Re: How to acidify soil
Kishori & Brian Hutchings wrote:
>
> Compost pH can be quite changeable, I think because of ammonia given off
> in decomposition. I once got a steaming load of chicken manure-topsoil mix
> at pH 7.8, 3months later it was 4.5!
> Brian
Dear Brian,
If you had such a change in PH I doubt it is due to ammonia evaporation.
Perhaps the test sample was not mixed thoroughly. The 7.8 would reflect
more soil, and the 4.8 had more chicken manure. That is often the case
with mixing soil and manure, it is not distributed evenly. there will be
a change in PH after some time. The PH would probably go up due to the
chemical change of uric acid into nitrogen.
mark mos
NY
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: mark <markmos@banet.net>
> > To: perennials@mallorn.com <perennials@mallorn.com>
> > Date: Friday, February 06, 1998 12:41 AM
> > Subject: Re: How to acidify soil
> >
> >
> > >Harold Lanktree wrote:
> > >>
> > >> My soil in Michigan is quite alkaline too. What I am doing is
> building
> > >> mounded beds using bulk "50-50" mix from a local nursery. It is 50%
> > topsoil
> > >> and 50% peat. You can use soil sulphur and acidifying fertilizer, but
> > soil
> > >> any organic mater in the soil will buffer, or restrict changes in pH,
> so
> > I
> > >> don't think they are terribly effective. In effect, I am changing the
> > soil
> > >> to get around that. Since most of the plants I am concerned with have
> > >> shallow root systems (rhodo's, etc) the mounds don't need to be very
> > high.
> > >> Secondary benefits are much improved drainage in the root zone, and a
> > high
> > >> level of organic matter, which these plants love. Over a long period
> of
> > >> time I expect my new soil will loose acidity too, but I think it will
> > take
> > >> many years.
> > >>
> > >
> > >Hi Harold,,
> > >
> > >Why not mix into the soils decomposed manure? I mix it into all my beds
> > >and here we do not have a problem with alkilinity. The uric acid lowers
> > >the PH.
> > >
> > >Mark Mos
> > >NY
> >
> >
> > I'm in an area that is pretty urban, and manure of any kind isn't so
> easily
> > come by. But it would be a great idea if it were handy. Another
> > consideration is that the soil is maybe too alkaline for half measures.
> I
> > do see that I left out something along that line, though. I am mixing
> about
> > 30-40% compost into the 50-50 mix.
> >
> > That was also interesting. Since I am trying to build a lower pH soil,
> it
> > occurred to me to measure the pH of the compost. WOW, but it was off the
> > high end of the scale! I have done some consulting with my favorite
> > Advanced Master Garden guru about that, and she tells me that compost is
> > often alkaline (and very hard to get a good pH measurement for, with all
> the
> > organic material). But that it seems to increase in pH after it is
> applied.
> >
> >
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