How to acidify the soil for blueberries: colloidal sulfur, vinegar, citric acid, electrolyte

Content

1 What soil does blueberry like?
2 How to acidify soil for blueberries
3 How often to acidify blueberries
4 How can you mulch the soil under blueberries?
5 Conclusion

Garden blueberries are a fairly unpretentious plant in terms of care. Thanks to this property, its popularity among gardeners has increased greatly in recent years. However, when growing it, many were faced with the fact that for the normal development of this plant, special preparation of the land is needed. If you do not acidify the soil for blueberries in a timely manner, you may not get a harvest, and the bushes themselves may die.

What soil does blueberry like?

Blueberries grow in many regions of the country, but attempts to grow the wild plant at home usually end in failure. But breeders did not give up attempts to “cultivate” this berry, and their work was crowned with success. As a result, garden blueberry was bred - a cultivated variety that grows well and bears fruit abundantly when grown under artificial conditions.

One of the specific features of garden blueberries is its demands on soil. In garden conditions, it cannot be planted in a place where any cultivated plants previously grew. The soil should be light, breathable, moderately moist, with good drainage. Blueberries will not grow in swampy areas. Another important feature of the soil for this berry is its acidic reaction of the order of 3.5-4.5 pH. High-moor peat has this pH level, and it is these soils (peaty-sandy loam) that are the best for planting blueberries. To improve its properties, rotten leaves, pine litter, spruce or pine bark, and ground cones are added to it.

Why blueberries need acidic soil

The need for acidic soil is associated with the structural features of the blueberry root system. Unlike ordinary plants, it does not have the finest root hairs, with the help of which nutrients are absorbed from the soil. Their role is played by microscopic soil fungi that form mycorrhiza with blueberry roots. Thanks to them, the plant absorbs water and nutrients. However, such a symbiosis can only exist in an acidic environment; other soil is not suitable for this.

How to make soil for blueberries with your own hands

You can give any soil the properties necessary for normal blueberry growth by adding various components. It will also be necessary to artificially increase the acidity of the soil. The optimal substrate for growing blueberries is a mix of sand, high peat (at least 50% of the total volume), fallen pine needles and sawdust. It is very good to add a layer of topsoil from under coniferous trees to the nutrient soil, since it contains a large number of necessary fungi.

How to determine that the soil needs to be acidified

The easiest way to determine whether the soil under blueberries needs acidification is by the color of its leaves. If the acidity level is insufficient, they turn red. However, this method cannot be used in the fall, because at this time the plant begins to prepare for winter and the red color of the leaves is a natural reaction to cold weather.

How to determine soil acidity for blueberries

You can determine soil acidity in other ways. Here are some of them.

pH meter. A specialized electronic device designed to accurately determine soil acidity. It is a probe on an insulated wire that is stuck into the soil in the desired area. The device readings are displayed on an indicator with a dial scale or digital values.
Litmus. Sets of litmus test indicators can often be found in gardening stores. To determine acidity, a soil sample is poured with distilled water and stirred well. After the soil particles settle, a litmus test is taken. The acidity level is determined by the color of the indicator and special tables.Green color indicates an alkaline reaction, but if the acidity level is high, the sample turns red.

Important! You can only use distilled water; only it has a guaranteed neutral acidity level and will not affect the accuracy of the measurement.
You can roughly estimate the degree of soil acidification by looking at the wild plants growing on the site. The presence of common and horse sorrel, plantain, and horsetail is a sign of soil acidification.
It is possible to measure the acidity of the soil by preparing an infusion of currant or cherry leaves. Several leaves are poured with boiling water and allowed to cool. Then a piece of soil is dipped into the container with the infusion. If the infusion turns red, then the soil is highly acidified, blue indicates weak acidity, and green indicates neutral.
You can determine whether the soil is acidified or not using vinegar. It is enough just to water the ground with it. A violent reaction with the release of foam will indicate alkalization of the soil. Small bubbles are evidence of weak acidity. The absence of any effect indicates that the soil is highly acidified.
The reaction of the soil can be determined by dissolving a piece of chalk or whitewashing lime in a bottle of water, adding a little soil and placing a rubber ball on the neck. If the soil is acidic, a reaction will begin, accompanied by the release of gas, as a result the ball will begin to inflate.

How to acidify soil for blueberries

If the soil for blueberries is not acidic enough, it can be acidified artificially. This can be done using various organic and inorganic acids, introducing their weak solutions into the root zone.

Precautionary measures

Preparing solutions containing acid is a rather dangerous job that requires care and attention. Contact of even a small concentration of an acidic solution on the skin, respiratory system or eyes can lead to the most serious consequences. The use of personal protective equipment (rubber gloves, goggles, mask or respirator) when working with acids and their solutions is strictly necessary. To prepare solutions for acidification, you should use chemically neutral containers made of glass or plastic that are resistant to aggressive environments. Metal containers cannot be used due to a possible chemical reaction.

