How to acidify the soil for blueberries: the best ways

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Blueberry is not the most common cultivated plant in our country. Not every summer resident or garden owner decides to grow it on a par with raspberries, strawberries and cherries. One of the problems is picky about the soil. Blueberries simply won't grow on normal soil. She needs high humidity - only in this case she will successfully develop and bear fruit. It is not surprising that many summer residents who decide to experiment with this rare crop have a question about how to acidify the soil for blueberries. We will try to answer it as detailed as possible.

Why acidify the soil?

To begin with, blueberries traditionally grow in acidic soils, usually swampy. Most of the other plants die here. That is why, in order to survive, blueberries had to change, adapt to unusual conditions.

If you dig its root system, you can see that it is practically devoid of thin branches - in the swamp they will simply rot. But on the roots there is a white coating. It's not a disease, how canappear to the uninitiated. This is a type of mushroom. Experts call this symbiosis mycorrhiza, combining the Greek words "myco + riza", that is, "mushroom + root". As a result of such a neighborhood, the plant receives from the fungus the necessary trace elements and moisture, which it absorbs from the soil. If, due to unsuitable conditions, the fungus dies, then blueberries will not grow normally, they will not be able to develop. And it needs an acidic environment to survive. Therefore, soil acidification for blueberries is the only way to get a crop.

Optimal indicator for blueberries

Most cultivated plants grown in vegetable gardens and orchards prefer slightly acidic or neutral soil. If you give specific numbers, then the pH in the range of 5.5-7.5 units is considered the best indicator. Therefore, you need to think about soil acidification only if the indicator has increased above this parameter.

However, blueberries are very different in this requirement from most plants. It grows best if the soil has an acidity of about 3.5-4.5 units. With an increase in acidity to 5.5 (the minimum limit for many garden plants) and above, blueberries begin to hurt and even die. Of course, a rich harvest is out of the question.

What plants need acidic soil

However, not only blueberries need acidic soil. Many other plant species can also grow and thrive only on land with a low pH. From berry crops, lingonberries, blueberries and cranberries can be attributed here. Quite a lot of shrub plants also needacidic earth - wild rosemary, rhododendron, heather, azaleas. Speaking of perennials, fern, dientra, gravel and primrose are worth noting.

If you plan to grow any of these plants on your site, it will not be out of place to remember the need for regular soil acidification.

Signs of lack of acidity

If blueberries are planted in an area where the pH exceeds the optimum, then the fungus living on its root system dies. This results in the plant not getting enough nitrogen. Well, any experienced summer resident can easily determine this - the symptoms are known to everyone. As a result, green leaves become lighter in color, turn yellow, and then die.

No wonder, it is nitrogen that contributes to the growth of green mass: stems and leaves. And without it, the plant will not be able to grow new leaves, because of which the process of photosynthesis stops, and it dies. There is only one way to prevent this - to acidify the soil in time. We will talk about this a little later.

Determining the acidity of the earth

However, experienced summer residents will try not to bring to a situation in which the plant will get sick and may even die. Therefore, before planting blueberries in their area, they will try to collect more information about the soil that prevails on it. Of course, it is desirable to have a special device for this, but it is quite expensive, which is why it is not suitable for private use.

Therefore, it is much easier to use litmus test: disposable, but reliable, simple and verycheap remedy. It is very easy to use.

It is necessary to dig several holes with a depth of about 20-30 centimeters (as the blueberry roots occur). From each you need to collect a little earth: about a few tablespoons. It remains only to mix it, slightly moisten it (if it is completely dry) and press litmus paper to the soil. Gradually, the color of the paper will change. It remains only to check it with the indicator, which usually comes with litmus papers.

Yellow or light green colors correspond to pH values from 3 to 5 - ideal for blueberries. If the color is orange or red - this is already a frankly alarming sign, showing that the earth is too acidic, you need to increase the pH.

If the color is from deep green to blue or even purple, then the pH is already too high - you need to lower this indicator. Luckily, there are some easy and reliable ways to do this.

Different ways of soil acidification

In general, there are several ways to properly acidify the soil for blueberries. To do this, you can use special plants, organic fertilizers, acids, as well as mineral elements.

Each of the ways has unique characteristics. Some act very quickly, but increase acidity for a relatively short period of time, which means that you will have to repeat the procedure quite often. Other methods, on the contrary, give an effect only after a few months. However, they are more stable anddurable.

