How to repair alkaline soil?

[QChickieMama]

To fix my very clay-ish soil, I bought 2 truck loads of garden soil this spring. Uh oh. Things are NOT growing well. Some sprouts come up nicely about 1" and then just survive. They don't grow any taller. Some plants come up and look decent for a while but then the leaves all seem pale green, almost yellow, and the growth is very slow.

A friend tested the soil and says it's very alkaline, near 8.0 pH.

So, now what? Is there hope for these dreary-looking plants? What can I add to the soil to improve it?

 

[vehve]

Pine trees tend to make the soil more acidic, so how about planting some of those. Not a quick fix though. I wonder if spreading about some pine based mulch might help?

 

[Teery]

To fix my very clay-ish soil, I bought 2 truck loads of garden soil this spring. Uh oh. Things are NOT growing well. Some sprouts come up nicely about 1" and then just survive. They don't grow any taller. Some plants come up and look decent for a while but then the leaves all seem pale green, almost yellow, and the growth is very slow.

A friend tested the soil and says it's very alkaline, near 8.0 pH.

So, now what? Is there hope for these dreary-looking plants? What can I add to the soil to improve it?

They do make soil amendments to increase, decrease alkaline. A good nursurey in your area should be able to help.

Also watch these couple of videos: