According to NC state, the pH tolerance for rabbit eyes is 4.0 - 5.5. I prefer under 5.0 myself. I use sulphur or Green Light soil acidifier and mulch with pine straw.
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Alright, Thanks. BTW you have a beautiful plant. Where can I buy sulphur or Green Light soil acidifier?

I get it from a local nursery (Green Thumb West). I prefer the soil acidifiers because it is a liquid form, contains iron and other micros beside sulphur and acts fast. I jsut apply once a year in spring. They don't allways have it but they always have sulphur. Works fine just takes longer and it is a powder so more of it gets on clothes and dotherwise drifts when applying. http://www.planetnatural.com/site/chelated-iron.html There are other brands but this is one I have used for a number of years.

MY understanding is that all Blueberry prefer soil PH under 5. I have Blue corp, Bonus and Duke. All are doing very well with PH under 5. I added two table spoons of sulfur per plant. Normally my soil PH is 6.5 - 7.

so, foolishpleaure your saying that only 2 table spoons of sulfur will make my soil go from 7 to below 5?

Here in Madison, Wisconsin, our native soil has pH = 7.6, and we have limestone underground, and in some places, above ground. When planting a blueberry shrub, I put 6 ounces by volume into the bottom of the hole, and I also spread 6 ounces by volume around the shrub, to a radius of about 18 inches, after the shrub has been planted. I cover the sulfur with 6 inches or so of shredded tree leaves, as mulch. I test the soil for pH twice a year, in the spring, and in the fall. It takes about a year for the sulfur to be effective, it must be metabolized by bacteria that live in the soil, before it can lower pH. I have used a pH meter to do soil testing in the past, but my meter finally died, and now I use bromocresol green indicator. This indicator is yellow at pH = 3.8, and blue at pH = 5.4. It will be various shades of green if the pH is between these two endpoints.

Thank you Eric I will keep this in mind. Over the weekend I mixed 4 sq ft of spagnum peat moss into 2 plots about 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep. I have also added amonium sulphate. Is this enough to lower the PH enough? If so how long will it take, because this next weekend I am scheduled to go to a Blueberry farm and pick some up to plant. Will this be a problem?

Ammonium sulfate is risky to use, because it is a strong source of nitrogen, and it can burn the roots. Also, it lowers pH very quickly, so if you add too much, the pH can go lower than desired, and this too, will kill the shrub. When I add Miracle-Gro, or Schultz's plant food, I use one tablespoon, dissolved in 4 gallons of water, for each shrub. I don't know the maximum safe dose of concentrated fertilizer, I am pretty conservative when using anything that strong. Peat moss is a helpful addition to soil intended for growing blueberries. They do well in soils that have a high level of composted organic matter. I used to use peat moss, but now I am using composted tree leaves, from our Norway maple, to amend the soil for blueberries. To check soil pH, you take 1/4 cup of soil from the hole, and mix it with distilled water. Then you filter the mixture with a coffee filter or something similar. The filtrate is what gets tested, using either a pH meter, or an indicator solution like bromocresol green. The only way to know if soil pH is correct for blueberry shrubs is to test.

OUCH! I used 2 pounds of amonium sulphate on 2 plots, how do I make it safe soon! I am picking the plants up this Monday!

In your situation I would dig out the plots, removing all of the peat moss and ammonium sulfate, and adding this material to my compost pile. Then I would backfill the plots with peat moss, or composted tree leaves, and plant. Blueberries do well in pure peat moss. They are generally not fertilized at time of planting. This is so the roots have a chance to develop before the leaves emerge. If the leaves emerge before the roots are able to sustain them, the plant will wither, and likely die, even if the soil is kept hydrated. You will need to know the pH of the irrigation water you are using when the shrubs are planted. If the pH is at 7, or below, then the water is OK to use as is. If the pH of the water is above 7, then it will be necessary to add some 5% vinegar, or possibly sulfuric acid, to lower the pH to around 5 or 6. This has to be done with care, guesswork will not be successful. Too much acid will kill the shrub, and too little will prevent the shrub from growing and thriving.

Alright, What PH does peat naturally have. And when I replace it with 100% peat which I have heard has no nutrients, should I fertilize it?

Steve,

I agree with Eric that fertilizing early in the planting can be very risky but you have a couple of options.

You stated that you used 2# of fertilizer on 2 plots but you didn't state how large the plots are. If you are talking about 300 sq ft or more, your not in too bad of shape.

Think about just removing enough fertilized soil for the planting hole and put unfertilized peat/soil next to the roots when you plant. By the time the roots start growing into the fertilized ground, much of the nitrogen will have dissapated and it should be fine.

Another option is to leach some of the fertilizer out by continious watering of the planting area for a day or two. Or a combo of these options.

Peat, like many organic things can vary in PH. I used 1/3 peat, 1/2 soil, 1/6 aged sawdust (PH about 5.6) in my planting and still need to add sulfur for long term and vinegar water for short term. If you are going optomize your blueberry planting, you really need to get a way to determine the soil PH. I previously used PH strips but have switched to using Bromocresol green as Eric does.

They each were 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide.

Peat moss is mostly vegetable fiber, which is mostly cellulose. I'm sure there are some lignins and tannins in there as well. What happens when you plant a blueberry shrub in pure peat, is that fungi begin to consume the peat. Eventually, some of the fungi die, and they release some nitrogen to the soil. So there is some nitrogen available to the shrub, but not enough for vigorous growth. These shrubs are usually give some more concentrated fertilizer in the spring. I fertilize our shrubs in March, April, and May. Each shrub gets one tablespoon of Schultz's plant food, in 4 gallons of water, per application.

