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| Soil pH 5.0 https://www.dirtdoctor.com/efl/dirtDoctor/soil-ph-5-0-t3198.html |
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| Author: | epi 1:10,000 [ Sun Apr 04, 2004 4:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Soil pH 5.0 |
We have sandy soil and some clay w/ a pH of 5.6. Is this ok? Do I need to raise it and if so how would I go about doing so? |
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| Author: | Scott Fl [ Mon Apr 05, 2004 4:32 pm ] |
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6.5 is the optimum ph and you can raise it by adding lime |
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| Author: | user_48634 [ Mon Apr 05, 2004 10:41 pm ] |
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I've never heard of a pH of 5. Where do you live? |
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| Author: | epi 1:10,000 [ Tue Apr 06, 2004 7:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Grapeland, TX |
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| Author: | user_48634 [ Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Any other readers from Grapevine have such acidic soil? I would expect it to be highly alkaline. |
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| Author: | epi 1:10,000 [ Fri Apr 09, 2004 5:02 pm ] |
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HMMMMMMM my soil is 4.8 to 5.0 and my homade compost tea is > 7.0. I wonder if I could use garrett juice w/o the vinager so ever so slowly raise the pH???? |
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| Author: | user_48634 [ Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:28 pm ] |
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Thanks Bluestem. That was the direction I was going to go - I just never heard of soil that acidic, especially in Texas. Once you get going on organic methods and build up some thriving microbes in the soil, the pH will adjust toward 7.0 from either direction. The microbes give of "acids" which are strongly buffered near 7.0. When they do that, they buffer the old pH and start the shift toward neutral in quite a rapid fashion. The best way to get microbes in the soil is a light coat of compost. Light coat is 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet. After that, or at the same time, add a vegetable protein based fertilizer (like corn meal or alfalfa) to feed the microbes. Once the microbes are healthy, they will change the pH and start to feed the plants. The plants will respond by sending special sugars to the roots where the microbes will take in the sugars. The microbes respond to the sugar by multiplying. When they multiply they will take up more of the vegetable protein and start to store it in their little microbe bodies. Those microbes are vitally important to your soil. In addition you will grow lots of grass roots in your soil. Those grass roots naturally die and are replaced every year (note that this happens mostly in grasses, not shrubs or trees). The dead roots will provide organic material in your soil that also is invaluable. With all this going on, along with proper watering, your soil will recover quickly. Here are a few more tips. 1. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds. 2. Mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you're developing in 1 above. 3. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above. |
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| Author: | epi 1:10,000 [ Sun May 08, 2005 5:51 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I added 50 pounds of lime per 1000 square feet in April of 2004. I just got my soil test back yesterday and the pH is 4.5. I learned form a neighbor that the soil was imported from Louisiana and in some places its 40 feet deep. The firm that built the neighborhood put it down to fill in a creek and level out a very steep hill. |
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| Author: | user_48634 [ Sun May 08, 2005 10:44 pm ] |
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It's good that you have the pedigree on the soil. So it is a very localized issue for you and would not apply outside your neighborhood, it sounds like. I would still go with what I said before. Just start growing grass. The soil pH will adjust back towards normal as the grass grows and roots die and microbes move in. |
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