Topic: No rainwater for blueberries

[davholla]

I have run out of rainwater, is there anything I can do to make tap water more palatable?

[angle shades]

 :D I'm giving them tap water, I figure its better than them dying / shades x

[debster]

how about a trip to sunny devon we are drowning in it at the mo lol on flood alert
 :D

[saddad]

If you have to use tapwater give them some "Miracid" or other proprietary acidifier...  :)

[Plot69]

If you have to use tapwater give them some "Miracid" or other proprietary acidifier...  :)

That's what I use, only they've changed the name to Miracle Grow camellia, azalea and rhodadendron compound... Which is why I spent 20 minutes looking and still couldn't find it.

[tricia]

I have five three year old plants - in the ground - and have never watered them. Have picked one kilo of luscious berries so far this year and the bushes still have loads to ripen; yesterday's rain did them a lot of good, I'm sure!

Tricia

[Digeroo]

- in the ground

I do not think they would like my ground at all and our tap water is full of lime.  Unfortunate since I like blueberries, Since I want to live forever  ;D ;D ;D
I am trying gojis instead.

[amphibian]

I was forced to water my blueberries with tap water, it was a mistake, they are now chlorotic. I'm going to repot them and use some acidifier. But take care with tap water, if you an hold out for rain, do.

[davholla]

I was forced to water my blueberries with tap water, it was a mistake, they are now chlorotic. I'm going to repot them and use some acidifier. But take care with tap water, if you an hold out for rain, do.

Sadly I can't I have run out.

[PurpleHeather]

There must be a stream, pond or river somewhere nearby where you can dip in and fill a couple of plastic bottles.

[amphibian]

I was forced to water my blueberries with tap water, it was a mistake, they are now chlorotic. I'm going to repot them and use some acidifier. But take care with tap water, if you an hold out for rain, do.

Sadly I can't I have run out.

Is there no prospect of rain before the plants succumb to drought, is there not somewhere from which you can beg some rain water, for example my neighbours have a butt, but do not use the rainwater. How hard is your tap water, where do you live?

[bazzysbarn]

I use washing up  or bath water for my plants in the garden

[amphibian]

I use washing up  or bath water for my plants in the garden

So do I, but not on blueberries, they hate lime.

[OllieC]

saddad & plot 69 are right - give them some Miracle Grow camellia, azalea and rhodadendron compound and you're fine to use tap water. Still best to use rain, but ours would be dead if we had waited!

[amphibian]

I really think it depends how hard your tap water is, mine is super hard and even with 'camellia, azalea and rhodadendron compound' the plants are still chlorotic.

[OllieC]

Are you somewhere near Portsmouth then? That's the hardest water I've ever known. Up here it's still hard enough to leave calciferous marks on windows, but not as bad as down there...

[amphibian]

Are you somewhere near Portsmouth then? That's the hardest water I've ever known. Up here it's still hard enough to leave calciferous marks on windows, but not as bad as down there...

Kent, just south of the North Downs. Three miles down the road the water is as soft as a baby's bum. It's quite a geologically diverse area here, with rapid shifts from chalk, to clay, to sandstone, with equivalent shifts in soil type/pH and water hardness too.

[manicscousers]

I've heard coffee grounds are good for blueberries  ???

[Digeroo]

. Three miles down the road

Can't you drive down and get some?  What about the Tunbrdge Wells?

'davholla' you started this post where are you?  Can you find a soft area nearby? 

[OllieC]

Boiled water has most of the lime knocked out... you could always collect kettle juice that's gone cold... also, if you can measure pH properly, what about adding a splash or two of vinegar until it's at least neutral?