How to Grow Blueberries in Indiana Clay Soil

Choose an appropriate site for your blueberries. Although the bushes are hardy to most of Indiana, they do require a site that gets full sunshine for eight hours every day. Plant blueberries on an elevated site in this northern climate to keep them out of low-lying zones where frost accumulates. Indiana is the 12th leading state in highbush blueberry production, according to Purdue University's Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture website They grow best in central and southern Indiana.

Build a raised bed for blueberries if your soil is clay-based. A raised bed ensures the deep drainage that blueberries require, and eliminates the work of trying to amend your thick soil. Build a bed 9 inches high and 4 feet wide for each blueberry plant, using a mixture of half quick-draining soil and half rich organic compost.

Mix grass clippings, rotted manure, dead leaves, sawdust and wood chips into the raised bed, to increase the nutrition and acidity of the soil. Blueberries are acid-loving plants and do best when they get enough organic matter in their soil. Use wood chips and sawdust as mulch for the blueberries after you plant them to maintain a consistent level of acid in the soil.

Water blueberries with 1 to 2 inches of water a week to maintain consistent soil moisture. Never allow blueberries to go completely dry, as this will damage their fruit harvest.