Re: CULT: Bearded pH
- To:
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] CULT: Bearded pH
- From: C* M*
- Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 05:05:45 +0930
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Here in South Australia at a meeting, various members bought in soil samples
from our gardens and they were pH tested. Our gardens range was from 5.5 to
to 10(on staight limestone), those on the Adelaide plains ranged from about
7.5 to 10. All grow TB sucessfully, and any who tried, also grow Spurias
successfully. Wide areas of South Aust have very high pH's , 8 -8.5 is
extremely common. I've not found anywhere that can't grow TB or Spurias
because of pH. A few of us on acid soils find some varieties don't do as
well for us as they do on alkaline soils. Certainly some varieties do better
in one area than another. Since the climates in our regions don't vary all
that much, it's a lot more a factor of soil type and pH. (soils range from
solid clay to almost pure sand)
Les(husband) recently met a man from Coober Peedy (opal mining desert town)
who said TB grow well up there. Alkaline sand, very cold nights in winter,
extremely hot summers.
Lowering pH is a major problem here, Since pH is a log scale dropping from 7
to 7.5 (or even 6.5) is relatively easy, getting from 8 to 8.5 is a lot
harder, especially since the mains water tends to be alkaline. Those who
grow La (mostly in pots) recommend sulphur and cow manure as being good for
maintaining a lower pH
Colleen Modra
South Aust
