Soil pH meters are notably unreliable used like that cos of variable water content in different areas. (I used to do this from time to time as part of my job). The best way to get an accurate and reliable reading is to make a suspension of some soil and stick the meter in that. The instructions that came with the meter probably say that.
Of course, the pH will vary from place to place as well! So you still need to take lots of samples from lots of places. Or just chuck a load of ericaceous in anyway.
Bob TheGardener how big are the pots that you use as my blueberries which came in 1.5l pots 12 months ago are in ones about 14 inches wide by the same high and I was wondering if they were big enough? Also I hear that you can use pine needles as an acid mulch for blueberries and as we have a pine plantation quite nearby I thought that I could gather some leaf litter for mulching the pots.
I think they would benefit from slightly bigger pots barry island. Blueberries can grow quite large and mine are in 20 inch (50cm) pots. Have read of this about composting pine needles:
Thanks Bob I will have to look into getting some bigger pots, two of the three blueberry bushes are starting to grow rapidly but the third although it produced berries doesn't look to be growing and has lost leaves. I added quite a bit of sharp sand to the ericaceous compost when I potted them up so it will be good to re-pot them and I can see how moist the compost is as it does appear to be quite dry on the surface even after regular watering.
I bought a blueberry bush in a pot this year and I now want to plant it in the garden. Does it need pruning (2year old) and does it need winter protection?
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Soil pH meters are notably unreliable used like that cos of variable water content in different areas. (I used to do this from time to time as part of my job). The best way to get an accurate and reliable reading is to make a suspension of some soil and stick the meter in that. The instructions that came with the meter probably say that.
Of course, the pH will vary from place to place as well! So you still need to take lots of samples from lots of places. Or just chuck a load of ericaceous in anyway.
Bob TheGardener how big are the pots that you use as my blueberries which came in 1.5l pots 12 months ago are in ones about 14 inches wide by the same high and I was wondering if they were big enough? Also I hear that you can use pine needles as an acid mulch for blueberries and as we have a pine plantation quite nearby I thought that I could gather some leaf litter for mulching the pots.
I think they would benefit from slightly bigger pots barry island. Blueberries can grow quite large and mine are in 20 inch (50cm) pots. Have read of this about composting pine needles:
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/composting-pine-needles.htm
Basically it says they produce neutral compost when they eventually rot down but are acidic when fresh.
Thanks Bob I will have to look into getting some bigger pots, two of the three blueberry bushes are starting to grow rapidly but the third although it produced berries doesn't look to be growing and has lost leaves. I added quite a bit of sharp sand to the ericaceous compost when I potted them up so it will be good to re-pot them and I can see how moist the compost is as it does appear to be quite dry on the surface even after regular watering.
It might sound a silly question but after planting and putting a mulch around the bush can i just water them through the mulch in the future.
Oh, and do i have to use rain water, as i don't have much collected at the moment
I've got my first 3 bushes on order and should be here by the end of the week.
After digging the hole should i be using an ericaceous compost to back fill or mix with the soil.
I works on Yahoo too, highlight, right click and select secure search.
Well things looking good pH wise the 3 samples i took showed acidic to very acidic soil, happy days.
I bought a blueberry bush in a pot this year and I now want to plant it in the garden. Does it need pruning (2year old) and does it need winter protection?