Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: shokkyy on March 29, 2010, 19:52
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I kind of fancy one or two blueberry bushes but sadly my whole area sits on a clay bed and I know blueberries prefer acid soil. Has anyone ever tried them on a clay soil? Are there some varieties that are more tolerant of soil type? And do I need more than one to fertilise?
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I have 2 bushes in my front garden which were here when we moved in 6 years ago. The soil here is clay, hammer and chisel required if it is dry but more often resembling the Somme. I have fed them a fertilizer for acid loving plants and have had loads of fruit since doing that 3 years ago. The fertilizer is in a blue bottle but the label has since come off it is liquid which you dilute. Since the bushes pre-date us at this house do not know the variety.
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What you could do is scoop out an area for them, as you might a shrub, fill that with a mixture of peat, compost and old manure and mound it above the existing soil level so there's some drainage. Its much like you'd do rhododendrons in heavy soil as both are shallow rooted and prefer looser soil. They will grow in clay soil but you won't get the same sort of cropping. Failing that, grow them in large pots, which they love.
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What you could do is scoop out an area for them, as you might a shrub, fill that with a mixture of peat, compost and old manure and mound it above the existing soil level so there's some drainage. Its much like you'd do rhododendrons in heavy soil as both are shallow rooted and prefer looser soil. They will grow in clay soil but you won't get the same sort of cropping. Failing that, grow them in large pots, which they love.
Yes, I thought about pots but what put me off that a bit is the thought that I'd need more than one for cross-fertilization, each in a good sized pot, and I already have rather a lot of stuff in containers round my house. And I've got a big garden with lots of beds with space in them. Maybe I should try to move some of my stuff already in containers into the garden, like rosemary for instance. Though when we're into full swing of summer, my house will slowly start to disappear under a growing mass of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, new spuds, etc. in pots and grobags :) Always so many things you want to grow, aren't there.
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Blueberries are self-pollinating to a certain extent, but they will do better with 2 different varieties which flower at about the same time.
If you have the ground space, then perhaps do what I suggested and you'll soon get bumper crops. They really are easy to grow and few pests bother them. Just keep up the watering for them as they need it (hence the peat). I've also mulched mine to retain moisture. I have heavy clay as well, but not enough room so I built 2 raised beds with wood sides, about 18" tall, lined them with heavy poly sheeting, holes punched in the bottom, then mixed acidic stuff in the soil. So far, they're loving it.
Here's another alternative for your soil:
http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/blueberries-cranberries-growing/
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I've got your real proper clay and just dug a hole, filled with ericaceous compost, planted the blueberries and let them get on with it. They've done us proud for two years.
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Our clay is PH4.5 so acidic enough as is.
I would suggest a ph test before digging out planting pits.