Blueberries and strawberries dead

The remaining three blueberry bushes that earlier this year still provided me with some fruit have died. Only one strawberry plant remains alive. What went wrong? The bushes were only three years old.

I know that blueberries require acidic soil. That kind of soil is hard to find here in the desert. I added pine needles and coffee grinds to the soil, but that wasn't enough. Will I replace the bushes with new ones? I don't know. Losing plants is almost as hard as losing a pet.

I have been neglectful of the garden this year. The only thing I want to plant now are spinach and lettuce plants in September. It's the only thing I eat now that Kevin refrains from tomatoes, beets and turnips.

The good thing is that with less plants we have less bugs. Despite the hevy rains recently we aren't inundated with June beetles, Spinx moths and toads as in years past. I don't even see a grasshopper infestation. Perhaps Pache is to thank for that.