I have two 3 year old blueberry plants in pots, Chandler and Patriot. Chandler is by far the better of the two, in taste, size of fruit and vigor. I give mine a feed of ericaceous liquid feed in spring, then again towards the end of fruiting so that any new growth has time to harden before the cold weather hits.
Thanks Steve 309 and Mel M, been using granular feed for them which helps, guess its just going to be saving up and doing a few at a time, ground quite hard to dig deep cos of the flints and chalk that are wedged in the clay, have quite abit of my own compost but I put the wood ash in it lol. I'll see if I can find a non peat ericaceous compost,buying bigger pots isn't really an option as they are too heavy to move very far now and not sure how much bigger I'd be able to get, love so much about my village and this area but still miss the wonderful soil my Bournemouth garden had. That abit sad . Maybe combo of building raised bed and trying your suggestion of pine needles etc with an acid feed will work, will feedback if it works though be a while lol.
Yes, raised beds with ericaceous soil of some description is your best option. You can use elemental sulphur if you want to aviod peat-based products. Do not try to acidify your chalky ground soil - you will be completely wasting your time:
Thanks Bob for the link, makes better sense now n will save me wasting time n money pointlessly. Yep raised bed n sulphur my best option, be cheaper than moving house again lol. Got the winter to plan and organise it. Cheers
Someone posted that only 4% of Irish peat is used in gardening products - the rest is burnt in their power stations! If this is fact, it makes you stop and think.
Just had a look on the web concerning Irish peat. "20% of Irish homes are heated by peat briquettes [called turf] which the EU is now trying to ban, but is meeting strong resistance. 3 million tons of peat is burnt in three power stations each year to produce electricity. It would take a lot of compost to compete with that!
Thanks Mel, won't feel so guilty now. I had no idea it was still being burned. Will still see what else I can find that's not peat based, I did do soil tests when first came to cottage but might try again and test my own compost to see how much my wood ash has made to its ph value. Tried some of a friends blueberries straight off the plant during the summer and would like to add them to the new improved garden plan ( took a huge 12ft trampoline out the garden and suddenly the garden has loads more possibilities).
I bought 3 this year, early, mid and late varieties, clay like you, so in pots, also says they arent completely hardy (dont live in a cold area, S.E 10 minutes from the sea,) but thought at least I could shelter if neccessary. Plus can put them in fruit cage away from the birds, while in pots!
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I have two 3 year old blueberry plants in pots, Chandler and Patriot. Chandler is by far the better of the two, in taste, size of fruit and vigor. I give mine a feed of ericaceous liquid feed in spring, then again towards the end of fruiting so that any new growth has time to harden before the cold weather hits.
Thanks Steve 309 and Mel M, been using granular feed for them which helps, guess its just going to be saving up and doing a few at a time, ground quite hard to dig deep cos of the flints and chalk that are wedged in the clay, have quite abit of my own compost but I put the wood ash in it lol. I'll see if I can find a non peat ericaceous compost,buying bigger pots isn't really an option as they are too heavy to move very far now and not sure how much bigger I'd be able to get, love so much about my village and this area but still miss the wonderful soil my Bournemouth garden had. That abit sad
. Maybe combo of building raised bed and trying your suggestion of pine needles etc with an acid feed will work, will feedback if it works though be a while lol.
thanks again guys
Sounds like a plan. Good luck!
Yes, raised beds with ericaceous soil of some description is your best option. You can use elemental sulphur if you want to aviod peat-based products. Do not try to acidify your chalky ground soil - you will be completely wasting your time:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=82
Someone posted that only 4% of Irish peat is used in gardening products - the rest is burnt in their power stations! If this is fact, it makes you stop and think.
Just had a look on the web concerning Irish peat. "20% of Irish homes are heated by peat briquettes [called turf] which the EU is now trying to ban, but is meeting strong resistance. 3 million tons of peat is burnt in three power stations each year to produce electricity. It would take a lot of compost to compete with that!
Thanks Mel, won't feel so guilty now. I had no idea it was still being burned. Will still see what else I can find that's not peat based, I did do soil tests when first came to cottage but might try again and test my own compost to see how much my wood ash has made to its ph value. Tried some of a friends blueberries straight off the plant during the summer and would like to add them to the new improved garden plan ( took a huge 12ft trampoline out the garden and suddenly the garden has loads more possibilities).
Go to gardeningknowhow.com
gardening know howsoil and fertilisers. They explain how to turn soil acid.
I bought 3 this year, early, mid and late varieties, clay like you, so in pots, also says they arent completely hardy (dont live in a cold area, S.E 10 minutes from the sea,) but thought at least I could shelter if neccessary. Plus can put them in fruit cage away from the birds, while in pots!