Planting BLUEBERRY Bushes | How To Lower Soil pH
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- The hardest thing about planting blueberries is acquiring the proper soil pH that these acid-loving plants prefer. In this video, I break down the most commonly recommended amendments for adjusting soil pH to see what works and what doesn't.
How to Lower Your Soil pH with Elemental Sulfur: • How to Lower Your Soil...
⌚TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
1:26 Soil preparation
1:49 In-ground or containers?
3:36 Most common "acidic" amendments
5:52 Peat moss or sulfur?
7:31 Mixing soil/planting blueberry bushes
9:38 Conclusion
Rob's video on COFFEE GROUNDS: • Coffee grounds to lowe...
Patrick and Stephen's video on PINE NEEDLES: • Do Pine Needles Make S...
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Canada is a major producer of peat moss and exports globally. Peatlands represent 90% of the wetlands in Canada and cover 113 million hectares. Of that, 0.02% is currently being harvested, and 0.03% is or has been harvested (ref 5).
Thank you for the details! I made a correction for this misstatement in the follow-up video.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow Its fine I hear that alot about peat,just depends on whose narrative you want to believe, Cheers
Extremely helpful. Thanks for taking the time to provide the information outlining why common assumptions are not as effective as some contend and what does actually work.
I appreciate your humility.
I think this is the way. I’ve seen people say 5 different things but it seems like elemental sulphur is the way to go. I’m also going to water once a month with a quarter teaspoon ascorbic acid powder per gallon since it’s so cheap.
If the local soil is alkaline, there’s a good chance that the local water is, too. I recommend getting a pH meter to measure both. My water varies a bit through the year since some of is treated water, some is from a local aquifer, and some originates out of state. Consider collecting rainwater off your roof as a source for your plants that need a low pH if the city water supply is alkaline.
Good point! The soil in our yard is slightly acidic and we do have a rain barrel set up. I try to use that for watering the blueberries as much as possible. I haven’t tested the city water yet, but I should.
I was taught that sphagnum peat moss will remain dry in dry soils if applied dry and mixed with those soils. It has a positive effect in clay soils if mixed fry,and if used to add goodness to dry soils, it should be mixed with an equal amount of water. My Sandy loam soil benefits me when I mix water into the moss in my wheel barrow. It really adds water retention, and still permits drainage.
I just found your videos and have found them very helpful, especially this one on blueberry bushes. I had been wondering the best way to acidify the soil for a blueberry bush. Some of the other comments may be helpful too, but one thing my mother used to say is "if you can't say something nice don't say anything."
I’m so happy to hear that! I do try to find topics that are lacking and do my best to provide some clarity. And yes, some people do prefer to be rude when they find someone they disagree with.
Great information!
HELL yes!!! THIS is the video I was looking for!!! Thanks for the heads up on coffee grounds, pine needles, etc! Hope your blueberries do/did well! ;-)
Haha, glad to hear it! The plants are doing very well. No berries yet, but definitely next year!
Gypsum is barely soluble in water but is the recommended solution for sodic soils, as it helps clay particles to flocculate.
Thanks for making this video this helps me a lot as I also have had trouble finding the best way to lower the soils ph
You’re welcome, that’s exactly why I made it 😁
Great show thank you for very informative information
Thanks and you’re welcome!
Enjoyed your explanation and research you did. Good louck.
Thank you, good luck to you!
Wettable Sulfur works great and it also works quicker than elemental sulfur. You have to sulfur every year though. That has been my experience with growing blueberries over 20 years.
Awesome, thanks for the advice!
Where can one buy it?
Try Humboldt golden tree
@@Mrs.T.Rusch25 Most feed and Farm supply stores.
@@dmo848 Never heard of it. Thanks.
Very well thought out information, it was evident to me that you did your research instead of just creating a video to upload based on the top Google search results, like the coffee grounds thing.
