|
Post by gakaren on May 14, 2015 22:29:55 GMT -5
Pea, my soil tests came back with a ph of 5.1 & 5.2. You DEFINATELY need to add some lime! I've been doing it the hard way. I got a ton of ag lime that is in powder form and I spread it from a 5 gal. bucket with a trowel. I also have to shovel it into that bucket from my pile. The pelletized is much easier to apply if you have a spreader. With just using mulch, it took me at least 2 yrs. to find the first worm on this property. Now I find them in many places...but we also don't pick up grass clippings, they stay on the yard to add organic matter and to fertilize...cause that is the only fertilizer our grass gets!
My veggie beds have gotten mulch, manure and finally compost.
If the extension agent explained it to me correctly...my 5.1 ph would be 100 times better than your 5.0 ph. That is why you need the lime, to get rid of some of the acidic in the soil.
As for worms, our Walmart usually has both night crawlers and red wigglers for sale in the sporting goods area. Check there next time you go that way.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on May 15, 2015 8:30:12 GMT -5
Read more: www.businessdictionary.com/definition/pH-scale.html#ixzz3aDIadV4Wmy 5.1 ph would be 100 times better than your 5.0 ph
That's a bit of an exaggeration but you have the right idea. Here is a definition that I copied from businessdictionary.com and it explains it pretty nicely.
This scale, however, is not a linear scale like a centimeter or inch scale (in which two adjacent values have the same difference). It is a logarithmic scale in which two adjacent values increase or decrease by a factor of 10. For example, a pH of 3 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 4, and 100 times more acidic than a pH of 5. Similarly, a pH of 9 is 10 times more alkaline than a pH of 8, and 100 more alkaline than a pH of 7.
So Pea's pH of 5.0 would be 10 times more acid than 6.0 and 100 times more acid than 7.0
Basically her soil would be somewhere between 10 and 100 times more acid than what is optimal for vegetables and probably earthworms.
I would definitely get some lime on that soil.
|
|
|
Post by tbird on May 15, 2015 10:12:55 GMT -5
Pea -
did you have earthworms previously? or is this a new-to-you house?
|
|
|
Post by lilolpeapicker on May 15, 2015 11:22:06 GMT -5
I have been working on changing the ph since I moved into the house and had the soil test done Sept 2012. I have been applying lime, still have some here...I planted peonies in Sept & 2012 and realized they needed a higher ph so I put lime right into the hole where they were placed. & They are doing fine. Coming through strong and beautiful My front lawn has had 1/2 dirt replaced when a tree was taken down and roots removed. Just had a second tree and roots removed on Monday and a delivery of dirt just made today. So I am working on the second half. And am working on the back yard too. Some of the back has been replaced as there was a huge maple tree that I remove when I first moved here cuz it was diseased, overhanging the roof and the next door neighbors garage roof, very many roots and I wanted sun. New dirt put in last summer and new grass planted....that was approx 1/3 the back yard. And there were 4 coniferous trees and stumps along the back of the property that were removed. So I know these are the top layers and need to go deeper. I am working on it. But now I can put a spade into the ground without hitting a ton of roots.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on May 15, 2015 11:56:31 GMT -5
With all of that work being done, I would probably just apply a layer of lime to your garden in the Fall and retest the soil in the spring. pH does not change overnight so letting it sit over the winter would be a good thing.
|
|
|
Post by lilolpeapicker on May 16, 2015 5:34:09 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by kimmsrđź•Š on May 16, 2015 5:56:12 GMT -5
Soil pH is a measure of the free Hydrogen ions in the soil, the more there are the lower the pH or the more acid a soil is. Adding Calcium Carbonate, lime, changes that by tying up those free H ions if enough CaCo3 is added to the soil. For years gardeners have thrown a handful of lime down, every spring, but have not noticed any change in soil pH, because not enough lime was used to make a difference. Depending on the soil you have, and the type of lime used, you may need anywhere from 1/2 ton to 1-1/2 tons of lime per acre to raised the soil pH 1 point, so a pound or four may not be enough. Liming should not be necessary every year, if it is done properly.
If Cornell does a soil test they will tell you how much, as well as what kind of, lime is needed. Applying the wrong kind of lime, Calcitic or Dolomitic, may not do what you want either so you need ot know which to use.
|
|
|
Post by lilolpeapicker on May 16, 2015 7:21:34 GMT -5
Don't miss this!
|
|
|
Post by tbird on May 16, 2015 7:43:54 GMT -5
Pea - did you do a garden last year in this soil? What were the results?
If they weren't very good, maybe for this years garden, maybe use some good bagged soil mix mixed in heavily to your planting holes - or even try containers or some small raised bed made with scrap wood or something.
Good Luck!
|
|
|
Post by lilolpeapicker on May 16, 2015 8:52:27 GMT -5
I had pretty good results, prob could have done better. I have added lime to the garden in the past. I will do a test again in the fall and see what these results will be and add if needed.
|
|