K 150
Ca 2449
Mg 232
Zn 4.2
Mn 17.0
Cu 1.0
Fe 21.2
B 0.3
S.Salt 51

The soil pH was 6.9 I know I'm going to have to add sulfur but how much to get it to 4.5 in a 16 sq ft bed?

Buffer index 6.5
Est. CEC meq/100g 7.3
Acidity .4%
Base Sat. 99.6%
Ca Sat. 83.9%
Mg Sat. 13.1%
K Sat. 2.6%
Organic Matter 3.7%

The recommendations I got were to add 830. lbs per acre of nitrogen in three increments staring in april with 75 lbs and the subsequent applications 37.5 lb/acre at 5 week intervals.

Add 75 lbs of P205 per acre.

And Add 75 lbs of K20 per acre.

Now what that means to me is not much.

Any suggestions on how to implement these suggests?

tk

I showed my farmer husband your soil report.

He said 6.9 ph is good for every thing but the acid lovers . LIke bluebrrys. azalea,
rhodendrens.

He said your area is good limestone soil.

Said all you need is 4 lbs of nitrogen
1/2 lb P

1/2 lb k

But be ware the Nitrogen you add, only lasts 2 weeks an its gone in the soil.
I have it .

Good ole fresh cow manure would do wonders.

I use rotted cow dung.

dodge

Well I guess I was amending it really well for almost anything except what I was trying to grow there lol. That is so me.

The peat moss was going pH neutral as it decomposed rather than acidic I guess.

I got sulpher and put down the first application yesterday. And I was told to go ahead and fertilize with my hollytone now and again in the spring when I should put down another application of sulpher.

The cooperative guy said to stay away from the composts until I had the pH corrected.

He did say I could use a pine mulch to help retain the water. I've got to go see what kind of pine trees I have on the property. Hopefully one of them will have a load of dropped needles for me.

Thank your husband for helping me with the conversions. This is all a learning experience to me.

I'm looking forward to doing another test in the peony and future veggy bed areas.

Your welcome , hd says.

Happy farming.

dodge

just a little kitchen garden really. Last year I put in the fruits and next year I'll be putting in the veggies. At least that's the plan lol.

If plan a doesnt work , do plan b.

dodge

tk, I know the general instructions for collecting soil samples. How exactly did you take the soil for the blueberries? did you take soil from different locations around the bushes and mix them? Or did you take soil only from the bed itself? Also, there are discrepancies in the instruvtions for adding N...3 increments, 75, 37.5 and 37.5 equal 150, not the total of 830 lbs. overall they suggest.
And I don't see where you were given the idea that peat moss breaks down to neutral. While it's acidic, the acidity releases into the soil gradually, keeping the acidity heightened for years to some extent and neutralizing some of the calcium in the process.
Also, dodge, how much are did your husband recommend 4 lbs. of nitrogen for? Typically, 4 lbs would mean 4 lbs. per hundred or thousand sq. feet, and generally not 4 lbs actual nitrogen, but 4 lbs of a nitrogen containing mixture like 20-20-20 or any other combination as specified to reach the actual N requirement. 4 lbs actual nitrogen would mean 10 lbs of urea nitrogen at 40 percent N. That would be a massive amount of N for a small area such as tk suggests, a large amount for 1000 sq feet. Over a season that might be okay, but not in one feeding.
Another thing to consider in the extension recommendation is the suggestion of adding calcium...this will further raise pH level, not what you want to do in an acid loving planting.
Other than Calcium and Nitrogen, the amounts of other nutrients recommended suggested that there aren't really any deficiencies, or certainly none that modest amounts of compost, mulch and other organic matter will provide. Hollytone will in fact provide more of a few of these nutrients than the minimum or ideal amounts the report suggests. I have to wonder, depending on how you took the soil sample, if you've not already ammended the blueberry adequately and need only continue to feed as per label guidelines.

He is gonna work someone over.

I took 6 samples all from inside the bed. First I scraped away the mulch then I dug 8 inch holes and then I took a one inch ribbon of soil down the edge of the hole. Then I screen the samples to take out rocks and mixed it with my little garden auger.

I assumed that the peat moss was breaking down to neutral because I've been amending the soil with it for two years and the pH was 6.9 when what I started with was clay and rocks.

Your right thats a big descrepancy in the nitrogen.

