Help with Blueberry and raspberry plants

[Bwheel34]

Hi all I am new here looking for advice for this spring. I ordered 6 blueberry bushes and 11 raspberry plants online. I am sure it is asked somewhere I've searched a few pages. I have been doing some research on soil mixes and Ph levels, for both plants.

I live in New York, growing zone 4b. I am thinking about growing the blueberries in containers from a cost situation. And the raspberries in a short, raised bed (height) for drainage and containment (raspberry). I am currently unsure of my yard's ph levels and drainage property where I want to plant. It has been several years since I have done major gardening. Last year I gotten back into it with mixed results. I am wanting to have the best chance of success with these plants.

And am a bit lost.

I have been weighing raised beds vs containers, making a soil mix vs amending my soil. I think mixing my own and digging out my current soil would be best in the raised beds and using the mix instead. I have asked around to my local garden centers and nurseries about ericaceous soil mixes, with everyone not carrying any related products. If I make my own, most ingredients I will have to order online. Cost is a bit of a concern for me I looked up ordering in what I could find to the tune of $500 $1000. I have thought about ordering a fraction of that soil and adding it to a homemade mix, is there something that I should be mixing in there for drainage?

I know (now) that amendments should have been done last year. I saw a great sale with the blueberry plants and raspberries and thought why not.

My in-town nursery has said to just put both into the ground as people who get their plants from them have done, and they have had no complaints. However, I take that with a grain of salt because the only other person I know who has blueberry plants had to add acidifiers to their soil and lost a bunch of plants through the years without adding anything.

What are your thoughts? And sorry I am sure all of this has been asked before. Just trying to figure out the best way to have the best outcome that I can. I have plans to plant on the back portion of my side yard, as it receives the most sun.


Thank you!

 

[DirtMechanic]

So a 10 dollar pH stick meter will help. Use it only the day after a good rain when the soil is moist yet drained. You do not need perfect, you need a general compass heading up or down. This will go toward your amendments if any. But do not forget context, asking local nursery advice like you are already doing will save you a ton of time and research. You are not the first in your area so continue to take advantage of local knowledge.

Barring that you need to dig a hole and pour water in it. Once it disappears pour in one measured gallon and time its absorption. This gives you a solid idea about your existing drainage or perk rate.

Blueberries are slowish growing and the raspberry fast so feeding-wise its best to get a soil test but 10-10-10 in early spring after raspberry comes out and calcium nitrate after the berries come off and the next growth starts should work well. The mature blueberries do well with low nitrogen organics fertilizer in the early fall as they feed slowly and build across winter (at least down here) so those ferts with more potassium and phos work. Micro nutrients annually help but then a soil test could reveal the reality of your unique needs. In the spring ammonium sulphate is a acidic nitogen kick that many use on Blueberry, especially in pots.

Our natural pH is 5, but using purchased soil means you can choose since components like peat moss are acidic by nature. As long as your raised beds are not clay the only thing to watch for is moisture retaining bags mixes capable of holding too much water and not enough air. They usually refer to moisture retention on the bag. Stay away from those mixes generally if a plant is described as needing goid drainage which most do imo.

You have a usda grow zone number that will also lead you to climate data relevant to timing for feeding and so forth. I am in USDA Z8 so its hotter and with a longer season here. According to the USDA map, New York zones include a wide range from 3a to 7b

 

[Marck]

If you have the space, I would recommend full sun in-ground planting for both Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and Raspberries (Rubus idaeus and other species). In the long run this is likely give you greater yield at lower cost. By all means, get a basic soil kit to give you at least a rough idea of your soils character, but don't obsess about quantification. With time and experience, the qualities you are looking for will become apparent to the eye. Incorporate ample organic matter into the bed at time of planting and continue to mulch regularly going forward. This will improve drainage and supply a slow, steady stream of nutrients. This alone will often modify the soil sufficiently for many 'acid-loving' plants. However, you may choose to incorporate additional elemental sulphur into the blueberry bed and some additionally each year as you apply mulch. Do this sparingly at first, as you can always add more later if it appears insufficient.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Given a choice I always go for planting in the ground, both temperature and water content will remain more stable than a container, no matter how careful you are, and plants mostly like that.

 

[Bwheel34]

I just figured out that I don't need to completely do the whole blueberry bed with all the expensive soil.... just where I actually plant the bush. The other areas I can just top dress and work into the soil and slowly amend it over time. I am an idiot.... I did not think to use the existing earth like a container.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I just figured out that I don't need to completely do the whole blueberry bed with all the expensive soil.... just where I actually plant the bush. The other areas I can just top dress and work into the soil and slowly amend it over time. I am an idiot.... I did not think to use the existing earth like a container.

Be sure to work a bit of the soil you are planting in into the surrounding hole. Sometimes if there are two different earths against one another root systems find it hard to cross over, you can end up with a plant that is to all intents 'Pot bound'. You don't want the existing soil to be too much of a container

Getting things into the actual earth has advantages, mainly the temperature and moisture content stay more stable, most plants like that.

 

[Bwheel34]

Be sure to work a bit of the soil you are planting in into the surrounding hole. Sometimes if there are two different earths against one another root systems find it hard to cross over, you can end up with a plant that is to all intents 'Pot bound'. You don't want the existing soil to be too much of a container

Getting things into the actual earth has advantages, mainly the temperature and moisture content stay more stable, most plants like that.

Yeah, I plan on tilling about 1 to 2 inches of the expensive soil, and I plan on digging out quite a bit around it.