[Zak the Rabbit]

Ive just treated my self to a pH meter. Only a cheap Gardman one ( :? and yer can tell its cheap - i had to open it and rewire the meter correctly cos it read backwards )

so, ive tested the soil in the big tub with the blueberries - pH 6.4-6.8, hmm  methinks, thats a bit high, need some sulphur in there (note the correct spelling  :evil: )

but i cant find a decent value to aim for, everything just says 'they like it acidic 4-6', can any of you guys tell me what pH to aim for?


...and yes, i know, i should have tested the pH loooonng ago...

[agapanthus]

I just googled this and most of the sites are varying the ph needed for blueberries :?  :?  One chap has been growing blueberries for 25 years on a soil that has 7 ph! He still has some of his original stock!

[Zak the Rabbit]

thats what i found - everyones telling something different!

that chap must have had some luck! blueberries in the wild live in acid soils on moorland (and nice they are whilst hiking!)

my first blueberry was on neutral (pH 7.0) soil, it died!

i might bring it down to about pH 5.0, and maintain that over the next season and see how they go

[brucesgirl]

Mine grow successfully in commercial ericaceous compost - so can you find a way of sneakily testing a bag of it in your local garden centre or superstore??

[gobs]

That's brilliant, Bruce,          

[Zak the Rabbit]

Mine grow successfully in commercial ericaceous compost - so can you find a way of sneakily testing a bag of it in your local garden centre or superstore??

i dont do sneeky, i do blatent. I would just walk up to a bag and ram the meter into it. I was once thinking of building a wooden playhouse for my lad, i went to the local timber place that sold them and spent half an hour with a tape measure, notepad and pencil and measured every inch of it!

[Trillium]

We grow beautiful blueberries here but we've never once tested the soil. We just know they like it as acid as possible so we dump loads of plain sulphur powder twice yearly around the plants and scratch it in. Must work because the plants are healthy and yield abundantly. They also seem to like pigeon poop a lot. Symbiotic relationship, do you think?