Thank you! It doesn't do any good to keep repeating misinformation, although I think I still got it wrong with the sustainability of peat moss usage. I'll have to look into that further and perhaps make a self-correction video soon.
There is an apple orchard 2 miles away and we volunteer to clean up apples under the trees. We apply 2-3 pails per bush and then cover with woodchips. Plants that never grew for 4 or 5 years are now 4-5 foot tall.
Our garden beds test 7.5 ph.
You nailed everything I have just now discovered...it all makes sense now. Hey, excellent video and delivery!!! You know your topic and it comes across very well. High School Teacher in another life?
Thanks! I wound up researching a lot for this video because I wanted to make sure I did the right thing for our blueberries. I like teaching in this context but I don’t think I could handle running an actual classroom!
Good vid mate.
Thank you!
Excellent video. Wish I'd seen this before I started doing the same research. Funny thing is, I did almost the very same thing you have. Except I typically use Pine Straw or Leaves for the mulch. It's what is available on the property. Not for trying to adjust the pH, mind you.
Thank you! It’s hard to find the right information out there. That’s always good to use on-site resources if they’re appropriate, and those should both be fine.
Thank you for sharing what you did and why, it was really helpful. I'm researching methods of changing the pH of a raised bed for blueberries and like you, am reluctant to use the peat moss. I'll try the sulphur method and see how I get on.
I’m always happy to hear that! The sulfur has worked very well since I made this video and we may get our first berries in 2023. Best of luck with yours!
@@SomeRoomtoGrow fingers crossed you get a good crop this year, and thank you!
Thank you for the tips. We should get our order of Blueberry bushes in a day or two. We are not going to plant right away - waiting for closer to Autumn so we can prepare the beds & lower the pH BEFORE planting. We are in SW Arizona (zone 9b) with heavy clay soil (so digging deeper & wider than most other plants we have) & was excited to learn we CAN grow Blueberries here (certain varieties though). They will be protected from all the critters we have here (bunnies, ground squirrels, birds). Judi
Best of luck with your blueberries! I actually grew up in Tucson. That’s great to hear you can grow some berries there.
Very informative video. Thank you for this content!
Thanks, and you’re welcome!
I'm too cheap I just dump left over coffee brew on it. My method work fine and I get a lot of blueberry.
Blueberries like a pH of 4.5 but black coffee is in the range of 4.85 and 5.1. Your blueberries would probably do even better with some additional sulfur.
Are you saying you pour the brewed liquid coffee or the spent geounds?
@@namenddr4172 😜 right? I want to know, too
I just bought two blueberry bushes. Nobody has any acidifying fertilizer ao I put coffee grounds and diluted coffee in my planters. Hoping it works!
Coffee beans are only acidic before they’ve brewed into coffee, pouring coffee or coffee grounds is just a myth
Best video everrrrrrr!
Wow, thanks!
Sulfates in general greatly and quickly lower soil pH, but not calcium sulphate (gypsum), because the calcium alkalizes and makes up for the pH lowering of the sulphate, so Gypsum ends up being pH neutral. But other sulphates are frequently used to quickly lower soil pH for BBs, because they are already transformed and usable by the plant, whereas elemental sulfur is very slow in converting to sulphate by itself (6-12 months). The mulch should be Pine Bark Mulch, which are acidic, not hardwood chips, which are alkaline. Since perlite is not sustainable, and vermiculite holds water, pumice is important to add to increase drainage and aeration. You're right on about everything else such as elemental sulfur.
Iron sulfate, either in the form of ferric or ferrous sulfate, also works to lower soil pH. Aluminum sulfate is also used sometimes but aluminum is toxic for plants in high amounts. For plants in containers organic acids can also be used, like citric or acetic acid.
brilliant time to give my blueberry's lemonade : )
Sulphur will be absorbed very fast by the surrounding ground. You'll need to reapply often. For best results Plant blueberries in containers and the soil will stay acidic. Mix of 1/3 peat moss (naturally acidic), 1/3 potting mix and 1/3 small bark will be ideal. Then fertilize with low nitrogen 3-12-12
Agreed, planting in containers is much easier to manage. Thanks for the advice!