The guy from the extension office agreed with you about the calcium peppereater. Although he did suggest that I not add compost until the sulphur had a chance to bring down the pH level.

He did say that the hollytone should continue to be applied like the directions indicated but that it wasn't enough to bring down the pH to where the blueberries would like it. He also said that I should only use a pine product for the mulch.

That sounds more like it. I still find it odd that the peat didn't create a lower pH, but I've heard different things about the testing techniques, and sometimes organic matter is literally burned off of the residual soil before final testing...kind of ignores organic gardeners' practices, if true. Peat is highly acidic, 4 I believe, but it is bound in the moss...it does not leach away for a very long time, and is only slightly reactive with lime, but the benefit to the plant is still there.
Sulphur reacts immediately with lime to neutralize it, but it also is highly water soluble, so it will leach deeper into the ground if not bonded with the calcium, so it normally has to be added once or twice a year...the amount in hollytone shouldn't ever really cause too much acidity, it's a good product, too, so use it, for sure.

huh?

Thanks peppereater. It's good to know I'm on the right track. Of course the blueberries haven't responded yet. I'm hoping I'll see new growth in the spring for the next growing season.

Keep in mind, tk, acid loving plants will tell you right away if they are miserable. You would see yellow leaves or veins in the leaves if the plants were seriously suffering from a pH too high. I think what others advised about watering and adding nitrogen (but not all at once!!) will show results...remember, though, the cardinal rule....you don't prune or fertilize as plants begin to go dormant, but then you knew that.
I'll be starting over, both with a garden and a whole new life without my wife, well, AM starting over...gardening is symbolic of life in general, it never goes just exactly as planned.

I keep on forgetting to hit the submit button.

When should I prune. I always thought it was in the fall after they had gone dormant.

I was told not to prune blue berry bushes at all. Takes too long to bounce back.

I will have to read up on that on.

dodge

I have an article about how to prune them but i don't remember them mentioning the timing.

I have to say i think dodge is on the right track concerning pruning...I don't recall reading anything about pruning them, but definitely, if you're not seeing growth, pruning them would be a mistake, but that's only my opinion. Here's a good rule for pruning anything, when in doubt, don't. Once you have a productive plant, that would be the time to research details of pruning.
One thing just came to mind, tk, was this a bare root or a potted plant? I ask because one possibility is that a potted plant could have been rootbound and therefore not able to put out new roots...but I believe that's something you're aware of...if it came in a pot, you might expose a small part of the root system and see if the roots have become rootbound, that would be a major reason for no top growth.

peppereater

Got me thinking . I was out picking blueberrys an they are on the ends of the stems .(Berries) Is probably why not to prun.
Cut off the fruit bearing ends?

I dont purne mine at all.

b

Depends, different methods for different shrubs, some things flower on old wood, some on new, and some, like quince, on both. I planted a blueberry once and it died, so I'm not to be listened to, hehe.
I'll do research next time I try.
I know some people fill back with pure peat moss, but then you have to water canstanly, as peat has a tendency to dry out quickly.Otherwise it's good for blueberries...but I'm a lazy gardener

I had oodles of bl berries this year. All I do is give the a gallon of water with 2 tablespoons vinegar 2 times a year.

I found the information I was looking for. The pruning should be done in the winter.

The article also said that blueberries characteristically overbear and this can shorten their life span. That was interesting information. I didn't know that. It also said that the life cycle of a high bush blueberry was only 10 years and that their productive years were the last seven years.

You can believe all that if you wish tk.
My bushes been here many more years than 10 . Very active.

Article I read said too much pruning is no good.

SO be it .

I dont plan to bother mine.

I'm just sharing what I read from a master gardener dodge. No offense was intended.

I'm such a nut I walk by my blueberries everyday hoping to see some growth. I know it's to early but i've been bit by spring fever and I can't wait to see how they do this year with the sulphur amendments to the soil. There is one more amendment to make at the start of spring.

At least you can grow blueberries, I have not succeeded in Southern California, but you probably can't grown Guavas or dates, both of which are powerfoods.

No way could I grow Guavas or dates. I'm not even having any luck with the blueberries. Either the rabbits got them this year or there weren't any. And I have no idea what climbed the plum tree and got the plums. That is the ones that the wasps didn't drill holes in.