Important! When preparing acid solutions, the acid is always added to the water, and not vice versa.

How to acidify soil for blueberries with vinegar

Acetic acid is food grade and is sold in grocery stores in the form of an essence with a concentration of 70% or a ready-to-use 9% solution. To acidify the soil, it is the second option that is needed. 100 ml of food vinegar (apple cider vinegar can also be used) is diluted in 10 liters of water, after which the soil of the root zone of approximately 1 sq.m is spilled. This method of acidification can only be used as a one-time short-term measure. Vinegar kills many beneficial bacteria living in the roots, plant nutrition is disrupted, and yields drop. In addition, vinegar in the ground decomposes quite quickly, so this method, as a rule, is not enough even for 1 gardening season.

How to acidify soil for blueberries with citric acid

Citric acid is a more gentle remedy for blueberries. However, it is not durable either.To acidify the soil for blueberries with citric acid, take 5 g of powder per 1 bucket of water (10 l), dissolve and water the root zone.

Colloidal sulfur for acidifying blueberries

The sulfur must be ground into a fine powder. The average rate of its consumption per 1 sq. m is 15 g. Before using colloidal sulfur for blueberries, water the root zone generously, then carefully and evenly scatter the powder in a thin layer. Typically, this substance is used to acidify the soil in early spring, as well as in the fall, during planting.

How to acidify soil for blueberries with electrolyte

The electrolyte that is poured into acid batteries is a solution of sulfuric acid. It can be used to acidify the soil. To prepare the solution, only 30 ml of electrolyte is needed; it must be diluted in 1 bucket of water (10 l). This is quite enough to process 1 square. m of blueberry root zone.

Important! Electrolyte from used batteries cannot be used because it contains large amounts of lead salts. To make the soil acidic for blueberries, you need to use only fresh, clean electrolyte.

How to acidify the soil under blueberries with oxalic acid

Oxalic acid is a widespread substance found in many cleaning products. It is effective and quite safe for the environment. Unfortunately, you can find it on the shelves of hardware stores less and less often. To prepare an acidifying solution, you need to dissolve 5 g of acid powder in 10 liters of water. This mixture is applied to the soil around the blueberry bushes.

How to acidify blueberries with powdered sulfur

Powdered sulfur is almost insoluble in water, so it is applied to the root zone in dry form.It is necessary to scatter it in a thin layer around the bush, after which you need to carefully mix it with the top layer of mulch. Gradually dissolving, sulfur will constantly acidify the surface layer in which the blueberry roots are located. For 1 adult bush you need 15 g of powder.

Other agrotechnical measures to increase soil acidity

You can increase the acidity of the soil for blueberries using ordinary organic matter. The best assistant in this is top and bottom peat. An acidic reaction is caused by fallen pine needles, rotten spruce branches, and sawdust. Rotted compost from leaves and sphagnum moss also acidify the soil quite well. Such biological acidifiers are the safest for plant health; they work for a long time and significantly improve the health of blueberries.

Some fertilizers also give an acidic reaction, for example:

urea;
ammonium nitrate;
ammonium sulfate;
potassium sulfate.

If you use these fertilizers to feed blueberries together with, for example, citric acid, this will further acidify the soil.

How often to acidify blueberries

The need to acidify the soil in which blueberries grow is determined by the appearance of the plant. If it has stopped growing and the leaves have acquired a reddish tint, then acidification is necessary. If signs of chlorosis appear on the leaves (the leaf blade has become pale green with clearly visible green veins), then this is a signal that the acidity of the soil is higher than normal.

There is no specific frequency of soil acidification under blueberries. Acidity is brought to the desired level before planting by adding colloidal sulfur to the nutrient substrate. Be sure to monitor the soil pH level after winter.The rest of the time, the best indicator is the condition of the blueberries.

How can you mulch the soil under blueberries?

The best mulch for blueberries is one that imitates natural forest floor. This is a mixture of rotten leaves, dry and rotted pine needles, peat, finely chopped bark of coniferous and deciduous trees. This cushion well protects the surface roots of blueberries from damage and winter cold, and is also an additional source of nutrients into the soil. Mulch also acidifies the soil and acts as an insulating layer that prevents the soil from drying out in the root zone and blocks the growth of weeds.

To mulch the root zone, you can also use ordinary dry high-moor peat. You can add small sawdust, dry hay or straw to it. Some mulch components rot quite quickly, so the condition of the root zone must be monitored. The thickness of the mulch layer should be 5-10 cm.

Conclusion

You can acidify the soil for blueberries in a variety of ways. However, if possible, you should avoid drastic measures such as using vinegar. This acidification gives a short-term effect and has many side reactions. Rather than watering blueberries with, for example, citric or oxalic acid, it is much more correct to use biological materials that have a long-lasting effect and do not have a negative impact on the environment.

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