Elemental sulphure will take action way faster. In time it will change the character of the soil. In a couple of years the soil will be acidic in its own without adding too much.
Say no to peat moss, way better alternatives that don’t destroy nature.
@@MATTINCALI How does peat moss destroy nature? I'm looking it up, but I think you may know😳💚
@@off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez over harvesting has begun to degrade ecosystems where its harvested from
I followed your advice and made a raised bed with peat moss (I'm OK with it) and native soil and lots and lots of pine chunks and bark, shavings and pine material, and sulfur. I got the PH from 7.2 to 6.4 so far one month along. The blueberries I planted a month ago when I did this are leafing out nicely and seem to be happy. And I think the soil will continue down for a while. But I know I'll need to reapply it once or twice a year.
That’s great! Yes, it will take some time to adjust. Make sure to test it again before adding more. I hope it works well for you!
Sphagnum moss..not peat moss!
Hello. New subscriber here. Your video has been the most interesting and informational I have watched. I'm in Ohio and have tried to grow blueberries before. The deer got to them and killed my plants. We are planting an orchard on part of our property and so far we have 12 different varieties of fruit trees and 3 different varieties of berries. Just by watching your video, I have learned alot.
I'm so glad to hear that! My goal is always to provide as much useful info as I can in each video. Best of luck with your new orchard!
@@SomeRoomtoGrow thank you!
Thanks for your intelligent, practical words.
Thank you for watching!
Nice Video and excellently Articulated, based on my research blueberries loves the mulch and don't care if its right up next to the plant as it wont be affected by any fungal issues unlike some other plants . I think your planting approach was perfectly fine but I would add much more sulfur because it will leach out so fast you will be battling acidity constantly constantly and this will affect the productivity of the plants .
I am planning on planting some blueberries in the ground at my new home and I will be using a different technique , I will be digging out a spot about 6 - 8 inches deep in the soil then I will use cinder blocks about three block height to create a raised bed every other block pockets will be filled for strength the soil will be acidified with sulfur and peat moss + other organic matter to create the right environment. Poles will be at the four corners to facilitate " Netting " to protect my fruits from birds this way I can enjoy my hard work .
I think your set- up would benefit from a similar technique depending on your budget , I also don't think its too late for you to great a raised bed around the plants as this will give you more control and lessen the frequency of which you need to acidify the soil . I am not telling you what to do but we all learn from each other . Peace and I wish you a bountiful harvest .
Lastly you may also want to research these products, these are what I use in my present setup and the blueberries are amazing and huge . These products are used in a balance and smart way for best results .
Ammonium Sulfate
Holytone Fertilizer
Miracid
Worm Castings
Azomite Rockdust
Calmag
Liquid Fish Fertilizer
Mulch
Thank you and I appreciate the advice! I just made a video with an update on the soil pH. It seems to be exactly where we want it, so I think the sulfur amendments have worked perfectly. I added a lot more mulch around the plants and it’s right up to the stems.
I hope you have a bountiful harvest as well!
I think it all depends on the starting pH grade of soil. We know pine needles, peat and sulfur from protein degradation DOES lower pH in the woods or we wouldn't find blueberries growing there in the wild, in a naturally composted, high humus soil. If, however, we want to take neutral clay soil and bump it up in acidity, (down several pH levels), something more drasticly artificial must be done because frankly, blueberries don't belong there. They're forced.
Containers or dedicated regions for acid loving plants among 'just south of neutral' plants is the best plan to keep evenly prolonged pH levels among those plants. Blue Hydrangeas are so low (pH 4) the soil can kill plants nearby. (rule of thumb: Purple 5, Pink 6, neutral white). But blueberries near hydrangeas and rhodedendrons and azaleas would do fine, keeping the pH 'in the family' between them. In fact, color of blue hydrangeas would be a good indicator whether your blueberries are in the right pH range without having to keep testing the soil, and provide winter protection of the dormant sticks.
