Sweet fruits on acidic soil
Cultivated blueberries as a real North American variant of the wild blueberries that can be collected in the forest in this country are somewhat less aromatic, but significantly larger and juicier than their local relatives. In nature, blueberries grow primarily in the clearings of loose bog forests, as they thrive best on acidic soil with a pH value of 4.0 to 5.0. The blueberry varieties offered by specialist retailers for cultivation in the garden also require a more acidic and largely lime-free soil. On not too loamy soils, this can sometimes be achieved by acidifying with the following materials:
- Bark mulch
- Mulch (€ 213.00 at Amazon *) from spruce and pine needles
- Conifer and lawn cut
also read
- Hibernate blueberries in the garden
- Recognize and avoid diseases in blueberries
- The right soil for blueberries in the garden
The pot as the simpler variant
In most home gardens, you will hardly be spared the need to replace a larger part of the soil at the planned location for growing blueberries. Since blueberries tend to have shallow roots, the excavated cuboid does not have to be very deep, but relatively wide. In order to avoid the lateral penetration of lime with the irrigation water, a larger amount of rhododendron or azalea soil and peat is usually unavoidable. Growing blueberries in pots avoids this problem, as only the pot itself has to be filled with a lime-free and acidic soil.
Properly care for the blueberries in the pot
Cultivated blueberries generally tolerate a sunnier location than native wild blueberries in the forest. However, when growing in a pot, you have to pay much more attention to an adequate water supply, as the substrate in the pot dries out much faster than a garden bed due to wind and sun. Especially during the blueberry harvest season in July and August, the bushes need a lot of water to be able to develop juicy and fully ripe fruits on the branches. Blueberries in the bucket should be checked and watered particularly regularly during dry periods.
Tips & Tricks
Nowadays, peat from the mining of moors no longer corresponds to the concept of environmentally friendly garden design. However, composting companies often also offer soil substrates acidified by mulched bark components for sale.
