Soil for garden blueberries: what composition is needed and how to do it yourself

New shrubs appear every now and then in the collections of amateur gardeners. And garden blueberries can become a special exhibit. She will require special treatment. In order to hope for a good harvest, you should choose a good variety and prepare the soil most suitable for garden blueberries, or water drinkers, as it is also called.

Main mistakes when growing garden blueberries

It is very important to know exactly how garden blueberries should be planted and what care they need to provide in order to guarantee an excellent harvest of he althy and tasty berries. Try not to make the typical blueberry-growing mistakes:

• improper soil preparation;
• location of bushes - it is required to be light and sunny;
• forget about the plant for the whole summer after planting - without watering it is unlikely to survive;
• improper feeding;
• no formation of bushes - at least 6-7 strong branches should be on each.

Let's talk about how to avoid mistakes.

Selecting a site for crops

The most successful place for blueberries will be a clean area where no crops have been cultivated until now. Otherwise, the bush may die. In any case, you will not wait for active development from him.

You should not plant blueberry bushes in lowland areas. Stagnation of water will also negatively affect its root system, and the roots will begin to rot. The same will happen in a clay soil area.

Learn the main condition - blueberries love light the most. Pick a sunny spot for her. Even in partial shade, you run the risk of “enjoying” as a result small berries with a sour taste. Yes, and shoots from a lack of light develop more slowly, and therefore do not have time to become woody by winter. And this is a direct threat to freeze in cold weather.

Important! If the site is chosen correctly, the harvest is guaranteed.

What soil do garden blueberries like

It has long been known that the plant is not the most demanding on the composition of the soil. It does not tolerate stagnant water, but planted in sand, on the contrary, will suffer from a moisture deficiency.

The best soils for blueberries are light and acidic. Peat bogs and sandy loam substrates are comfortable for her, and rotted leaf litter serves to improve the water regime and increase soil fertility.

Why are blueberries so sensitive to acidic soil? Due to the special structure of its root system.On blueberry roots you will not find small hairs. For other plants, they serve as a means of saturation with water and various nutrients. For blueberries, mycorrhiza has become such a conductor. This is the name of micro fungi that can develop exclusively in an acidic environment.

High peat for blueberries becomes a more productive mix when bark, needles, twigs, cones or sand (10%) are added to it. Lowland peat is mixed with the rest of the components so that its share is not less than 40%.

How to make acidic soil for blueberries with your own hands?

It is enough to notice in the spring that the leaves turn red to understand that the soil is not acidic enough. Simultaneously with this sign, the whole plant freezes in development. In autumn, reddening leaves should not bother you. The plant is getting ready for winter.

If it turned out that the soil in the allotted area is slightly acidic, you can oxidize it yourself, using fairly effective means. These substances are aggressive. So when working with them you will have to wear rubber gloves and not only. Plastic goggles will be needed too, and a mask.

Important! Recommendations on how to increase the acidity of the soil on which blueberries grow (per 1 square meter of land):

1. Diluted in 10 liters of water 5 grams of citric acid powder.
2. 100 grams of acetic acid is added to 10 liters of water. But such a solution is used in an exceptional case. They shouldn't get carried away.
3. One liter of water with a drop of concentrated sulfuric acid.
4. Diluted in 20 liters of water 5 grams of oxalic powder, and the solution is poured into the wells.
5. An acidifier from an electrolyte used in car batteries: 30 milliliters per 10 liters of water.
6. Powdered sulfur (15 grams) is spread over the ground under a blueberry bush. But first, the earth should be well watered. Then you can plant shrubs.
7. Make homemade organic food. Before planting a bush in a hole, needles, sand, sawdust or peat are laid in it.

Preparing such substrates for a gardener is not difficult. So with his own hands he will quickly get the right soil for blueberries.

Rules for planting and watering blueberries

Make sure that all planting material is he althy and with a closed root system. For planting, young two-year-old seedlings are quite suitable. You can plant them both in autumn and spring.

Blueberry bushes are recommended to be planted from north to south, in a row. Each bush should have about 2 square meters. This should be taken into account when calculating the distance between them.

Fertilizers are applied from the season following planting. Sanitary pruning is performed for the third season, removing dry, damaged branches and slightly thinning the crown. Pruning tall branches allows you to give an aesthetic look to the shrub.

Treatment with fungicidal agents, such as Euparen or Topsin, will serve as a preventive measure after pruning.

Little tips will teach you how to water correctly:

1. Important! The optimal indicator of soil moisture is 60-70%.
2. Don't use a hose. Much more use from a watering can.
3. Water required every 3 days, mornings and evenings. An adult bush needs 5 liters of water.
4. Especially plentiful watering of bushes is required in July and August.
5. In the heat, you can, in addition to watering, spray with cool water.

Experienced gardeners are well aware of the unpretentiousness of garden blueberries. But it will not work to close your eyes to its exactingness to the ground. The gardener must provide the plant with proper care. And then, in the fall, her rich harvest will become a real pride.

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