Well said, and thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Hi lets not promote the use of peat moss as seen in some of the comments,good video clearly presented
Thank you!
Just started viewing your video. If you don’t mind, how cold are your winters and how far north are you? We have clay soil and cold winters but wild blueberries grow very well here (Stockholm, Sweden)
Thanks for asking! We’re at around 41 N and it gets down to -25F (-32C) on average. Blueberries seem to grow well here, too, but I haven’t seen any growing wild yet.
Thanks so much for this info! Where do I find elemental sulfur? I checked both Lowes & Home Depot and it says it's out of stock.
You’re welcome! I had to go on Amazon for it. I think it was about $22 for 10 pounds, which will last for many years!
subscribed. interested in knowing the results from here on out. planting quite a few this year.
Thank you! I made a follow up video showing the results from the sulfur. They’re finally producing their first blossoms this year and I’ll be making another update video on that.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow thanks:) looking forward to it
Water with low pH every watering, Vinegar, bark/wood chips/leaves, Epsom salt, gypsum, coffee grounds.
Lemon juice, citrus acid, vitamin c, low pH coco coir or mulch/manure
I use cheap coffee. It works but you have to add it more often than other amendments.
My blueberry ph went upto 6. What do I do to get back to 4.5 - 5??? Please help😢😢😢.
All the leaves browned and dropped off. Stems remain green. It's a two young potted plants just transferred to ground.
Thank you from Canada! What kind of wood chips should I use? There are lots of options here.
You’re welcome! I’m not sure how it is in Canada, but in the US we can usually get wood chips for free from tree arborists. Certified arborists should know which trees are best for garden use. Generally, it’s recommended to avoid Black Walnut, Black Locust and others. I’m still not sure how accurate that is, but maybe follow those recommendations just in case.
Use pine bark as the mulch/ wood chips, as it has a low PH ( 4.0 to 5.0).
@@SomeRoomtoGrow - You are 100% accurate about the Black Walnuts. Try to avoid it by all costs.
Pro tip on wood chips: Try to use wood chips ideally from your own property -- or from your larger neighborhood. Bringing in wood chips from far away can introduce fungal diseases and pests into your ecosystem that you don't want. When you see an arborist chipping up brush on your street, ask them if they can dump the chips at your house -- they're usually more than happy to have a place to get rid of them right close by. (I'm a former arborist.) That said, the local town pile of wood chips that a lot of places have are usually fine, too -- just an FYI on that general rule of thumb -- the closer the source, the safer. It's also ideal if you compost them for a while -- like a few months, a year or more -- before applying them as mulch, as they'll have more beneficial value to your soil and will draw less of the soil's nutrients out to help them compost, but you can feed and water your plants to counteract that, with new chips. 3-6" deep really helps the soil maintain moisture levels and evens out temps, like wrapping your plants in an insulating cloak. You can also use unfinished compost as mulch -- works great -- just don't till it into the soil until it's finished -- like you can't identify what's in it anymore -- all nice and black and broken down. On top, it's great and will encourage worms and microbial life and break the rest of the way down into soil eventually, feeding the plants. Wood chips do too -- just way slower.
@jrocks1971 all very good info, thanks! I’m glad I was able to use wood chips from our own maple tree that we had to cut down. They’ve broken down pretty quickly but we can always get more from our favorite local arborist.
hi
What does an increase in temperature effects on highbush blueberry growth or fruiting?
and what is the maximum temperature that highbush blueberries can tolerate?
Does the heat damage the plant itself or reduce the yield?
