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Re: Soil pH

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

At 05:47 PM 1/26/00 -0500, Juliana wrote from NW Louisiana:

>I just got a soil analysis back from my Co-op Extension Service that 
>showed a pH of 8.1, which they indicated is very high.  From those of you 
>with experience, should I amend my soil to lower the pH,
>and if so what do you recommend?

8.1 is NOT "very high."  7.0 is exactly neutral (neither acidic--lower 
numbers--nor alkaline--higher numbers).  The pH scale is logrithmic and 
runs from 1 to 14.

I wouldn't try to adjust the pH before your plants' performance indicates 
that there is a problem.  I used to live in central Louisiana (Pineville), 
and the soil there was definitely more acid, favoring pines and azaleas and 
other acid-loving crops.  Most veggies tend to like neutral pH readings, 
but 8.1 is not very far off that mark.

If your soil has plenty of organic matter, you won't have any 
nutrient-uptake problems with a reading of 8.1.

--Janet
[now outside DC, with a pH of 5.5, darned acidic, in the pseudo-soil the 
builder left behind on my lot....]


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