BLUEBERRY CULTURE 3 



of the part of the ground that is saturated with water) in a blueberry soil must 

 be at least 14 inches below the surface. If it is not, the land must be drained 

 before blueberries are planted. 



How essential organic matter is under all soil conditions, is not known. With 

 light sandy soils it is very necessary; with hea\ier, more fertile soils it may not be. 

 However, experiments and experience indicate that the plants grow much better 

 if the soil has a plentiful supply of organic matter. 



Blueberries, for their best development, require an open, well-aerated soil. 

 Wild bushes in swampy places grow on hummocks where their roots are out of 

 water and well aerated during the growing season. Even where moisture condi- 

 tions are favorable, blueberries thrive best in an open, well-aerated soil. 



Figure 1. Blueberry Plants Lifted Out of the Ground by Freezing of the Soil. This location 

 is too wet. It should have been drained before the plants were set. 



The blueberry needs an acid soil but just how acid is uncertain. The soils in 

 thirty blueberry plantings showed a pH range of 4.3 to 5.9 (lower pH values 

 mean higher acidity and vice versa). The variation in growth on these different 

 soils was more closely correlated with one or more of the other soil factors than 

 with soil acidity. However, when the soil reaction is about pH 5.8 or above, the 

 leaves of the plants may develop a mottled appearance (Fig. 2) due to inability 

 of the plant to get enough iron for healthy growth. This condition occurs most 

 often on light, dry soils, low in organic matter. Most unlimed soils of Massachu- 

 setts are strongly acid (pH 4 to 5.5). Small areas of limestone origin in Berkshire 

 County have surface soils which are only slightly acid and subsoils even less 

 acid or neutral. 



This State has much land suitable for blueberries. A growth of wild swamp 

 blueberry, leatherleaf, cranberry, white cedar, or red maple indicates a favorable 