The area has enough cold time for chiling (More than 800 hours)
But hot summer up to 36 degrees
So I decided to plant in a greenhouse
what is your opinion
Hi! This is my first time growing blueberries, so there is a lot that I don't know yet. In our area, the temperature averages from -15F (-26C) at the coldest to 95F (35C) at the hottest. I think that most blueberry plants should be safe up to around 105F (40C), but I don't know what would happen to them if it was any hotter. Growing in a greenhouse will be hotter than outside, but they may be okay if the greenhouse is well ventilated. I don't know exactly how the heat affects the plants.
You should be fine at this outside temp. Just keep them watered, especially during fruiting time, and maintain heavy mulching, to keep the roots cool. (Blueberries, have shallow roots.)
Planting blueberries in a greenhouse, is not a good idea, unless you live in the arctic circle. Blueberries, require a minimum of around 250-300 chill hours per year; if they don't get that chill time, they will grow, but they will not fruit.
Just get some fans and lift bottom of greenhouse so that air will circulate or cut out windows at the top and put misters or fans to help cool the inside
Can you give us an update? How did this work out? I am thinking about trying to get them into an alkaline soil here in TX. My plan is to lay in a very deep mulch, add sand and sulfur and let it sit for six plus months, then plant in the spring.
Absolutely, I’ll plan to do an update soon! If your soil is alkaline, I would recommend growing in containers or raised beds if possible. It’s much easier to maintain the proper acidic pH in a container than it is in the ground.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow I asked another commenter why containers are suggested. Is it because the surrounding soil works toward alkalinity? If I wanted a wide mulch environment do you see burying the container as a hybrid?
Yes, the soil's natural pH will overpower any amendments you add to it, especially if you're trying to change from alkaline to very acidic. I honestly don't know if burying a container would work or if it would cause other problems within the soil (drainage, movement of soil biology, root growth, etc.). You may try seeking out other Texas blueberry growers to see what methods they use.
new pine needles and food sticks
new dirt often with sandy soil
leaves and broken down forest soil
I have so many pine needles, I'll stick to pine needle tea. Hi there new subscriber from Georgia.
Hi, thanks for subscribing!
Pine needles are only acidic when they’re green
I have a 2 year old bush and have had 1 blueberry off it but one of the shoots at the end it looks dead and hasn’t really grown since I purchased it. Should I snip it off ? Please help I love blueberry’s
You can trim off any dead branches to help the plant focus on new growth.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow many thanks
I've never, not once ever heard someone talk about using fresh not brewed coffee grounds to acidify soil. Would this not work? Just ground beans that have not been brewed?
I’ve seen some people mention it, but it would be way more expensive to use coffee than sulfur in the long run.
Thank you, that's good to know! @@SomeRoomtoGrow
sir could you please tell me how much elemental sulfur too add too 20 gal. cantainer?
I would guess about 2 oz. should be good.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow Thanks Sir for replying.
You’re welcome!
do you water these plants there with neutral water? here some of farmers water blueberries with a little phosphoric acide. this can help lower the ph
The water from our house is close to neutral. However, I will be watering these plants with rain water from a rain collection barrel as much as possible. The rain water is slightly acidic.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow rain water is the best choice.
@@yavuzzirhlisi I agree! Our plants love it.
If elemental sulphur reacts with water to create sulphuric acid why not just water with a very diluted H2SO4 solution?
I haven’t tested that to see what difference it would make. It may be better to let the sulfur slowly create acid in the soil over time.
Bună seara.Sant din România,va rog să-mi spuneți dacă pt afin putem folosi muschiul de pădure de conifere și turba din așternut de conifere.,Multumesc
Buna! Nu știu sigur, dar cred că ar fi bine să-l folosești ca mulci deasupra solului din jurul afinelor tale. Poate că nu face solul mai acid, dar va adăuga substanțe nutritive și materie organică pe măsură ce se descompune. Sper ca te ajuta!
