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Blueberry plant care

CompleterookieCompleterookie Posts: 130
in Fruit & veg
Good morning everyone
I planted 2 blueberry plants in ericaceous compost earlier in the year. I usually use miraclegro all purpose continuous release pellets and tomorite on my plants, can I use these on my blueberry plants or do I need to use an ericaceous feed? And when to start feeding?
I don't have a water butt and I understand blueberry dont like tap water.. Can I  use mineral water if I can't obtain any rain water. Big thanks for advice for any help

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Hi and welcome to the forum
    I Use Miracle Grow soluble food for Azaleas for my blueberries.
    I feed them once a month while they are growing - usually from around now until September.
    Normal plant feeds aren't suitable

    Mineral water will be worse than tap water as the minerals make it very alkaline, so don't use that.
    Rain water is by far the best.
    If you have to use tap water, let it stand for 24 hours so that the chlorine can evaporate.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    I’d agree with rain water and not using mineral water, but I don’t think there is a need to worry about chlorine.

    https://www.gardenmyths.com/chlorine-chloramine-plants/
  • clarke.bruntclarke.brunt Posts: 215
    I don't worry about chlorine in tap water either. For an acid-lover like Blueberry, then depending on whether you are in the hard/soft water area, it's the Calcium carbonate (or bicarbonate as it is in the water) which the plants don't like - same stuff as produces 'kettle scale'.

    I'm lucky to usually have enough rainwater available. If I'm driven to using tap water, then at least for plants where it matters, I acidify it for use. I'm not saying this is for everyone - I have a pH meter to measure what I'm doing, and I use sulphuric acid (bought as drain cleaner). It's possible with weaker 'domestic' acids, like acetic acid (as in vinegar), or citric acid (as in lemon juice), but it can take rather a lot.

    Using 'ericaceous plant' fertiliser should help - it's designed so that the nutrients hopefully remain available to plants, rather than becoming 'locked up' in alkaline conditions.

  • MagicmarigoldMagicmarigold Posts: 15
    Hello, I've had blueberry plants for the last few years and no water butt and I found keeping a bucket handy and catching rain water specifically for the blueberries just in a bucket or two lasted me most of the year (apart from a few dry weeks over summer)
    I am up north and its quite rainy though....
  • BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
    Like @Magicmarigold, I've got a watering can and two buckets full of rain water on standby. I'll be delighted if I run out of rain water for any length of time this spring/summer. Not likely in my part of the world though.
    East Lancs
  • CompleterookieCompleterookie Posts: 130
    Big thanks for all your advice.. I have a couple of buckets which i can use... Thanks for clearing  up my watering problem. 
  • BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
    Which variety have you got @elliss1?

    I got my 3 blueberry plants (Draper, Bluecrop & Aurora) about 6 weeks ago - very excited by the prospect of my first 'crop' later this year.
    East Lancs
  • CompleterookieCompleterookie Posts: 130
    Me too, im a novice gardener so hopefully Ill get a crop from my pink lemonade and duke varieties. 
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