[Hitman]

Hello,

I have a number of Blueberry bushes currently in pots.  Since moving house I would like to put them in an acid raised bed, i.e. a permanent home.  I have tested the soil and it is neutral -alkali.

I have calculated that to fill a raised bed full of ericaceous compost will cost quite a bit. So I was wondering if there are any other ways of changing the ph of a soil to the acid side?

Many thanks.

[mumofstig]

You can acidify by using sulphur
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=82

[JayG]

No need to fill the whole bed - plant them in a goodly amount of ericaceous compost, and in subsequent years use sulphur as Mum suggests (good luck finding powdered sulphur which works quicker - I could only find it in pellet form, although I didn't try that hard.)

Ammonium sulphate is an acidifying source of nitrogen watered in as a feed, and mulching with pine needles helps too. Use rainwater for watering, especially if your tap water is very hard.

Check the pH from time to time - it's possible to over or under-do it, although any changes you make are quite slow to take effect.

[ally]

I had mine in pots and only yesterday planted them in the garden, I used the right compost but didn't think about checking the ph. Saying that next door have a beautiful plum tree and they only like acidic soil, i did check lasr year as all my peas died after planting . . .Must remember to lime before planting my peas and broccoli

[mumofstig]

plum trees grow well in most soils so may still best to check ph