bill, i blame all this on the figs. life used to be so much more simpler. $7 pack of blueberries seemed so reasonable before tho it taste some what bland. now i want things to taste good, and taste right... ignorance is bliss.. 

Just remember that sulfuric acid is dangerous stuff.  Also I'm totally in for a hole 24" deep but can't imagine going less than 18" wide.  Mine are generally 24" wide.

isn't sulfuric acid similar or same as battery acid? 

I just purchased some muriatic acid (HCl))(swimming pool acid) for non plant uses. I also have always heard it's not good for blueberries, but it sure would be easier to find that than sulfuric. Around here I only found battery acid in a small hole-in-the-wall automotive shop. The muriatic was $10 for 2 gallons - which is far more expensive than just a few years ago. I don't remember how expensive the battery acid cost. It lasts a long time.

I've regularly been using dry citric the past couple years because it's so easy, but I'm thinking of going back to using the sulfuric periodically - or at least then the plants are putting out new leaves. The plants do seem to prefer it. Plants in my area are grown as evergreens.

WillsC said:  "There are only 2 nurseries in the country licensed to propagate them, one in Florida and one on the west coast."

The licensed west coast nursery is Fall Creek in Oregon, and they do not sell retail. If you want to order from them, it had been a minimum $2,000 order. I got most of mine by being lucky enough to find, via gardenweb, and get in on a large garden club group order. I was able to get southern highbush low chill varieties that simply were not available by any other means here in California.  No nursery from out of the state could ship them here. Then the old gentleman who arranged that order passed away and that window closed. Fortunately now a few of the better varieties are turning up in nurseries - Emerald, Jewel, Southmoon... and the old standbys of sharpeblue and misty. I did not check to see what they were selling this year.

Today, I just picked another 2 quarts of BBs. :)

Bob, I agree. I thought the hole width seemed a little narrow. But some folks tend to underestimate the intelligence of Kentuckians based on their funny accent. I'm gonna give UK's findings a shot just to see how it pans out. 

Pete,
Yes, I think Will was saying that Sulfuric = battery acid.

Also. Ignorance may be bliss but knowledge tends to set one free ;) . I think we chose the "red pill" Pete. Our eyes have been opened to the truth about figs and all their fruitful cousins.  

"This is our chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill -- the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill -- you stay in fruit wonderland and you get to see how deep the figgy-hole goes."  (This is sort of a corrupted quote from the Matrix BTW - for those who took the blue pill ;) ).

I'm definitely a "red pill" kinda guy. I'd much prefer to see the light, even if it might hurt my eyes a little (aka require something of me in return). 

Here is a link on the bicarbonates and acid.   http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss165

Like I said the commercial grower I know has always said Muriatic acid (HCL) is bad for the plants but the university states it is fine.  Muriatic has no nutritive value for the soil or plants though and sulfuric does and is cheaper.   Gina if you can't get it from auto parts stores like NAPA try a chemical supply company, heck you can buy it on Amazon including the 90%+ stuff.   As Bob said yes the stuff is dangerous, it deserves respect but as gardeners we deal with toxic chemicals all the time. I would much rather use sulfuric acid than I would pesticides. The battery acid is 33% sulfuric acid..if it gets on your dry skin it will sting a bit after a few seconds but all you have to do is wipe it off.  In your eyes you are in big trouble...the reason is it reacts with water and your eyes are wet.  The best thing to have on hand is eye protection and paper towels to wipe it off your skin. Better yet just be careful:)  I have never accidentally got any on myself and I am dealing with cups of it at a time not drops as most would.      

If a person is really scared of using it you can make a reduced concentration.....take a gallon of water and add 1/4 cup of acid then use that water to find the amount of acid you need to treat your water.  Add the ammonium sulfate to the acid treated water and you fertilize and water at the same time.  Just remember it is ALWAYS acid to water not water to acid.   It really is not hard to work with.  

just ordered 4 plants. Chandler, Pink Lemonade, Spartan, and Patriot. i know.. i heard Patriot isn't all that good, but with name like that, i couldn't resist. just testing them out. so the trick is acidic soil. will see how they do. if they do well, i'll probably get 4 more next spring. can't wait to eat blueberry i grew myself. 

What Ampersand said!!! The birds are a serious problem with blues. I've found bird netting the only reliable option.

I tried bird netting, but around here sadly larger snakes get tangled in it. I've cut free (without  harming them) 2 large gopher snakes - not venomous, but when frightened, they do thrash about, hiss and can bite. Not my favorite thing to to. So my bird strategy is to plant more blueberries than birds can possibly eat (now at 50, not counting the new plants) and I pick what's left - more than enough. Year before last I picked over 200 pounds, not counting nibbling. Occasionally I'll put up flashing tape, but not every year.

