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randy_lind

Starting A Garden Need help regarding soil

12 years ago

I decided to start a vegetable garden in my backyard this year and I will be growing Corn, Beans, Peas, Carrots and a few more. Ive done some soil testing and need some advice from a well seasoned gardener. My Soil is about 40% Sand, 30% Silt, 25% Clay and 5% organic matter based off the jar test and I did a soil Ph Test and My soil is Ph level 8.0 or higher (8.0 os as high as the test goes) Alkaline. I dug a 1 sq foot by 1 foot deep hole and did the drainage test and it took about 1hr 40 minuets to drain so no water was in it. Now what I want to know is what to do next. Should I add sulfur to acidify my soil or should I add compost to make drainage better. I would like to plant this season for various reasons and ive read that adding sulfur can burn seedlings and roots. My designated garden area is a little shy of 300sqft. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks everyone

This post was edited by Randy_Lind on Thu, Jun 12, 14 at 21:21

Comments (12)

  • 12 years ago

    From what I've heard and read, elemental sulfur is close to inert until little soil microbes, requiring warm, moist, and well drained soil, break it down. Over anywhere from three months to two years, depending on who you read, they break it down into (sorta) sulfuric acid. The ion is SO4 I think. The elemental sulfur will just sit there like rocks in dirt, but the ion will leach, so continuing application will be needed to keep the soil pH from rising back to its original state. In other words, perpetual vigilance but no burning if you keep things gradual and well mixed.

    HOWEVER, I don't think you stand a chance of altering pH from 8 down to 7. It's 8 for a reason and the reason may be test error. That's a wicked pH. Also if you have a lot of calcium carbonate, it'll eat your sulfur for breakfast. Do you get fizzing if you pour vinegar on a soil sample? If you do, that's from free calcium carbonate and that ain't good.

    Read the link. It makes sense.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Soil pH lowering in Wisconsin

  • 12 years ago

    Contact your local office of your University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service about having a good reliable soil test done for soil pH and they will advise you about how much sulfur to apply to reach the pH you want. Otherwise add more organic matter, compost or other vegetative waste, to help with that drainage.
    To an extent that organic matter might act as a buffer for the plants and that soil pH.

    Here is a link that might be useful: UWCES

  • 12 years ago

    If you have any neighbors with gardens, if they are growing what you want to grow, you should be OK.

    Your main problem is going to be not overwatering. Get a moisture meter and use it regularly.

    I did a soil Ph Test and My soil is Ph level 8.0 or higher (8.0 os as high as the test goes) Alkaline.

    I doubt that those results are accurate ... Wisconsin's rainfall and underlying rock types are unlikely to produce soil as alkaline as that. Check the USDA soil maps to see what your area has.

    Based on the drainage results, you have a heavy soil. Minimize the amount of tilling and digging you do if it's wet, because it will turn to hard lumps. And make the beds so you don't have to walk on them to plant or harvest - it packs to concrete.

    I'd go ahead and plant, and start a compost bin. Next spring spread any compost you made over the beds and plant. (let the worms do your tilling)

    Instead of pulling up the old plants, slice them off with a shovel at ground level and let the roots decompose in the dirt. It leaves tiny channels and organic matter way deeper than you can dig.

    Here is a link that might be useful: soil maps

  • 12 years ago

    I went to the soil map website and did the area and I think I did it right but cant be quite sure. I posted my results in the picture

  • 12 years ago

    Did you use distilled water for your pH test? If not, that will affect the outcome. Lazygardens has the right idea.......if neighbors have veggie gardens growing similar plants, you should be fine. Unless you are on top of a limestone outcropping, a soil pH that high is highly unusual. More likely that you got an inaccurate reading.

    And it never hurts to incorporate organic matter/compost to both lighten soils/improve drainage, add nutrients and buffer pH.

  • 12 years ago

    I used Reverse osmosis water for the test. That might be the problem but I assumed it was relatively close to distilled.

  • 12 years ago

    What you need is ammonium sulfate. SO4. That will lower your pH and make nitrogen in your soil available to your plants. I would also consider some beneficial bacteria for your plant. Spore forming bacteria will help accelerate the process. Quantum HSC is the best I have found.
    My link is to the Quantum Growth Series

    Here is a link that might be useful: Beneficial Bacteria

  • 12 years ago

    First do the test right. I find it difficult to believe that you have alkaline soil in the middle of a 6.1 region. But I would plant right away regardless, because the season is short. You can amend later while the plants are growing.

  • 12 years ago

    Reverse osmosis water and distilled water are not the same and the RO treatment may not change the pH of the water. If one reads the University of Wisconsin treatise posted by cold weather one would find that soils in Wisconsin do tend toward the alkaline side of the pH scale.
    Ammonium Sulfate is not an acceptable means of lowering a soils pH to organic growers.

  • 12 years ago

    Deep loess over glacial till ... no limestone to worry about there. The RO water screwed up the test.

    Plant! And plant quickly because "winter is coming"!

    Don't do anything to correct the pH until you get a real soil and pH test done. Correcting when there is not a problem creates problems.

  • 12 years ago

    All indications are that you have close to perfect garden soil, once you get the organic fraction raised. I'm envious.

  • 12 years ago

    Alright thanks for all of the awesome advice everyone! It took a lot of work and I am broken because of it but its all done. I ended up getting some good 3+ year old compost from a horse farm and I tilled it in with my soil and it turned out good. The radish seeds have already begun to germinate and hopefully everything else isnt too far behind. Thanks for all of the advice guys :) Have a good day