Anyone have thriving blueberries in non acidic soil?

Hello there reader,

So I want to grow A LOT of blueberries, and I just so happen to have acidic soil, perfect right?!

Well, since planting my blueberries, I have top dressed with compost and mulched well with straw and woodchips. The blueberries that I have done this too are thriving, covered in berries, putting on good growth each year.
The ones I haven't done this with a slow and have some die back.

The free draining red clay soil I planted them in, is notoriously acidic. Yes I checked.
So yesterday I wanted to have a dig and do some pH testing, as I know that improving soil and adding organic matter neutralizes soil pH.
I dug deep down beside three of my thriving blueberries bushes, three separate tests, all came back neutral pH.

So my question is, or rather pondering.... Does anyone else out there have thriving blueberries in soil that isn't acidic?
Am I actually doomed and improving the soil will ultimately result in poor crops in the near future?
Or, is the local soil full of the microbes and fungi that blueberries love and I don't have to worry either way.

Oh, and the tests I did on straight red clay, that had no organic matter mixed through it. So it does show that microbes absolutely change soil pH in the soil.

Anyway I thought it was worth starting a discussion, interested to hear other people's thoughts and experiences.

I'm located in Tasmania, Australia if that matters in any respect. Ta!

I have a similar battle;  acidic clay, to which I foolishly added abundant, partially marine, compost, neutralized the pH, now have chlorotic blueberry bushes.
I am trying elemental sulfur which slowly lowers pH; limited success so far.

Julinka said, Well, since planting my blueberries, I have top dressed with compost and mulched well with straw and woodchips. The blueberries that I have done this too are thriving, covered in berries, putting on good growth each year.
The ones I haven't done this with a slow and have some die back.

Why not go ahead and mulch the ones you have not done this to?

I have alkaline soil and blueberries will not grow here.

Adding acidic amendments might help if there were not so many other obstacles.

Blueberries need acidic soil because they are less efficient in uptaking nutrient like iron and manganese and in acidic soil, metallic micronutrients have higher solubility and become more available to plants.  You have red clay which is high in iron oxide so your blueberries are thriving. Supplementing with organic matter give them additional nutrients plus beneficial microbes. If the plants grow and produce well without pest and disease issues, you don't have to worry about those test numbers.

Acidic soils can have very different cation compositions so low pH doesn't guarantee blueberries will grow well in it. As in my case, soil is acidic but with high aluminum and relatively low calcium. All kinds of acid loving plants (azalea, gardenia, blueberry, citrus etc) won't put out roots unless I give them calcium first to ameliorate aluminum toxicity. I soak rusty nails in citric acid solution as additional iron source and give that to plants as needed.

Blueberries seem to be pretty finicky about soil moisture as well, so I wonder if that is your limiting factor. It would explain why the mulched plants, getting better and more consistent moisture retention, are doing better than the unmulched plants. I've been blaming my blueberry woes on alkaline soil (which certainly is part of it), but I'm starting to wonder if the greater part of my problem was insufficient water. We had a couple years of extreme drought and I did some supplemental watering but not nearly enough. Last year had plentiful rain and all the bushes are look way happier after that.

You could hold off on the compost for the remaining plants, but I think mulch would be well worth it and can't possibly alter the pH that much.

I have a couple of thoughts.

I also have acidic soil - silty - and am intrigued that you have managed to change your pH (just with mulch and woodchip! I live in hope...)

Blueberries also love a fair amount of air around their roots. I had my first ones planted straight in my soil with no amendment and they also just faded away as you say. I think the soil was too compacted and, although fertile, just wasn't right for the fine feeder roots to penetrate. I planted a new batch on raised beds and they have been thriving with a potentially good crop this year. It may be that your soil amendments have given a better structure for the blueberries - more moisture retention but spongy so stays aerated.