Ericaceous compost

Hello

I've got some tubs that have old ericaceous compost in (the blueberry bushes didn't survive the week that the temperatures dropped to -17!)

Is it okay to empty it out onto my veggie patch or will it dramatically affect the acidity of the soil?

(I did say in my intro that I'd have lots of questions! :WINK1

Thanks in advance

 

I don't grow veg Heather - so I stand to be corrected.

However I suspect that the volume of your tubs will be pretty small compared with the volume of your veg patch, so I would be tempted to use it as long as it is spread evenly and thinly.

 

Hi yes chuck it on it wiil be fine I read a report from Which Mag about ericaceous any compost with lime in soon washes out out anyway so I have never bothered just get the normal stuff



Spruce

 

I'm slightly surprised that blueberries died at -17C, I thought bearing in mind where they come from they would have survived.

You're very unlikely to alter the ph of your garden soil by scattering ericacious compost on it.
I'm sure many gardeners would like it to be possible, but things dont really work that way.

 

Thank you for your replies

Pete, the blueberries were young plants and I didn't get out to put any protection around them, maybe if they'd been more established they'd have survived?

 

I'd be very suprised that the cold killed them.:th_scifD36: I've had young, unprotected, plants survive at -13C. If they suddenly went brown and died, its some sort of disease. I've had that.

 

I had young blueberry bushes which died within 3 weeks. They went all brown and died.

I now have 4 blueberry bushes, 2 that are 1yr old, 2 that are younger. They were left outside, unprotected. Our temps here reach -15oC. They are close to the walls of our house, but in a sunny spot in the summer.

At the moment, there is plenty of news buds all the way down the branches. So, like mentioned, I don't think it's the cold that killed them, just poor quality plants