@@SomeRoomtoGrow mulțumesc.💜
How often do i apply sulfur to my potted blueberry plant and how many tablespoons of sulfur per 25 gallon pot? Please reply
That depends on the pH of the soil in the container. You should have it tested first to get an accurate pH. Please see the top pinned comment on my other blueberry video for sulfur calculations.
how to germinate blueberry seeds i ordered 30 seeds and buy i don't have sphagnum peat moss help
I'm sorry, I have never germinated blueberry plants from seed. You may find another video about that on UA-cam. The peat moss is not necessary.
will adding lemon juice help?
Lemon juice won’t be nearly as effective as sulfur and it would turn out to be more expensive in the long run.
Thanks for the video!! So is it ok to put my used coffee grounds around my blueberries which I have in pots & can I do it all the time or would that be to much?
You’re welcome! You can certainly add a small amount of used grounds to give the plants a little more nitrogen, but it won’t have much of an affect on the pH. You don’t need to do it that often, maybe every 4-6 months. Wood chip mulch would be best, and the coffee grounds can also go in the compost, if you have some.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow would it matter if I put the actual coffee instead of used coffee ground?
@@chanthana7694 I’m not sure about that, but it seems like it would be a waste of coffee. It’s better for drinking than pouring into the ground, and there are much cheaper (and free) methods of fertilizing your soil.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow I no longer use that coffee anymore and probably no longer fresh since it's been on the shelf for so long so I figure maybe put into plant before wasting it.
@@chanthana7694 I’m sorry, I don’t know enough about that to give you a good answer. It might not be a good idea to pour the coffee onto the soil. You could at least brew the coffee and use the brewed grounds for your soil and compost, then pour the coffee into the sink drain if you’re not sure about drinking it.
I say good on you for not wanting to use peat moss.
Can they grow in the tropical countries sun an rain
I don’t know for certain, but I don’t think so.
Unfortunately, the answer is, no. Blueberries, require a minimum number of what's called chill hours, in order to set fruit. Chill hours, are the number of days, or hours of the day, when winter temperatures are between at least, 32°F and 45°F (0°C-7°C.)
You can plant blueberry bushes, they will grow if your soil is acidic, but they will not produce fruit.
I recommend you do a bit if research, and find out which berry plants are native to, or have been hybridized to your area. Even those of us who live where the soil is base, or alkaline, are pushing our luck by attempting to grow blueberries with any success.
Hope that helps. It's quite discouraging to labor over the plants in our gardens, only to meet with failure, simply because we didn't know. I conmmend you for asking the questions, before proceeding.
May the earth bring forth its bounty to you.
@@chachadodds5860 I thought it might have something to do with chill hours, but I wasn’t positive. Thank you for clarifying!
Yes, just get yourself a Biloxi or Ventura variety.
Hi Dev. I have successfully grown blueberrues from store bought fruit here in South Africa. We have semi tropical weather here with long hot summers and cool winters. They grow and fruit perfectly as long as the soil is acidic. Use peat and perlite mixtures in pots and add a few drops of sulphuric acid (battery acid) to your water. 5 drops per 10 litres of water will give you a ph of around 4.5 Water deeply 2 to 3 times a week.
Gypsum will help breakdown the clay.
Gypsum can loosen the soil but the effect doesn’t last very long. Wood chips will do a much better job improving the texture over time.
What about lemon juice will it work?
That’s a good question. I don’t think it will affect the pH for very long. You would have to keep adding it often and it could have an unwanted side effect on soil biology.
