6 Best Fertilizers for Blueberries to Increase Your Yield
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There’s a misconception that many people have that berries, and blueberries especially, don’t need to be fertilized, unline lawns, roses or other plants. I think it’s because people are used to seeing wild berry bushes out in nature. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth: berries actually need very specific soil conditions in order to flourish. I’ve taken care of a couple different patches of berries for the past few years, including a few blueberry bushes, and I’ve learned from trial and error that the best fertilizers for blueberries are a must if you want to produce a great yield.
That’s mainly because berries need more acidic soil than many other types of plants. But, it’s also true that, like all other plants, blueberry bushes benefit from easy access to vital nutrients like nitrogen and potassium.
In this article, I’ve collected six different products that might just be the best blueberry fertilizers for your needs.
Let’s jump right into it.
Key Takeaways
After looking back at all the different products I’ve tried out on my berry bushes and doing extensive research online, I’ve concluded that Espoma Berry-Tone Natural & Organic Fertilizer and Plant Food is the very best of the best fertilizers for blueberries. That’s because, first of all, the fertilizer is made from high-quality organic ingredients that won’t do any harm to the environment while also providing everything your bushes need to flourish. Its slow-release formula means that you won’t constantly have to be reapplying it and can simply wait for your blueberries to grow.
I’ve also included a couple fertilizers that take different approaches, such as the acid-heavy Dibbs Farms Blueberry Bush Granular Sulfur Fertilizer and FoxFarm Happy Frog Acid Loving Plants Fertilizer, which is fortified with Mycorrhizal to aid root growth.
Best Overall: Espoma Berry-Tone Natural & Organic Fertilizer and Plant Food
Why This is a Quality Choice: I consider Espoma Berry-Tone Natural & Organic Fertilizer and Plant Food to be the top pick among the best fertilizers for blueberries because it contains everything you need to fertilize berry bushes without a lot of trouble. There won’t be any issues with having to combine several different products if you use this fertilizer, and you need to apply it only twice throughout the entire growing season. I also love the bio-active ingredients it contains, which provide a myriad of benefits for soil health.
Who is this for? This is the perfect product for gardeners who are taking care of a couple of berry bushes and want an easy fertilizing solution.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The mix contains only 5% sulfur to acidify your soil, which might not be enough if your plants are growing in very basic soil. However, that’s a great sulfur level for most people’s needs.
Active ingredients: Feather meal, poultry manure, bone meal, alfalfa meal, greensand, sulfate of potash, sulfate of potash magnesia, and elemental sulfur, plus various strains of beneficial bacteria | Herbicides: None | N–P–K: 4–3–4 | Package size: 4 lbs |
Best Budget: True Organic Berry Food Granular Fertilizer
Why This is a Quality Choice: This fertilizer for blueberry plants offers a great product at an affordable price. Its NPK of 5–4–4 contains lots of nitrogen, which can support both plant growth and the production of larger berries. I’d also point to the fact that the fertilizer is child- and pet-safe as another reason it merits a recommendation.
Who is this for? This is an excellent fertilizer that can support the growth of blueberry plants in most soil conditions, so I’d be comfortable recommending it to a wide range of gardeners.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The formula doesn’t contain any bioactive ingredients like bacteria or fungi, meaning that you might want to renew your soil after using it for a couple seasons.
Active ingredients: Poultry Manure, Soybean Meal, Seabird Guano, Sulfate of Potash, Fish Bone Meal, Crab Shell Meal and Shrimp Shell Meal | Herbicides: None | N–P–K: 5–4–4 | Package size: 4 lbs |
Best Large Bag: Down To Earth All Natural Acid Mix Fertilizer
Why This is a Quality Choice: This great fertilizer that was specifically created for blueberries offers great value and a large volume. Down To Earth All Natural Acid Mix Fertilizer has a balanced NPK and contains lots of acid, which is exactly what blueberry bushes need. You can also use it as a fall fertilizer to help your plants grow deeper roots late in the year and better resist cold temperatures.
Who is this for? This is a great choice for gardeners who have a lot of things to fertilize and don’t want to constantly be ordering and waiting for fresh bags.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Like most other acidic fertilizers, you need to be very careful when you’re applying it because of the risk of harming your plants by making the environment too acidic.
Active ingredients: Cottonseed Meal, Fish Bone Meal, Langbeinite, Rock Phosphate and Kelp Meal | Herbicides: None | N–P–K: 4–3–6 | Package size: 25 lbs |
Best Fertilizer Powder: Big Ass Berries Organic Nutrients for Indoor and Outdoor Berries
Why This is a Quality Choice: Despite the slightly rude name, Big Ass _____ is a quality brand that produces a number of great fertilizers. And Big Ass Berries is no exception, with a 100% organic rating and plenty of nutrients for your berry bushes. Its powder form makes application a really simple and easy process that’s also capable of bringing about quick results.
Who is this for? Big Ass Berries is a high-potassium option relative to the other fertilizers on this list, so it’s a great choice if your soil is deficient in that particular nutrient.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Because this is a mineral heavy product, you want to be careful to avoid overapplying it.
Active ingredients: Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc, and copper | Herbicides: None | N–P–K: 4–6–8 | Package size: 13.5 Ounces |
Best Acidifier: Dibbs Farms Blueberry Bush Granular Sulfur Fertilizer
Why This is a Quality Choice: This soil acidifier from Dibbs Farms is a great solution for gardeners who struggle to regulate the acidity of their soil. You can use this sulfur-rich product to create the acidic conditions that berry bushes need to thrive. With its clear usage directions, you’ll be able to hit your target pH on the mark.
