What did you do in the garden today?

[OnlySympathy]

Well, my suspicion that the soil in my new garden bed was acidic was correct. I tested it with my Rapitest 4 in 1 soil tester and it showed that the pH was right around 5, very acidic. It's a clay soil and compacted pretty bad also. No wonder my tomato and pepper plants look strange and aren't growing much.

I just ordered a 30 pound bag of Pennington fast acting agricultural lime. The instructions say that raising the soil pH from 5 to 7 requires 18 pounds per 1000 sq ft. The garden plot is a little over 300 square feet, so I'll apply 6 pounds when I get it and measure the pH again in a few months.

I'll add a lot of compost to the plot this fall and fork it in, and hopefully it will be in better shape next year.

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I bet blueberries would love that. I’ve heard of people using wood ash to raise the ph

 

[Smokerbill]

I bet blueberries would love that. I’ve heard of people using wood ash to raise the ph

That's what I was thinking, but I need the space for tomatoes and peppers and beans. I have no woodash available. Would've used it if I had it.

If I decide to plant blueberries I can make a new garden plot nearby knowing the acidity will be ideal for them.

 

[jerryse]

Well, my suspicion that the soil in my new garden bed was acidic was correct. I tested it with my Rapitest 4 in 1 soil tester and it showed that the pH was right around 5, very acidic. It's a clay soil and compacted pretty bad also. No wonder my tomato and pepper plants look strange and aren't growing much.

I just ordered a 30 pound bag of Pennington fast acting agricultural lime. The instructions say that raising the soil pH from 5 to 7 requires 18 pounds per 1000 sq ft. The garden plot is a little over 300 square feet, so I'll apply 6 pounds when I get it and measure the pH again in a few months.

I'll add a lot of compost to the plot this fall and fork it in, and hopefully it will be in better shape next year.

View attachment 4182014View attachment 4182013

Gypsum will loosen soil and act like lime on PH. Soften soil brand around here.

 

[Rick589]

Well, my suspicion that the soil in my new garden bed was acidic was correct. I tested it with my Rapitest 4 in 1 soil tester and it showed that the pH was right around 5, very acidic. It's a clay soil and compacted pretty bad also. No wonder my tomato and pepper plants look strange and aren't growing much.

I just ordered a 30 pound bag of Pennington fast acting agricultural lime. The instructions say that raising the soil pH from 5 to 7 requires 18 pounds per 1000 sq ft. The garden plot is a little over 300 square feet, so I'll apply 6 pounds when I get it and measure the pH again in a few months.

I'll add a lot of compost to the plot this fall and fork it in, and hopefully it will be in better shape next year.

View attachment 4182014View attachment 4182013

Isn’t 7 going to be a bit too high? I adjusted my Ph based on actual lab analysis and recommendations which was their target of 7 ( an endpoint I failed to consider when applying their adjustments). Although the garden didn’t suffer horribly it did suffer some production with a 7 Ph. I was shooting for a 6 to 6.5 primarily to accommodate beets and potatoes and found 7 actually a tad too neutral and realized that for what I normally plant I could handle an even slightly lower Ph than 6-6.5.

 

[TropicalBabies]

What are wicking containers?

"Wicking containers have a reservoir at the bottom that holds water. A wicking material, like fabric or a porous material, extends from the reservoir up into the soil, allowing water to travel upwards through capillary action, providing a consistent supply of moisture to the plant roots."
This is the AI version of wicking container.
This is my version of my process

After plants are established i can water through the pipe.

So far i am absolutely thrilled with the process. Each box costing me about $50. for fittings, pipe, fabric, rock, 50/50 compost/soil. I need to top off with compost and then mulch.

 

[Rick589]

That's what I was thinking, but I need the space for tomatoes and peppers and beans. I have no woodash available. Would've used it if I had it.

If I decide to plant blueberries I can make a new garden plot nearby knowing the acidity will be ideal for them.

My native soil is at 5.0-5.4 and I actually leave the blueberries use the native soil but I have augmented at times to lower the Ph further to between 4 and 5.

 

[OnlySympathy]

"Wicking containers have a reservoir at the bottom that holds water. A wicking material, like fabric or a porous material, extends from the reservoir up into the soil, allowing water to travel upwards through capillary action, providing a consistent supply of moisture to the plant roots."
This is the AI version of wicking container.
This is my version of my process
View attachment 4182000View attachment 4182002View attachment 4182008View attachment 4182010
After plants are established i can water through the pipe.

So far i am absolutely thrilled with the process. Each box costing me about $50. for fittings, pipe, fabric, rock, 50/50 compost/soil. I need to top off with compost and then mulch.

That is so cool! I bet I could make a mini version of that which would probably work great for tomatoes

 

[OnlySympathy]

I was forced to stop at Starbucks and they didn’t even have free used coffee grounds

 

[Smokerbill]

Isn’t 7 going to be a bit too high? I adjusted my Ph based on actual lab analysis and recommendations which was their target of 7 ( an endpoint I failed to consider when applying their adjustments). Although the garden didn’t suffer horribly it did suffer some production with a 7 Ph. I was shooting for a 6 to 6.5 primarily to accommodate beets and potatoes and found 7 actually a tad too neutral and realized that for what I normally plant I could handle an even slightly lower Ph than 6-6.5.

That's correct, but I was assuming that when the pH initially reached 7 it would gradually drop some as the lime worked down through the soil. But I'll go ahead and shoot for 6.5 instead. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Smokerbill]

Gypsum will loosen soil and act like lime on PH. Soften soil brand around here.

I didn't find gypsum locally, but TSC has pelletized dolomitic limestone, 40 pounds for $7. I was planning to get the Pennington lime, 30 pounds for $25 but I'll go pick up the limestone instead.