how can I make my soil more acidic?

[queen of the cobs]

Hi,

am preparing a blueberry bed, and have dug in a lot of well-mulched pine needles in the hope of making the soil more acidic so that I can plant out my blueberries.

I know I need between 4 and 5 pH, would welcome any tips.

I assume that a yearly feed with an ericaceous fertiliser will help keep them coming along.

many thanks.

[Two_Sheds]

The only way to ensure it, is to plant them in buckets of ericaceous compost. Anything you add to the ground will just leach away

[Bigmallly]

Used coffee grounds are supposed to be good for fruit trees & bushes as they are acidic.

[Cosmo and Dibs]

You could dig in lots of ericaceous compost, but that is expensive and it will just leach away, especially if you have a sandy soil. The best bet is to grow them in pots full of ericaceous compost, as Two_Sheds says.

[Snadger]

I know that peat is a bit of a swear word these days but a bed constructed of peat blocks and filled with ericaceous compost is one way.
A balanced Ericaceous fertiliser should be used annuallly, but if you want to give them a boost in the spring, sulphate of ammonia could also be used!