Az sunshine
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Location: northeastern arizona

Changing ph to acid

Our soil was very acid and tomatoes were stunted. We took a soils class at the local college and learned about lasagna gardening and boy have we been more than pleased with the results. Our plants are so tall and productive our neighbors want to know what happened! If you are interested, let me know. :shock: :o :lol:

valley
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Location: ranches in sierra nevada mountains California & Navada high desert

Az sunshine, I would like to hear what you found out. Thankyou

Richard

imafan26
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Most plants like slightly acid conditions. pH 6.5-6.8.

Tomatoes and other heavy feeders will not grow very well in adverse conditions. They don't like extreme acid or alkaline conditions.

Compost added to the soil can bufffer a lot of pH problems, which is what happens with lasagna gardening.

At the extreme ends of the pH scale nutrients become less available. Micro nutrients in particular. Phosphorus becomes bound at the higher end of the pH scale. At the lower end you could have toxic levels of aluminum and magnesium. Iron, manganese copper and zinc deficiencies show up in alkaline conditions. Nitrogen is less available at both extremes.

https://www.growing-life.com/shop/pH_and ... chart.html

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gixxerific
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PaulF
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I have been battling high pH for the eight years gardening in our part of Nebraska. The Loess Hills along the Missouri River is wind blown dust from the Rocky Mountains that deposited here millions of years ago. My pH is around 8.0 to 8.2. I need to add Elemental Sulfur every couple of years.

Ammending with organics does buffer the effects of high pH but not completely. Sulfur helps but the native soil will revert after a couple of years so I have to treat the soil periodically. A good soil test from a reliable lab has to be done to get the amount of Sulfur needed.

One hint: There is Elemental Sulfur and Aluminum Sulfate. Stick with Elemental Sulfur. Aluminum Sulfate will mess up the balance of usable trace minerals and do more harm than good. That's my opinion and I am sticking to it.

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gixxerific
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Great post Paul, thanks. :D

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Most soils will revert to their native conditions without making corrections. A pH 8-8.2 is fine for baby's breath, cacti, and cabbages and most desert natives. It isn't very good for tomatoes, gardenias, azaleas and other acid loving plants.

Raised beds and using acidic amendments like peat moss, oak leaves, and pine needles help a lot. That is why lasagna gardening works so well. You will be planting in the rich organic layers that you can custom blend depending on the type of materials you choose to add.

Elemental sulfur is the best one to use to change pH. You are doing the right thing in getting the soil tested and amending as needed.

What we learned to do since our compost tests around 8.0, from the greenwaste composting facility, and homemade vermicast, was to add sulfur to the compost.
By the time the compost was ready the pH would be near neutral. The soil tests done on the compost told us how much sulfur to add. Since we basically have the same kinds of source materials available to us, we add about the same amount of sulfur to each batch. That way we do not have to keep retesting our compost.

In the end we use a lot less sulfur adding it to the compost than adding it to the entire garden.



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