Ok, ready for a brain bender, Back to Eden Paul Gautchi(sp?) shows his blue berries growing fantastic in his 7 ph soil. So I did same. Same great results. I did same research like you. What I have come to understand is that many of us B2E woodchip gardeners are just too impatient. We want to plant right away. We try to cheat the time it takes for good soil to appear. I quit trying to ammend and as time passed my soil got better. Now my blueberries thrive. The mystery of blueberry research even shows farmers who mix pine bark in their soil, this is at blueberry farms. I don't know what to think/say. But probably like you I've heard scientists dispute the effect of pine needles/pine bark does nothing and I believe this is accurate. But this flies in the face of farmers here who make a living raising blueberries. The thing about B2E is the soil biology. No till, cover grass, 8+ inches arborist woodchip (which includes leaves), takes a while to gain advantage. Takes a year or more. Really 2+ years. Amending which is salts which kill the micro biome, which take longer to repair. It's a strange world of truths. My experience, first I try Ruth Stout (deep hay mulch) but hay is unsafe (broad leaf pesticide). That lead me to B2E. But, research led me to "living soil" and Elain Ingham. But I'm not going to do the microscope thing. Now I am working through the details of B2E incorporating living soil by "living root". Living root is similar to cover crop, but try not to kill. Sorta chop & drop. The trick is to use cover crop biodiversity to protect target crop, not feed, as B2E does feeding. CC does protecting. But same time you have to prevent CC from overtaking target crop. Food forrest, crowding, mother nature's way seems good. For example I read catnip grown next to tomatoes prevents tomato horn worm. Subscribed..!
Thank you for subscribing and sharing your own trials and discoveries! Nature is extremely complex, that’s for sure. I try to follow the science as much as possible and the rest is just personal observation.
I live near Sequim where Mr. Gauschi was/is located. People often forget that his chicken yard gets four feet deep every year, and his son helps him wheelbarrow all of it out to the gardens every spring. Maybe that helps
Suffer in well water
Sulfur? Possibly
Are you wearing a LackLuster Shi
rt?
Haha no, it’s actually my nephew’s music artist moniker, Pulsar Glitch. He’s on streaming!
Peat moss varies widely in acidity. What the big box stores sell the most of tests as weakly acidic to neutral. This is not going to get you to the right pH, The most reliably acidic peat moss is Canadian sphagnum, which is admittedly pricey.
Good to know, thanks!
I use pine needles
Pine needles are only acidic when they’re gree
What about Epsom salts
The benefits of Epsom salts are a myth, and gardeners should stop using this product in their gardens. It won’t affect the pH in this situation.
What about iron?
EDIT: I was just reading about using iron sulfate and I wanted to give an update. Iron sulfate can lower the pH more quickly than pure sulfur, but the effect doesn’t last as long. It would need to be reapplied more frequently than sulfur. I’m also not sure how it would affect the iron content of the soil, and I know our soil has plenty of iron.
In your channel description, u mention local fauna but don't mention where you are. A lot of growers follow channels near their climate. Might want to add what zone and or microclimate ur in.
Thank you for pointing that out! I’ve been wanting to update that anyway.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow sure thing! I'm on the Oregon coast btw. Maritime oceanic temperate or some such. UK growers have similar climate
Nice! I’m sure that’s a beautiful area.
I heard that vinegar will lower the pH.
Vinegar can lower the pH, but the effect doesn't last very long. You would have to add it to the soil on a regular basis (once a week or every few days) to maintain a low pH. Vinegar is commonly used in homemade herbicides, so you could also hurt your plants by adding too much. Sulfur is a much simpler and more effective method to maintain an acidic soil.
Update please ?
I made an update video last summer to show the pH results: ua-cam.com/video/LTI6rfnctZg/v-deo.html
Easiest way is to bring the soil from a forest. Pine tree compost, pine chunks, pine bark, pinecones, cork oak bark. For mulch I use living moss. This keeps acidity all the time
Good idea if you live near pine forests and are allowed to remove soil.
Did you ever try apple cider vinegar?
No, I haven’t, only because the sulfur has done such a good job that I didn’t need to try anything else.
Dude so dissapointed.
I planted my blueberries with zero pre knowledge and now I'm struggling to keep them alive not sure what to do
I’m sorry to hear that! You can try adding some sulfur to the soil around them, following my process in this video. Lightly rake it into the soil surface and water it in. It will take some time to adjust the pH but it’s worth a try.
