How to Put Blueberries in Non-Acid Soil

Use the soil test kit to determine the acidity of your soil. Follow package directions for testing the soil and interpreting the results. Blueberries prefer soil with a pH of about 4.5 to 5.5.

Dig a hole as deep as the container your blueberry plant came in, and at least twice as wide. If your soil test shows a pH level higher than 8.0, make the planting hole about three times as wide as the container. Place all the soil taken from the ground into the wheelbarrow.

Mix elemental sulfur or sphagnum peat into the soil removed from the ground. Use your hands to mix some sulfur or peat into the soil on the sides and bottom of the planting hole, as well. Follow package directions for the proper amount of sulfur or moss to mix into the soil.

Place the blueberry plant into the hole, making sure the plant's roots are no deeper in the ground than they were in the container. If the plant sits too high in the ground, the roots may dry out and die. Scoop a little more dirt out of the hole and check the level again if the plant is too low, or push some dirt underneath the root ball to raise it up if the plant is too high.

Spread the roots outward gently with your hands so that the roots lie on the bottom of the hole. Use your fingers to separate tangled roots, but be careful not to damage or break the roots.

Hold the main stem of the plant and back-fill the hole halfway with dirt taken out during digging and amended with the sulfur or sphagnum. Water the soil so it will settle around the roots and root ball. This reduces air pockets that can retain water and rot the roots.

Finish filling the hole with soil to the top of the hole. Water thoroughly and spread the mulch 4 inches thick in a band 2 feet wide around the bush.

Fertilize the bush with 1 oz. of 7-7-7 acidifying fertilizer three to four weeks after planting, and repeat four to six weeks later. In the second year, apply soil sulfur, a slower-acting acidifying agent, to maintain lower pH levels. Follow package directions.