In addition, some methods are relatively harmless, you definitely will not cause irreparable damage to the soil, although the efficiency is not too high. Thanks to other tricks, you can adjust the acidity, quickly changing it in the right direction. But in this case, you should be very careful - improper handling of reagents or a small mistake will inevitably lead to the fact that it will be possible to grow at least something on ruined soil very soon. Therefore, we will talk about different ways of acidifying the soil.

Use organic matter

One of the safest ways to increase the acidity of the soil for the subsequent cultivation of blueberries is the use of organic fertilizers. Yes, the process is delayed for several weeks or even months. But such acidification works for a very long time: at least a season or even two. Dealing with the challenge is pretty easy. As top dressing, you can use fresh horse or cow dung, sphagnum moss, compost obtained from tree leaves, high-moor peat or rotted sawdust, needles.

It is best to use organic matter to acidify light soils mixed with sand. Usually they are distinguished by good aeration, water permeability. Here, the bacteria contained in the soil and organic matter will actively decompose, releasing the necessary trace elements, enriching the earth and changing its composition. An additional advantage is the preservation of looseness of the soil, increasing fertility. Most crops will grow just fine.

On heavy clay soils, this will give even morea long, but very weak effect: the lack of oxygen will lead to the fact that the process of decomposition of organic matter will go very slowly. Therefore, you can use it to increase acidity, but as an additional solution.

Correct acidification

There is not always enough organic matter (compost and manure). Therefore, they must be used correctly. It is not at all necessary to scatter them all over the site. It is much better to use organics purposefully, pouring directly into the holes. This will allow you to achieve an excellent result with low costs of valuable raw materials.

Use mineral compounds

To quickly increase the acidity of the soil, especially if we are talking about areas with clay soil, you will have to use special mineral compounds. These include colloidal sulfur and ferrous sulfate.

How to acidify the soil for blueberries with colloidal sulfur? Pretty simple. One kilogram of the substance is scattered over an area of about 10 square meters, after which the earth is dug up to a depth of about half the bayonet of a shovel. At this ratio, the pH will decrease by about 2.5 units. If this is not enough, the dose can be increased. It is advisable to do this in the fall - the process needs about 8-12 months to start. In spring, acidity will rise to the minimum required level, and by the end of summer, when berries are formed, the indicator will reach its optimal value.

Ferrous sulfate is also quite easy to work with. Moreover, it gives a faster effect, however, not the samelong-term. By applying 500 grams of powder per 10 square meters of land and digging up the site, you can achieve a decrease in pH by one, and it will take only one month. But such an operation will have to be done at least once a year. Otherwise, the acidity of the medium will increase again. Although, of course, before oxidation, you need to use the indicator and find out the current indicator. It is very important to know how often to acidify the soil for blueberries so that they grow well, but at the same time do not die due to excess acid.

Acids will come to the rescue

Quite often, summer residents are interested in how to acidify the soil for blueberries with citric acid. And is it even possible? It turns out, yes, it is quite possible. Citric and other acids are used if it is necessary to increase the acidity of the soil, and very quickly, in a matter of hours. True, they should be used very carefully so as not to spoil the land, otherwise not only blueberries, but also many other crops will not grow on it.

So, how to acidify the soil for blueberries with citric acid? It is best to use a crystalline substance. Two teaspoons are dissolved in a ten-liter bucket of water, after which an area of \u200b\u200babout one square meter is poured with the resulting liquid.

It is possible to use an electrolyte for acidifying the soil for blueberries, most importantly unused, diluting 50 milliliters per ten liters of water. This is also enough to increase the acidity of one square meter of the site.

Interested in how to acidify the soil for blueberriesvinegar? This option also applies. For work, you need to take ten liters of water and 100 milliliters of nine percent vinegar, not essence. The resulting solution is also watered one square meter of land. However, experienced gardeners try not to use this technique. The fact is that the effect is very short-term, it is not enough even for a season. But the bacteria that live in the soil and contribute to the conversion of fertilizers into nutrients, the solution kills. Moreover, if you increase the acidity with vinegar every spring, then the microorganisms will not have time to recover, as a result, the yield will drop sharply.

We use green manure

Finally, one of the slowest, but completely safe, reliable and long-term ways to increase soil acidity is the use of special green manure plants. The main thing is to select suitable crops (not all green manure acidify the soil).

Oats, canola, white mustard and colza are best. After a set of green mass, but before the formation of seeds, the site must be plowed up, planting the plants in the soil. Their rotting will provide the earth with nutrients and increase acidity. Yes, it will take a whole year, but you will not cause any harm to the soil, and you will achieve your goal.

Conclusion

That's all the basic information. Now you know why blueberries and some other plants need low pH soil. We also found out how to acidify the soil for blueberries with electrolyte, green manure and other methods.