fall soil prep for spring plant blueberries?

13 years ago

hoping to successfully grow blueberries. central MN,

we're at the tail end of fall here, freezing nite temps just starting, ground still warm and (probably) won't freeze for several weeks.

unmodified soil is approx 7.0

planning on preping an area this fall with peat moss and aluminum sulfate.

will mix the peat moss roughly 1/3 peat moss with 2/3 soil (unless I'm told some other concentration is advisable) plus alum sulfate per instructions on packaging.

question: will the prep area be suitably modified come spring for planting?

anything else I should be worrying about? I don't want to order the plants for spring delivery if soil prep is questionable

haven't done this before so suggestions are welcome.

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Comments (9)

brookw_gw
13 years ago
Oldryder, The only thing I'd change is the aluminum sulfate. The preferred acidifier is sulfur. Get it in the ground now for next spring. If you use a sulfate, use ammonium, not aluminum. I believe the key to good blueberry production is plenty of organic matter in the soil. Be prepared to mulch heavily once they're planted and keep new plantings well watered. Dry spells can be the death of young blueberries. My favorite mulch is chopped oak leaves--tho many prefer wood chips, pine straw, or sawdust.

Brook
alexander3_gw
13 years ago
Other than pH, what is the soil like now?
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tc88
13 years ago
I would avoid aluminum sulphate too. It's not good to consume aluminum if you can avoid it. Just use sulfur. Ammonium sulphate may contain too much fertilizer if applied in an amount to change the pH significantly. Another choice is iron sulphate.
woodstockfenceguy
13 years ago
I am doing the same thing as you are right now. Most things I have read consider it not practical to lower ph from 6.5 or above for blueberries, but I would try anyway. I agree with the previous posters to use garden sulfer rather than other things, it is much better for such a large change in PH. I think 1/3 peat moss should work great as an organic matter in soil, peat has a ph of about 3.8, so it will also help lower the PH.
northernmn
13 years ago
I agree with everyone recommending NOT to use aluminum sulfate. Just use sulfer now at about 6 to 8 #s per 100 sq. ft. surface area if your soil is sandy loam. Be sure to include the area where the roots will be in future years. The peat moss will suck up some of the soils nitrogen so I'd add a small amount of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0). Be careful not to add too much fertilizer. Young blueberries can burn easily. Lots of mulch (I use pine needles 4" deep) and water.
kokos
13 years ago
D not add ammonium sulphate. You will BURN the blueberries in this HOT soil prep. Use regular Sulphur to lower ph. Do not use Aluminum. I have had a lot of failures with fussy blueberries and adjusting PH takes time. The soil will not be ready for the spring as you are in zone 4 and the ground is freezing now. The soil might be a more acidic in June most likely.
foolishpleasure
13 years ago
Brook has a good point. Sulfur is the best to change the PH to fit the Blueberry. I planted fall Michigan Blueberry and was advised to add Sulfur and no Fertilizer until spring. I added two table spoon of Sulfur per plant.
mr.ed
13 years ago
Aluminum sulfate is a fast PH fix, but since you have time sulfur is a better choice. Blueberries do not use or uptake the aluminum, but it is toxic to some other plants. You could plant in pure peat; but most prefer to add other additional organic material as wellÃ¢ÂÂ¦..green sand, cotton meal, ect. Adding the sulfur at planting will help the Ph from reverting back as it continues to make the soil PH drop.

Sulfur table on this page
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1422.html
kokos
13 years ago
Add more Sulphur than that....

fall soil prep for spring plant blueberries?

Comments (9)

brookw_gw

alexander3_gw

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