I    my blueberries! 

soil around here apparently is 4.8-5.6 in ph. that's a good news. but city water is more like 7.5. i'm going to dig into clay and amend it with pine bark and some compost mix. that should take care of the soil. will need battery acid to lower city water ph, and ammonium sulfate. and i'm set :)

mulch heavily, and wait for the bees.

Pete,

You will be happy with Spartan. Delicious. I also have Patriot, as matter of fact Spartan and Patriot are all I have. I keep reading all the catalogs which rate Patriot as an excellent tasting berry, so I hope it will act similar to many figs and improve with age.

You might be fine just planting in your native soil. I have family in GA and they have good acid soil for blueberries and they grow huge. I would experiment and plant some in native and some in your mix and so what works better, then expand from there..

I like Gina's idea as well, shear volume is always another option;) If you can't beat them, out number them, I like your style Gina!

I find that Mocking birds are the biggest problem for me. They fly around and just peck at berries, knock holes in them, knock them on the ground and never even eat the whole thing. It can get very frustrating, kinda like loosing a bunch of really good fig cuttings!

Pete, I would be careful planting blues in any kind of clay soil. Every thing I've read cautions against it. The best option for clay soils is to plant directly on top of it raised bed style. You want it at least 12 inches high and 3x3ft wide at the least. 4x4ft wide worked great for me. The nice thing about raised beds is you controll every thing that goes in it and you can start off with the right Ph from the get go. It's a little bit more work but well worth it as they can live a very long time when planted right. I hope they grow like gang busters for you! Nothing beats a fully ripe home grown blueberry! That's what's it's all about;)

now i'm thinking container.. thought about raised bed planter, but that would cost some coins. with 20 gal tub with plenty of holes on the side should work pretty well.. along with soil mix of my choice. and i can move them around. i really wanted to plant these on the ground, but i know we have clay soil that doesn't drain too well. 

Pete, all of mine are in containers. I use mostly 15 gallon pots because that is what I had on hand. I have a number in 20 gallon as well, and those do a bit better. I sink my containers about half deep in the soil (good drainage here), then pile mulch around what is sticking up to keep weeds down, and for aesthetics. Mine are in the front yard now. Every once in a while a pot will stop draining well because the holes get clogged with roots - so I just push the mulch/soil aside and punch a few holes in the sides of the plastic pots with a pointed metal pick of some sort.

Because they are in pots, mine will never get as large as those grown in ground (like figs), but it's the most practical way to grow them here. Local blueberry places do plant in-ground... well, on raised mounds like blueboy described.

When I first planted mine a number of years ago, I had them in 3 different locations on the property. Then, because they were in containers, I was able to move them to even better growing situation. Last year I was dissatisfied where 6 of them were growing, so I was able to quite easily move them again. And in pots no gopher damage.

does blueberry require root pruning if staying in the container? 

What is the best /most reliable /fast way to do soil pH?
The paper works on water, do I make a mud pie and use paper?

have it tested by local arg office. i heard the kits are not very user friendly, and the meters are very iffy unless you get professional grade ones that cost in 100s. i think it's better to start with known soil mix. either raised bed or container. i did some basic math.. and it seems raised bed planter thing would be more cost effective in the end. haven't decided yet. i'll probably move the plants into 3 gal while deciding what to do. making planter doesn't seems like to much of an issue. get some 4x4, 2x6 and make a box that's about 20" tall and 4'x16'. fill up lower 18" with pine bark, s. peat moss and perlite. plant them, then top up rest of mulch and maybe top them about 2" more. water with city water modified with battery acid. 

This place is just down the road from me. People are very nice and willing to talk to newbies and have older plants available

http://www.berriesunlimited.com/

Blueberries like coffee, almost as much as I do. :) Take your coffee grounds and mix with some water and feed it to them. They love the acid.

Greg,

The best cheap-ish meter you can get is a Kelway.  About $65 and dead on accurate.  It is a direct read..push it in to the soil and read the PH.  Just have to keep the metal parts clean with a scotch brite pad.

just ordered 2 SweetCrisp. ladies, don't let your man drink and handle credit card at the same time. x) 

Nice Pete! Where did you find them? Ive been looking at getting Palmetto. Ive read its vigorous and excellent tasting. Come to think of it all descriptions you read say they taste good and while this my be true, some are heads and tales above all others. That being said you still have to grow them your self to see. Ive had some varieties that other forum members swear buy but didn't perform well in my location. Sweetcrisp is in a class of its own and Ive never heard a negative report on it other than it being a lite bearer. Mine did put on a lite load the first 2 years but now in there 3rd spring with me Ive had to thin fruit buds for the first time. Gonna be a good one at my house in the next 2 months. I will be sure and post some pics of sweetcrisp for ya!