Best way to make soil more acidic??

Madame Razz

Whats the best thing to use to make soil more acidic??

I have heard tea.....but this is possibly some sort of old wives tale perhaps

lalee17

I heard lime is good..

Madame Razz

lalee17 wrote: »

I heard lime is good..

I thought lime was used to make the soil more basic?

lalee17

Whoops. My mistake.

dardevle

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large quantities of organic matter can lower the pH of soil but if you are to do it on any kind of large scale the usual method would be an application of sulphate of iron.



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Belfast

"Lowering the soil pH to make it more acid
If your soil needs to be more acidic, sulfur may be used to lower the pH if it is available. To reduce the soil pH by 1.0 point, mix in 1.2 oz of ground rock sulfur per square yard if the soil is sandy, or 3.6 oz per square yard for all other soils. The sulfur should be thoroughly mixed into the soil before planting. Sawdust, composted leaves, wood chips, cottonseed meal, leaf mold and especially peat moss, will lower the soil pH."
the rest of the article is in the link below
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/acidsoil.html

if using peat moss make sure it is ericaceous. Most peat moss compost is not ericaceous.

SOLUTIONS TO SOIL PROBLEMS
II. High pH (alkaline soil)
Loralie Cox, Cache County Horticulture Agent
Rich Koenig, Extension Soil Specialist
http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_soils_2003-02.pdf

Getting the Right Soil pH
http://gardening.tips.net/Pages/T005088_Getting_the_Right_Soil_pH.html

The Sweeper

Never put lime anywhere near a plant that loves acidic soil.

Follow the instructions from Belfast and dardevle above - your local garden centre will have boxes of sulphate of iron for sale in the plant food section (you can usually buy all sorts of boxed things - epsom salts, magnesium, different specialist foods...)