Fertilizing blueberries

[Plantinyum]

Hi all, when do you start fertilizing your blueberry plants ?? Mine have started to slew buds and I was wondering when should I start fertilizing them ....I generally use blueberry special fertilizer , what fert are u all using??

[Daintree]

I start to feed mine as soon as they start to show growth in the spring AND I know it won't freeze any more.  I don't mind a bit of frost after I have encouraged them to grow, but I want to avoid a hard freeze.  For us, that is usually March.
I give them Osmocote Plus and Espoma soil acidifier.
Don't know what the equivalent would be in your area. 

Cheers,
Carolyn

[Plantinyum]

I start to feed mine as soon as they start to show growth in the spring AND I know it won't freeze any more.  I don't mind a bit of frost after I have encouraged them to grow, but I want to avoid a hard freeze.  For us, that is usually March.
I give them Osmocote Plus and Espoma soil acidifier.
Don't know what the equivalent would be in your area. 

Cheers,
Carolyn

thanks Carolyn !! March is our spring month  where the weather starts turning and we generally dont have very hard and persistent freezes , thought nights will be frosty almost for the whole month so I think I will wait on them a little more , they will either way start growing and will experience subzero temps since thats what happened past spring......they seem the very first plant in my yard,  along with gooseberries that that starts growing so early .....

[brian]

I also use oscmocote plus and soil acidifier.   "whenever I get around to it"

[Plantinyum]

I also use oscmocote plus and soil acidifier.   "whenever I get around to it"

I really need to find soil acidifier , wherever I do ask about garden sulfur ,people seem to either do not know what it is, or do not have it....

[Seanny]

Blueberry doesn’t like nitrate.
Osmocote Plus has high nitrate.
Use something else.

[Plantinyum]

I bought granulated sulfur, how do I proceed to use it on blueberries ? I read people sprinkle it on the soil surface and water it in. Do I need to till it into the soil surface ?? 

[deac777]

I  use Espoma soil acidfier and a water soluble  fertilizer called Miracid. You can also use a fertilizer with a high percentage of urea. You want your soil pH to be between 4 -5

[Plantinyum]

I  use Espoma soil acidfier and a water soluble  fertilizer called Miracid. You can also use a fertilizer with a high percentage of urea. You want your soil pH to be between 4 -5

I dont think I can find the epsoma acidifier in my country, did a quick search and nothing....I can find other brands of soil acidifier and fertilizer in one , I will try them also...
Deac777 do u have any tips for using the sulfur I allready have ??

[brian]

Plantinyum - I believe epsoma is just plain elemental sulphur, so if you already have that or can find it locally it is probably fine as long as it has no harmful contaminants.

here's the label for epsoma acidifier:

[Plantinyum]

Plantinyum - I believe epsoma is just plain elemental sulphur, so if you already have that or can find it locally it is probably fine as long as it has no harmful contaminants.

here's the label for epsoma acidifier:

yeah I have bought pure granulated sulfur with the label saying it containing pure substance around 99.9% . 
Heres a pic of the thing, it is alot yellower in person, then compared to the shitty pic my smartphone makes.

[brian]

It'll probably work... just use 1/3 the amount. 

[deac777]

Pure sulfur will work. As Brian said, use 1/3 of the amount.  Don't expect the pH to drop immediately. I also try to use rainwater to water my plants. The water that comes from the water utility is alkaline.

[Plantinyum]

Yes I watered my blueberries last summer only with collected rain water, I also used it exclusively for my potted tropicals also. Planning on collecting twice the amount of rain water this summer since my collection has doubled over winter ....

1-3 of the whole amount?? What quantity should I use per plant ? Maybe the amount of a cup of water, or a handful ??
I know it will be a long process till the sulfur is degraded and lowers the ph , they give it a full year time till the last particles are dissolved ..I should have added it in the fall so I could have harvested its effects on the plants this spring, but from now on I will be adding a small amount the plants every fall.

[brian]

I'm sure there is a more precise way, but I was using  "two big handfuls" of espoma in each blueberry pot ("half barrel" planter).  So maybe a handful of pure sulphur evenly spread across the top for a similarly sized container?

I use pool test strips for reading ph.  You can just check every year and add more sulphur if needed. 

[Plantinyum]

I'm sure there is a more precise way, but I was using  "two big handfuls" of espoma in each blueberry pot ("half barrel" planter).  So maybe a handful of pure sulphur evenly spread across the top for a similarly sized container?

I use pool test strips for reading ph.  You can just check every year and add more sulphur if needed.

Thanks ! I have a ph meter which when I did the tests with lemons, and other substances with generally fixed ph, it read accurate. I will test the soil and work from there, my blueberries did not had any problems whatsoever indicating a high ph , so I may need very little ...

[lebmung]

For fast results use phosphoric acid, you don't need much, just dilute until water has a 5 pH.

[Youngster]

For fast results use phosphoric acid, you don't need much, just dilute until water has a 5 pH.

Late to this but wanted to share my experience for posterity. I had a large amount of phosphoric acid left over from a marijuana grow operation (for working my way through college ). Later, switching over to family-friendly crops, I used my surplus phosphoric acid to correct the water (ph) used for my dozen blueberry bushes. After a year, my blueberries exhibited noticeable nutrition deficiencies. I learned that blueberries are light feeders on phosphorus (unlike marijuana, which are also annuals). The buildup of phosphorus from the phosphoric acid was locking out other nutrients. I switched to sulfuric acid (AutoZone battery acid refill), all my plants perked up and are now healthy specimens.  Good luck.

[Plantinyum]

Nice, most of mine are now cntainerized, i have 2 that are doing quite well, in my native soil with added sulfur pellets, which may have already dissolved, i remember that after a whole year ofter adding them, they were still intact.
I fertilize mine now with some kind of liquid blueberry fert, along with adding granular berry type fertilizer, the containerized ones along with one of the inground ones are loaded with fruit set right now, berries are sizing up. I wonder if i should hammer an ammount of the granulated silfur and add once more, maybe if broken down to dust it will be more easilly absorbed and dissolved by the soil.

[Reedo]

I use G&b Organics Rhododendron Azalea & Camellia Fertilizer. It's an acidic mix. I'll also acidify the soil with some sulfur. I typically fertilize when I see start to see flowers.

[Youngster]

For fast results use phosphoric acid, you don't need much, just dilute until water has a 5 pH.

Do not use phosphoric acid, except for very occasional use.  Blueberries are weak phosphorus feeders.  Continuously using phosphoric acid to lower PH for blueberries will build up phosphorus in the soil and start to lock out other nutrients. 

In a past life I grew a lot of marijuana to pay my way through college.  After switching careers I had a large amount of phosphoric acid left over from that line of work.  I started growing blueberries for my family and used the leftover phosphoric acid to lower their PH.  Within 9 months the blueberries looked near death.  Once I switched over to sulfuric acid they got healthy and productive in a couple months.

[Tropicaltoba]

Youngster, what concentration of sulphuric acid do you use? Or are you simply acidifying your water down to a ph of 5ish?

[Plantinyum]

As for acidification i once applied peleted silfur, 3 to four years down the row and the pellets look still as new, havend degraded one bit , they are burried, the ones on the surface are the same. Ive thought to hammer the pellets , until they get a flour consistancy, and apply that.
I must say that all of my blueberries do not usually show any sighns that the soil may be too alkaline. The container ones are planted in a clayey soil, with forest soil added to it, along perlite, not ideal if you ask me, but they are doing very good, ladt year they had a heavy crop, this year will be a lighter one.
I have one bush also planted in a clayey soil, inground, also doing wonderfull, dark green leaves at all times trough summer.
I havent used any acidification on all of them, also do not fertilize that often, which is an irony in relation to the topics name😂, i just cannot get to fertilize regularly.....

[Youngster]

Youngster, what concentration of sulphuric acid do you use? Or are you simply acidifying your water down to a ph of 5ish?

In my part of Southern California, our municipal water has a pH of 7.0-7.5

The sulfuric acid I use is the battery refill solution available from AutoZone, which is a 12% sulphuric acid solution, if I remember correctly. I use this to acidify the tap water, bringing it down to a pH range of 4.3 - 5.3, depending on the conditions and situation.

I have two sets of blueberry plants: 4 plants in 20-gallon pots and 10 plants in raised beds.

The blueberry plants in the pots are about 6 years old. I initially used a soil mix of half cactus soil and half peat moss. Now, the plants are a bit root-bound, and the soil is played-out. However, the blueberries don't seem to mind. I treat them similarly to how I grew weed in rockwool. Since the potted soil now lacks nutrients, I use a fertilizer solution with every watering, which is usually once a week for most of the year. The fertilizer solution varies, but it mainly consists of one part of a miracid-like fertilizer and one part ammonium sulfate pellets dissolved into a 50-gallon barrel on a caddy, for hand watering. I aim for a solution of about 100 - 700 ppm, depending on what I'm trying to achieve with the plants, typically staying within the range of 100-200 ppm. When aiming for higher ppm, I use more ammonium sulfate. I ensure to give them a good flush to prevent fertilizer salt buildup. With this approach, these plants are happy and productive.

The blueberries in the raised beds, also in a mix of half cactus soil and half peat moss, are watered using a direct inject system connected to a spigot to adjust the water's pH. I'm less precise with this system, and the pH usually ranges from 5.0 - 5.5, depending on how close I am to needing to change the injection tank, which holds 2 gallons of a highly acidic water/sulphuric acid solution. I run this irrigation system once a week and check the pH frequently. The injection tank typically lasts for a few months, but when it becomes too diluted, the pH suddenly rises. I don't use a fertilizer solution for these blueberries, as it would require adding a second injection tank to the system, which I prefer to avoid due to the added complexity and maintenance. This Spring, I fertilized the beds by broadcasting Espoma Holly-Tone Organic Granules and some sulfur pellets over the beds and mixing it into the bark mulch to distribute the fertilizer toward the soil surface. Despite not receiving regular fertilizer solution, these plants are also happy and productive.

I'd love to plant some BB directly into the ground but my adobe clay soil is daunting for this type of plant.

[Tropicaltoba]

Youngster, Thanks for the info. Do u have any pics or info on your injection system? I’m trying to figure out an automatic fertigation system for my gh.