Easy Blueberry Potting Mix Recipe Without Expensive Shipped In Ingredients

When I started growing blueberry plants in containers I spent days tracking down a soilless potting mix I could make myself. This is the recipe I found and have been using ever since.

Recipes for potting mixes are nearly endless. Often, one or more of the ingredients are readily available only in the vicinity of the person who formulated the recipe. To duplicate the recipe, the rest of us would have to have some of the components shipped in at considerable expense. If we can get them at all.

I’ve seen recipes which call for a *very* specific type of oil sorbent from a single auto parts chain. And recipes calling for a ‘special mix’ sold only at a single garden center. If you want to plant blueberries or any other plant requiring an acidic potting mix, the ingredients can become even more obscure.

I’m not saying these recipes don’t work. I’m sure they work quite well for the gardeners who formulated them. For most of us however, having heavy bags of potting mix ingredients shipped in from 1000+ miles (1,609 km) away is expensive and hopelessly impractical.

The recipe I’m presenting is from a grower and nursery in Indiana and has only two components: pine bark mini nuggets and sphagnum peat moss. I’ve been using this formula for several years and find it easy, effective and inexpensive.

In the video, I show the blueberry potting mix and share several tips on getting a large container ready for a blueberry plant.

This is the link to the soil recipe and planting guide I’ve been using for several years.

Supplies & Equipment seen in this video:

Gro Pro Premium Nursery Pot - 25 gallons

1/4” hardware cloth
In the U.S.A., hardware cloth should be available locally. I suggest you shop around because prices for identical rolls of hardware cloth can vary quite a bit from store to store.

Gorilla Garden Carts

Small shovel from Union Tools

Photographic, Video & Sound Equipment Used In Production:

Avenger C-Stand

Avenger D600 Mini Boom

Reticam Phone Mount

Manfrotto 014-14 Rapid Adapter - 5/8" Stud to 1/4-20" Thread

Small Ball Head

Rode smartLav Plus

[otiswinters]

Your blueberry potting mix makes so much sense because sphagnum peat moss and pine bark nuggets/pine needles is what in many cases what nature provides for blueberries to thrive. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and video.

[grindcorizer]

For those who want to grow blueberries in buckets:

01. Bucket 55l
02. Soil from a pine forest
03. Mix the soil with pieces of sticks and pine bark
04. Pine bark mulch

Purchased soil is dead soil. No doubt.
Purchased fertilizer is not as good as slowly decaying sticks with pine bark. They gradually give the blueberries nutrients. If you really want to take care of the blueberry, it is a good idea to let pieces of pine bark stand in water for several weeks. As soon as the water "rusts", it also has a low ph, then water them. If you have blueberries in black buckets, they will heat up a lot in the sun and the roots will suffer. Either use white buckets or simply paint the black ones white or wrap them in paper or aluminum foil. One last piece of advice: the more varieties of blueberries, the more fruit you will have.

Failure is not possible with this procedure

[Countrygirlgirt]

Country Girl Grit watching from Myrtle Beach S.C. Great video

[jameshopper]

One third Pine bark mini-nuggets, one-third spagnum peat moss, and one-third water. Yes. Thanks. I have this and am going to try it now.

[timcent]

I loved this video.one thing that is missing from this and 99% of other videos is mentioning what level of pH is recommended for maintaining the plants. Also positioning in sun or shade. Please consider it as another ingredient to your information. Cheers

[eddieslittlestack]

Very well made video mr. Adding the mix a little bit at a time over the wire reminded me of planting asparagus crowns. Add a little soil to keep ‘em where ya want them before ya go for the shove. Thumbs up man!

[nancyfahey]

I like this idea. I use Pro-Mix. It's a yellow bag compressed to expand to 2 cu ft. It's $11 and has perlite for aeration and mycorrihizae. I pick it up at walmart.

[off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez]

The Blueberry brought me to you! New subscriber from Georgia🌻🌿🌱

[philomenajohnson]

Thank you for getting right to the topic.

[lurklingX]

the website mentions soil-less mix of 50:50 peat moss and pine bark mini but doesn't talk expressly about containers/pots gardening. (does say that you can use this in pots and that most types of blueberries do very well with this and some LOVE it, like Patriot.)

[Thunderbahl]

I've already re-potted mine for this year but I am bookmarking this for next year as I'm already thinking about moving them to a better location.

[msshafi]

In UK we don't get peat any more.

[rorionstar]

i loved the video i am going to move my blueberries from the ground to a raised bed, i have tried and failed three times growing blueberries, did you do the second video on feeding the new blueberry plants in containers ?

[mark]

Im curious why the pots. Seems like an unnecessary expense when you could
just plant them in the ground. Thanks for your video. I have grown blueberries
before with success but they went into decline and eventually died. Not sure
what happened but suspect I over fertilized them

[combatveteran]

Hey. What do ya think about if I would shred the pine bark before mixing it with the peat moss to aid in the decomposition

[nunyabidness]

Good information. Would you make a video showing us your blueberry plants when they come out of dormancy please?

[MegaGrowthInc]

Curious as the other videos show you need to feed them and put other ingredients in, does this acidify the PH levels? Do you fertilize throughout the year? How many times? What do you use? Like the video, also have a rat issue so that trick with the mesh was a good idea. Please answer when you can, thank you

[pallavishelke-yh]

Can we add pine wood saw...with peat moss

[dveryan]

Do you have thoughts on also adding coffee grounds to the mix to also help acidify the soil the bit and add a little more organic matter? Could it make it *too* acidic? thanks!

[Karnol]

How do you over winter them in the Pots? So you let them just stay outside? Or do you bring them in to a garage?