Who is this for? This product is targeted at gardeners whose soil tends to be basic and needs a lot more acid.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: It comes in a large bag, so you might want to look for an alternative if you have only a small berry patch.
Active ingredients: Sulfur | Herbicides: None | N–P–K: 0–0–0 | Package size: 50 lbs
Best Mycorrhizal Fertilizer: FoxFarm Happy Frog Acid Loving Plants Fertilizer
Why This is a Quality Choice: The final entry on our list of the best fertilizers for blueberries has several unique benefits. It has a balanced NPK and is made from all natural ingredients, meaning that you can use it on any berry patch, but it’s particularly good for helping seedlings and young berry bushes get established. That’s because it contains lots of mycorrhizal, which is a type of fungus that supports root growth.
Who is this for? I’d recommend FoxFarm Happy Frog Acid Loving Plants Fertilizer to anyone who is raising young berry bushes.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: This fertilizer is a little bit pricey for the four-pound bag it comes in, but it does have selling points that can justify the extra cost.
Active ingredients: Feather meal, bat guano, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, and bio-active ingredients like mycorrhizal | Herbicides: None | N–P–K: 4–5–3 | Package size: 4 lbs |
Buying Considerations for The Best Fertilizers For Blueberries
Ingredients
When you’re looking to pick up a bag of the best fertilizers for blueberries, the ingredient label is the first place I’d recommend looking. You want to find a solution that’s made from high-quality ingredients and also contains everything you’re looking for in a fertilizer. For example, if you’re looking first and foremost to renew your soil, look for a fertilizer that contains lots of natural and compost materials like bat guano, kelp meal, or poultry manure. Bioactive ingredients, which can also help with soil health, will also be listed on the back of any package you’re considering.
N–P–K
Next, you need to look at the NPK of any fertilizer you’re thinking about buying. Blueberry fertilizers generally have a relatively balanced NPK, but small differences can exist between different brands. Espoma Berry-Tone Natural & Organic Fertilizer and Plant Food, for instance, has an NPK of 4–3–4, and Down To Earth All Natural Acid Mix Fertilizer has an NPK of 4–3–6. Although they are pretty close, you might want to choose a nitrogen heavier option if you want to promote growth or a higher potassium option to help support the plant’s flowering and fruit production stage. You also want to pay close attention to the phosphorus content of any fertilizer you’re considering if you live somewhere that limits how much phosphorus can be used in fertilizers.
Acid Content
Finally, the acid content of a fertilizer is a crucial consideration when it comes to selecting a fertilizer for blueberry bushes. There is quite a range in the amount of acid that different formulas provide. The level of acid you should be looking for depends on the baseline pH level of your soil, which you can discover by using a home acid test or sending a sample to a lab. If your soil turns out to be very basic, you can consider using a dedicated acidifier like Dibbs Farms Blueberry Bush Granular Sulfur Fertilizer. Doing so will allow you to provide a serious boost to soil acidity in very little time.
How I Choose These Products
Like many other gardeners, I believe that the trick with fertilizers of any type is to find something that works well while being good for the environment and easy on the budget. However, that’s not always the easiest circle to square, which is why I hope my recommendations for the best fertilizers for blueberries will be helpful to consumers looking for a solution.
Since not every blueberry fertilizer that claims to be all natural will perform well, it’s important to be skeptical. That’s why I focused on the reputation of brands and the reviews that real customers left to find products that will actually deliver great results. I hope that you’ve found a product that will work for your needs, whether your goal is raising new blueberry bushes in some grow bags or supporting the development of a patch that already exists.
Final Verdict
At the end of the day, Espoma Berry-Tone Natural & Organic Fertilizer and Plant Food tops my list of the best fertilizers for blueberries. It offers a simple and no-fuss solution to keeping your blueberry bushes happy and well-fed. Once you start using the product, you’ll be surprised at just how large and sweet the berries your bush produces will become. There’s no reason not to start fertilizing your blueberries!
FAQs
What is a natural fertilizer for blueberries?
If you want to use a natural fertilizer for blueberries, you can use a mix of compost and peat moss to provide both nutrients and an acidic material to a patch. Other natural materials that can help fertilize berry bushes are coffee grounds and eggshells. However, you can also get your hands on a plant food or fertilizer like True Organic Berry Food Granular Fertilizer that’s made from all-natural ingredients.
What is the fastest way to acidify soil for blueberries?
The fastest way to acidify soil is using a fertilizer for blueberry plants that has a high acid content. Such fertilizers usually contain significant amounts of sulfur, which is a natural product that lowers the pH of whatever environment you put it in. You should have an idea of exactly what the pH level of your soil is before you add any products to it in order to avoid overdoing it and making the soil too acidic.
What is the best NPK for blueberries?
The typical blueberry bush fertilizer will contain a pretty balanced amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to support growth and fruit production (eg. 5–5–5). This makes it different from many other outdoor and indoor fertilizers. Sometimes, a fertilizer will contain a slightly lower amount of phosphorus. For example, Espoma Berry-Tone Natural & Organic Fertilizer and Plant Food has an NPK of 4–3–4, which is perfectly fine for fertilizing blueberries.