Should I wait until spring to lightly fertilize?

Steve - I've read the 2ft deep by 3 ft wide in 2 of your posts now. WE need to know the length to calculated surface sq ft. What are the lengths of your beds?

Well I am only going to grow 3 plants and each are 3 feet wide by 2 feet deep.

Here is why length if the plots is important. I, for example, have 2 rows of blueberries, both extended to 64 ft each now. I also modified the soil 3 ft wide by 2 ft deep. 2 rows at 64ft = 128 ft length X 3ft wide X 2ft deep = 768 cubic feet of modified soil. If your 2#s of fertilizer would have been worked into all of that volume, you would only have 1 ounce of fertilizer per 24 cubic feet of modified soil. Your new plants would be OK with that. Just plant them as is. Mine were, they did just fine at that concentration of fertilizer.

If your plots are a lot shorter, the fertilizer concentration per cubic foot obviously goes up. Thats when you need to keep the new roots away from it. If you make just the planting hole fertilizer free you will also be fine. By the time the the roots grow out to the fertilized soil, they will be able to handle it (unless your plots are really short & the concentration is really high). You won't need to fertilize in spring. The plants will grow into the fertilizer thats outside the planting hole. Don't ever let them dry out. Mulch at least 4" deep.

Please still let us know the total lenght of you plots and the ratio of peat to soil used in the plots. How much sulfur did you add? Don't panic, you'll be fine.

I do believe the planting hole is 2ft deep by 3ft wide. It's a hole, not a bed. I won't panic about 2 lbs of ammonium sulfate. Just remove some of the mix on top and plant into unfertilized mix. Water well after planting and this winter.

Alright...I am going to a farm tomorrow to pick them up so I had to do something. I dug out the plots and filled them with pure Canadian Peat moss. then I followed that up with some pine bark(small pieces)mulch. I also added a tiny bit of fertilizer. Will this work?

Does anyone know?

Peat bogs are naturally acidic, and peat moss is often used successfully for growing blueberry shrubs. When you add water, the bed should become at least slightly acidic. But not if the irrigation water is hard water, with significant calcium carbonate content. If you have hard water, the pH will rise over time, and the shrubs will not thrive. If you are on a municipal water supply, there might be a water quality report on file, that would answer this question. If you are on a well, you will have to get the water tested, unless you know for sure that there is no significant lime content.

Stevexyz, what you are doing is fine. Maybe mixing in a little bit more bark. Pure peat could be too moist if there is a lot of water and drainage is not good.

I just checked with the city manager and he said our municipal water is 7.9-8.1 ph will this be an issur for growing blueberrys?

Steve:

That pH well water is a big issue. If you use much of that your bb will quit growing and die in a year or so. Your best solution is a rainwater collection system. That's what I use. I've got about six 50 gal plastic barrels and a cheap gutter system off the carport and roof to fill them. A 0.5 inch rain fills all the barrels with about 80 ft of gutter.

If you don't want to collect rainwater, sulfuric acid is your best bet to acidify the well water. Battery acid from the auto parts store is 33% acid. One quart battery acid will acidify a lot of water. I first dilute it by 10:1 by pouring one qt acid into 9 qts water(always acid into water, not water into acid). Then 900 ml of that acidifies about 50 gal well water. But your well water might take more or less.

Some use vinegar instead of sulfuric acid but it is not a permanent acidifier. I'd be concerned that it might not work in the long run if you use a lot of well water.

The pH of your municipal water is a crucial piece of information that will affect how your blueberry shrubs grow. If you use this water on your shrubs, you will be raising the pH every time you water. One solution would be to set up a rain barrel, and use water from the barrel on your shrubs. Here in Wisconsin, I am using between 100 and 200 gallons of water, per shrub, per year. I am guessing that in Dallas, your annual water per shrub would be higher, so this might not be a practical solution. Another solution would be to add some 5% white vinegar, the kind they sell in the grocery store, to your municipal water, before using this water on the shrubs. Here in Madison, I have found by trial and error, that 6 fluid ounces of 5% white vinegar per 4 gallons of tap water is the appropriate mixture for blueberry irrigation. However, the vinegar (acetic acid) is an organic compound that certain soil bacteria can use as a food source, so it disappears over time. That's why agricultural sulfur is needed. There are certain bacteria in the soil that consume sulfur as a food source, and eventually the sulfur is converted into sulfuric acid, which lowers soil pH more effectively than vinegar. In general, growing blueberries in an area with hard water will require knowledge and expertise of pH. The concept was invented by a chemist named Sorensen, in 1909, working in a laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark. He had to come up with a more precise way of measuring acidity, so he could make better beer. The lab was owned and operated by the Carlsberg Brewery. There is more to learn, but that will get you started.

Blueberries thrive in nothing but pure peat moss. Getting the water right in pure peat can be challenging but rest assured they will grow very well in a pure peat soil. Take a look at this link:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dblueberry%2Bpeat%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701&w=720&h=1104&imgurl=ptallman.home.comcast.net%2F%7Eptallman%2Findex_image8361.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fptallman.home.comcast.net%2F%7Eptallman%2Findex_blueberrybaledetail.htm&size=171KB&name=Blueberry+bush+g...&p=blueberry+peat&oid=d98797cf4aad745c3b9bda0eec9e75fb&fr2=&no=1&tt=427&sigr=1287ejatu&sigi=11nfe54m7&sigb=12j785sve&.crumb=4jKh1UwEvM0

Try to top dress sulfur every half a year. At least you start with low pH with peat. So you have time to counter the local water and maintain the low pH.

Thanks yall!