Recently I purchased some blueberry plants (approx. 3 year olds) to plant during dormancy. What is the proper effective way to be sure the planting soil has the correct Ph and if it needs more acidity, what is the best way to bring it to the optimum acidity? I live in the Portland, OR area (Raleigh Hills).

1/24/12 Carl Bankes

Try downloading the blueberry growing guide from Oregon State University Extension, it's pretty good and includes all the info you'd need on adjusting soil balances. I just used a cheap soil ph tester to check mine before I added to it, think I mostly used burning sulfer - which was cheaper to buy a large bag from my local farm supply than smaller from another source! In fact, still have a lot left.....
Good luck!
Dave

As Will Newman said at the Think Spring presentation, blueberries are an acid tolerant plant. They need high fungal soil, so make sure you have organic material in your soil that has slow degrading materials. You can put wood chips on top, or bury an old branch or many old sticks underneath it.
John S
PDX OR

Oh yes, and I forgot to add that of course you'd be burying the blueberries under lots of fir sawdust! That's very much a given in any blueberry bed, think I put on about 3 inches after the first tilling then added the sulfur and tilled it again; then added another 3 inches of sawdust on top after the plants were in! It's one of the best slow decomposing organics that adds to the soil acidity, think the info I've seen says count on about an inch of sawdust decomposing a year; so every few years you should add more.
Dave

Other than sweeping it up from my basement floor, along with lots of stuff I don't want mulching my blueberries, where might I find fir sawdust? It used to be a waste product, but now goes into (gag) particle board.

It doesn't have to be fir and it doesn't have to be sawdust. All tree cutting companies have wood chips that they love to give away at the time that is convenient to them (when they just cut trees). Call them and get on their list.
John S
PDX OR

You can also buy sawdust from the companies that sell bark and mulch by the trailer load, in east Potland on Foster and off 224 between Milwaukie and Clackamas.