North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>]

On Oct 25, 2009, at 8:09 AM, Jerrydana5@aol.com wrote:

 I had the good fortune  ( I think) of getting a truck load of chipped up pine needles and twigs when the electric company trimmed trees around lines around here. They were glad to dump them on my property.  Would they be good mulch for my blueberry plants?    I have trouble keeping the ph low enough even with sphagnum peat moss and adding some sulfur. I have heard that pine needles and oak leaves are somewhat acid, only to hear from other that this is not true.  Can somebody enlighten me?  Jerry in southern Indiana

Someone on this list has measured the pH of pine needles and says they were neutral (or thereabouts).  But they are traditionally used to mulch blueberries.  And lots of people on this list agree that blueberries like copious organic matter (and are less sensitive to pH if the soil is rich enough in organics).

I have never measured my soil's pH.  (Well, I have, but the measurement device didn't work, and I gave up.)  I live in New England, where the soil tends towards acid, and I have wild blueberries in the back.  But I also have (sweet-soil preferring) grass, which grows cheerfully as close to my blueberries as I'll let it get.  I don't adjust the pH for either - I spread neither sulphur nor lime.  I mulch my blueberries very heavily with shredded leaves from my "mulching" lawn mower.  They get everything from under the pine trees and some additional oak leaves (since there's not much from under the pine.)  I fertilize each spring with an acid-plant fertilizer (Hollytone tm)  My blueberries appear very happy.

Ginda

eastern MA, zone 6