@SomeRoomtoGrow thanks man I'll definitely be trying it I appreciate your video it's the best I've seen
@@Jstaman thank you and good luck!
Blueberry plants like to pop up after a fire has gone through an area. Take it from Mother Nature.
That’s interesting! Not sure I’d want to intentionally try that approach, but it’s still good to learn how that works.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow, ie., adding ash to the soil acidifies it to a blueberries liking naturally.
@@mitchbatten8281 that's kinda weird. Wood ash is very much alkaline. It is rich in lime and other trace minerals.
Johnny Reyes, you appear to be right, I have always assumed it was the ash that the berries liked because we would go pick them the year following fires. Must create favorable conditions by other means.
UNUSED coffee grounds is what helps... NOT used. Also GREEN pine needles not dead brown needles.
That may be true and those could help if you’re unable to purchase sulfur. But if you have the option, sulfur will require much less work to maintain the proper pH and it’s very affordable.
Wow had to watch 8 mins of what not to do and 2 mins of what to do.
But if you happened to learn something in that first 8 minutes, wasn’t it worth it? Did the video not deliver on what the title promised?
@@SomeRoomtoGrow When you make a video that drags on to get to the info that you clicked on it for, don't take it personally when someone calls you on it. Sorry, just get tired of these kind of videos.
I always include timestamps in the description so you can jump ahead to the section you want to see. It was important for me to debunk all of these myths in this video to help people find a solution that actually works. I might have to change the title of the video to represent that.
Huge fail. It baffles me that people, wanting to be gardeners, take no interest in learning about the chemistry of soil and the biology of plants.
Clay soil is alkaline. Sand and silt are acidic. Remove the clay and replace it with cherty dreck of some sort such as gravel from a mountain stream. Add back some clay for the fertility. Spray agricultural vinegar on the surface. Plant the blueberry. Mulch heavily.
Never use sulfur on blueberries. Blueberries form a symbiotic relationship with particular fungi called mycorrhizal fungi. Sulfur inhibits fungi. Sulfur makes blueberries taste like store-bought blueberries.
What I find baffling is that you felt the need to make assumptions and be unnecessarily insulting to try to make your point.
I DID spend many hours researching the topic, sorting through piles of misinformation to find actual science from plant and soil biologists like Linda Chalker-Scott, Dr. Elaine Ingham, Jeff Gillman and others. Of course the best recommendation was to plant blueberries in a container, but since we couldn’t afford that I aimed for the next best option.
We do have heavy clay soil, yet lab tests show it is slightly acidic at 6.1. This meant that it would not take much sulfur to lower it further. I mulch heavily with arborist wood chips to support mycorrhizal fungal networks in the soil. I know that high phosphorus can inhibit mycorrhizal associations, but I have not yet read that sulfur would do the same. At the very least, you’ve given me a few points to research further.
Please be more kind in the future when attempting to educate people.
If you don't have naturally acidic soil, plant something else.
Growing them in pots is probably the best option for a number of reasons.
Sulphur is blueberries friend
Completely agree about growing them in pots. Or a 20 gallon grow bag is maybe even better.
@@damnjustassignmeone or 5 gal buckets
I'm curious if I can change my pH around my acid loving plants but not have that acidity contaminate my entire garden bed. I like to do companion planting with tomatoes and strawberries, but didn't know if I got the soil acid enough for the strawberries, can I have a few "neutral oases" of 7 pH soil for the tomatoes?
I'm not sure how well that would work. Strawberries and tomatoes have different pH needs and should probably be grown separately. You could just add sulfur around the strawberries like I did here with the blueberries.
Sorry but everything you've been saying is opposite to what I've been researching instead of learning it's added confusion not trying to be nasty but more confusing than learning
I know, and that’s exactly why I thought it was important to make this video. There is far too much non-science misinformation out there. I would recommend watching the videos that I listed in the description below this video. They can provide much more good science-based info for you.