From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Canada

Can aluminum Sulphate be added "Now" to patch and tilled in to quickly Lower my "HIGH" PH level within my soil?

my plants wont be hitting the patch for another 3 weeks
or possibly 4 weeks. Was just wondering if it was too late or if it would hurt the plants any? how fast does this stuff actually work? say your PH level was around the 8.0 Mark. Adding the proper amount of aluminum sulphate as per instructions to get it down to a more comfortable level how long would it take? if watered in.

or am i best to leave it be for 2005 and worry about lowering it in my 2005 fall prep and in the mean time keep adding composted materials?

thanks

dave

4/19/2005 6:49:25 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

No expert here but why wait..if it works like Lime what you put on now should be working next year..GrowEmBig!

4/19/2005 7:54:29 PM

Western NY

i would stay away from aluminum, just not the best stuff for soil. i'm sure doc or someone else can elaborate. check on the availibility of plain old sulfur in your area, that might be better.

4/19/2005 8:46:48 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Dave, I agree with Andy it may be better to stay away from the very fast acting and swinging effects of aluminum sulfate. Aluminum sulfate will change the soil pH instantly because the aluminum produces the acidity as soon as it dissolves in the soil.

Soil test info would help. If the Calcium to Magnesium ratio is more than 5:1. To adjust Ph you could consider Mg sulphate (Epsum salts) to alter for a very moderate PH change.

Slightly larger swings in Ph my be accomplished safely with Sulfer purchased from the Co-op. Sulfur, however, requires some time for the conversion to sulfuric acid with the aid of soil bacteria.

Peat moss and Manures also lower Ph too.

In certain rare situations Lime is sometimes added to reduce ph. Contrary to popular belief. It depends on the soils butffer capacity though. Steve is far more exp. at this than me. Others may chime in also.

If possible send along your soil test.

4/19/2005 10:23:28 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Like every other reactive soil amendment speed varies with grade of material applied & the soil it is applied to.

My BLIND vote is also for sulfur but we NEED the full test report (eyes open - lights on) to decide.

4/20/2005 5:09:38 AM

Hudsonville, Michigan (michiganpumpkins@sbcglobal.net)

I believe sulfur takes about 6 weeks to fully affect pH. The aluminum sulfate will go quicker, but I'd still recommend the sulfur...don't want to shock the soil by doing anything too abrupt at this point...

4/20/2005 7:18:09 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

1st get a second test....from a lab...I had 2 soil tests taken one said ph 5.4 and the other ph 6.8. If I would have added the 4 tons/acre of lime as recommended I would have really screwed things up. Our local AG Extension guy puts it this way. A soil test is like tasting a pot of soup with an eye dropper. It is just a tiny sample of the actual soil. After several tests from the same lab you are able to get a better idea of what you have.

4/20/2005 9:31:11 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Point well taken Shannon...If you didn't take samples from the entire area throw em all in and mix em up you could be looking at where you dropped a clump of lime as you walked into the patch to apply...Point made this year at Niagara was proper sampling techniques will be beneficial to the grower..improper testing results in improper diagnosis..hold a spike over you head in an xray machine and wait till the doctor tells ya whats wrong with that migraine..LOL...hey not saying it wrong just be sure.

4/20/2005 7:07:08 PM

Canada

Has anyone tried, take 2 samples, all from same locations as first but takeing the first sample from the first few inches down, then the next sample say a foot down.

sending both samples in them compareing the sample from the top area then the deeper area ?

I may try that this fall, But Ya i sent in another sample
from patch # 2 just to see.

thanks
Dave

4/22/2005 9:07:58 PM

Indiana

how come my soil samples always read very close on every test I take?

4/23/2005 3:21:36 AM

Canada

Tom, I asked myself the same thing, Both patches were treated the same way in my fall prep, I was expecting my PH to raise up do to the lime I tilled in, Maybe I just got lucky and didnt add enough lime, May it was the all the OM I added I donno, I think if my patch was 2000 SQ or larger like most peoples my numbers would be different but seeing its just 200 sq ft its tiny I can only add so much as when it rains it just washes off down hill as its a raised garden. The only numbers that really changed were my OM and my Calcium and my K-PPM in my first patch other numbers moved a bit here and there but nothing serious in my patch # 2 my K PPM went crazy but i believe that was due to the sample that was taken probably in one of my scoops taken for the sample maybe something was overapplied in that area, thats why another test was taken and sent in on friday.

Also am I takeing my samples correctly?

Heres "How" I do it, I walk around the entire patch takeing a sample from top to 3" down from every 2-3 feet apart it all goes into a bucket gets mixed up well then I cut a section out place it into a ziplock bag and send it off. Is this enough soil for a proper sample ? I donno thats why i'm asking. how large is everyone elses samples taken?

thanks

Dave

4/23/2005 1:05:32 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Tom,...."Fertilizer Efficiency Factors" whereby soil that would benefit from 100 lbs of K2O will require something like 550 lbs of 0-0-60 to get even half way there. No calculator handy so I'm just spewing numbers but you get the idea.

The other reason for consistent results is quality sampling practices.

4/23/2005 3:33:34 PM