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[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

I know there is or used to be some controversy about peat being removed from bogs much quicker that it can form, I have no opinion or knowledge about the validity of this concern but I do know that peat moss has never been an essential part of establishing blueberries anywhere- it just happens to serve 2 important needs- one for organic matter and the other acidity.

 

If you have a municipal leaf composting project you can use that instead and probably get even better results than with peat as long as you get things to a reasonably low pH with the addition of granular sulfur.  I'm not sure how low you need to go but I have seen very healthy and productive blueberries in the mid 6 range  and others on this site have reported healthy plants up into the 7's in spite of everything you've read.

 

Where I've witnessed this "phenomena" the soil has been rich in organic matter, well drained and the plants mulched with raw wood chips.  My theory is that the mulch creates an acidic interface between it and the soil where feeder roots easily acquire all the iron they need.  Of course I tend to be more fond of my theories than most others.

 

In areas where the water is alkaline and you can't collect rainwater the mulch is increasingly important to reduce the amount of water that must be applied.