i found this post. thought it might be helpful. "The good news for blueberry lovers is that, with extra effort, there is a proven way to grow delicious blueberries in your Colorado garden. The keys to success are 1) plant the blueberry bushes in a medium that is primarily (or entirely) composed of sphagnum peat moss. This readily available material has a pH of approximately 5.5, so it is perfect for blueberries. Two further keys to success are: 2) make sure that the root zone always stays moist (even during warm, dry spells in winter), and 3) protect the bushes from drying winds during the winter. This can be done by wrapping the bushes with burlap or old sheets while they are dormant. Any planting method that incorporates these three key elements should lead to success, so feel free to be creative. For those who want an established recipe for success, follow the instructions below. Keep in mind that you will need to have at least two blueberry plants of different varieties (for cross-pollination purposes) in order for the plants to set good crops. For each plant: - Dig a hole that is 20" deep, 30"long and 20" wide. - Get a plastic-wrapped bale of sphagnum peat moss (3 cubic feet). - Punch about a dozen holes in the bottom of the plastic wrap. - Drop the bale, holes down, into your pre-dug hole. You can grow more plants in a row by dropping multiple bales in a trench. Different plants are necessary for cross-pollination as noted above. - Cut an 8"x 8" "X" in the plastic on top of the bale and fold back flaps. - Plant a bare-root blueberry plant directly into the peat moss (Do this in early-mid April). - Re-close the "X" using tape, leaving about a 3" hole in the middle to accommodate the trunk of the bush. - (optional) Install drip irrigation line by cutting a small hole at either end of the bale and feeding the line through the holes, resulting in an irrigation line that runs on top of the peat but under the plastic. - Fertilize in early May and early July with a balanced fertilizer for acid-loving plants (i.e. Miracle Grow for Acid Loving Plants). - Water and provide winter protection as discussed in keys to success above. - Provide protection from "critters" as animals love blueberries too. - Enjoy blueberries year after year!" * Joel Reich is CSU Extension horticulturist at the Boulder County Extension office in Longmont, CO where he trials blueberries and other small fruits. So it looks like you just dump the whole bail of peat moss in the hole, and plant the bushes into to bail! Amazing.

Hi charina and edweather, Thank you both for your advice, I greatly appreciate it. I'll leave the lime out and get some gypsum to add to the soil. I don't have any fertilizer for them yet and I'm not sure what to use. What type/brand would you recommend? The water in Charleston is on the soft water side and the pH runs around 8.3 according to the water department's website. I'll start adding vinigar to my water for them and I'll check out the fruit forum. Oh, one other question. I want to put them in bigger pots but they both have blueberries on them. Should I wait until the blueberries are gone before I re pot them? Thanks again for you help, I appreciate it. Chris

My suggestion is to worry more about where soil solution pH is as a generality and less about chasing a particular medium pH, which I'm absolutely sure will end in frustration anyway. If you use a fertilizer that derives its N from urea (not nitrates) and neutralize your irrigation water's alkalinity with vinegar if you suspect or know alkalinity is high, you'll be just fine. Container media pH is nowhere near the issue that the pH of mineral soils is. From something I left on another post: BBs have some pretty unique nutritional requirements compared to most other plants. They grow in acidic soils where fertility is usually quite low. Also, the predominant form of available nitrogen (ammonium) is usually present at levels that could be toxic to many plants. However, BBs have mechanisms to cope with the acidic, ammonium-rich, nutrient-poor conditions. They form a symbiotic relationship with certain fungi, which derive carbohydrates from the inner portions of the BB root system, and in return, help extract nutrients (especially phosphorus and nitrogen) from the soil for the plant. So, in comparison with many other plants, BBs have very low nutritional requirements. In fact, they can be quite sensitive to high levels of some nutrients, and a heavy fertilizer application can injure them, so be sure you fertilize at reduced recommended strengths (1/4 - 1/2 strength, weekly to bi-weekly). BBs also have the unique ability to directly absorb ammonium ions. Most plants absorb N in nitrate form, which is then converted to ammonium by a metabolic process before being incorporated into proteins. However, nitrate fertilizers can be harmful to BBs. For this reason, ammonium forms of fertilizer are recommended, such as ammonium sulfate or urea. Ammonium sulfate is particularly good because it acidifies the soil, and most soils tend to have a pH higher than 4.5. (Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 offers 2/3 of its N in nitrate form, which is normally a good thing, but not particularly desirable for BBs.) In another thread, someone made the comment that there is no Ca in fertilizers for acid-loving plants because they don't like it. JaG appropriately pointed out that ALL plants need Ca, which is true. The reason there is no Ca in most of the fertilizers we use on container plants is simply because of solubility issues. The fact that different species of plants tend to grow on different types of soil does not mean that the one needs more of a certain nutrient than the other. It just means that the plants have developed strategies to adapt to certain conditions. Acid-loving plants have adapted to acid soils. Their need for calcium is still the same as any other plant, and their nutrient requirements do not differ from plants that thrive in alkaline soils. The problem for acid-loving plants is that they have not developed a method to limit their calcium uptake, and will absorb too much of it when available, resulting in cellular pH-values that are too high. Some acid-loving plants also have difficulties absorbing iron, which is tightly bound in alkaline soils, another reason why they thrive in low pH soils. This all pertains to the plants ability to handle nutrients, not to the actual nutrient needs of the plant. Filix is concerned (remember, this is off topic slightly because it was addressing issues being discussed on another thread)about micro-nutrient availability if he uses the MG 30-10-10. It contains all the micro-nutrients that are likely to be deficient in container soils, but glaringly absent are the secondary macro-nutrients Ca and Mg ... S as well is missing. Supplying the Ca with gypsum and the Mg with Epsom salts is probably the best plan. Though insoluble, enough S can be had by including a tsp of elemental S per gallon of soil. Al

Calcium is definitely an important nutrient for blueberries, and there's no doubt that CA deficiency can limit growth and yield (see here, for example). That being said, while I usually add gypsum when making fresh blueberry potting mix, I rarely refresh it in subsequent years. I recall other growers noting that they never add gypsum (or any other fertilizer with calcium) to their potted blueberries and still get good results (fruitnut comes to mind). You asked about tomato fertilizer, so I'll mention that I used Miracle Gro Shake 'n Feed for Tomatoes, Fruits, and Vegetables on my potted blueberries last year (I switched to the flowering trees version this year). It has a pretty good balance of micronutrients, but it does contain a small amount of nitrogen in nitrate form and has an excessive amount of potassium in relation to the other macronutrients (9-4-12). If you're worried about calcium and/or don't add gypsum, though, it seems to be a reasonable option.