North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Alan Haigh" <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

Native blueberries survive very nicely here in marshland on small bumps of higher ground which can easily be duplicated with raised beds which I have often successfully used.  Of course raised beds also require special attentiveness to moisture needs. 

 

I have never tried growing BB's in alkaline soil simply because such soil is hard to find in the East.  It has been made clear from my experience and that of other list contributors that blueberries can flourish in much higher pH than often suggested in the literature if there is a high level of organic matter in the soil.  Marsh soil (muck soil) is often neutral but I've never tested the soil in marshes where blueberries are growing.  Such soil is always very high in organic matter because of the slow rate of decomposition and the tendency of leaves to blow downhill towards marshland.

 

As far as making blueberries work in soil with a very high pH, I should think with enough sulfur and compost it would be possible as long as the water source wasn't highly alkaline, in which case you'd need to filter it.  Of course I'm only speaking theoretically, there are probably list members with experience establishing blueberries in western alkaline soils with more reliable theories (based on success).