Since it has to counter conditions dispersed throughout the soil, digging it in is usually best, but be thorough.

Of course you can also sprinkle it around and wait for water and weeding to work it in and you'll only be treating a bit of the soil at a time that way; but it'll work, just not as quickly or as evenly.

Thank you cold_weather_is_evil ...I thought that was the prudent course.

Peggy

Limestone, or any other lime source should be applied as evenly to the soil as possible so it will work every where and not just in small areas. Be aware that it can take 6 months for any change to be noticeable.

Now I'm wondering if the limestone would be harmful to the plants if I get some on them?

Thanks for your help.

Peggy

Where in CA are you? California soils tend to be on the alkaline end of the scale, rarely acidic, and this tends to be more so the case the further south you get. Was this a professional test?

I'm in South San Francisco, which is south of San Francisco, in the fog belt. I've lived here 25 years and never had acidic conditions before.

When I first moved here I dug in amendments to loosen up the clay soil and it's always been good until now. I've never used acid fertilizer in that part of the garden.

On the other hand, we are having some very strange growth behavior of trees in our area. Branches are growing long and leggy and even drooping over because they are too spindly to carry their own weight. I have been wondering if we are getting acid rain conditions all the way from China? I've asked experts about this situation and nobody responds.

Between that and the pine-bark beetles killing our big pine trees, it's a sad situation in Eden.

I removed about 25 rose bushes three years ago or so. Including a lot of climbers that grew on the fences. I wanted easy-care in retirement. I've been having trouble getting new plants established ever since. They just don't thrive. It was getting costly, buying expensive new plants.

I sent a soil sample for testing to the lab at University of Massachusetts. The cost was very reasonable. It took about a week to get the results by email. I've attached the Page 1 results. I'll have to create a second response for Page 2

Thanks for your interest gardengal48.

Peggy

Here's Page 2

How often do you fertilize and with what? Many of your values are well above optimum levels and that is often an indication of excessive fertilization. And certain ammonium-based ferts can contribute to soil acidity as well.

Otherwise I am perplexed :-)) Very unusual for you to have acidic soil naturally.......something has caused this anomaly. And you don't get enough rainfall for acid rain to be a culprit! Where I live does and even our soils - with an acidic base mineral component you do not share - are seldom ever lower than a pH of 6.0.

When I had the roses in there I used your typical MiracleGro Rose Food about three times a year. Epsom Salts in the Spring. That's about it.

Since I took them out I've used 16-16-16 no more than once a year. I have used a handful of Super-Phosphate in the planting hole when I plant something new. Obviously I didn't need that at all!

As I said, I was trying to scale down my gardening, so I bought landscape evergreens and perennials. Things that should just grow without a lot of attention and that my gardeners could easily care for.

Another odd thing is that the plum tree in front is coated with lichens on the trunk and branches, as is the neighbor's in back.

Peggy

Are you getting too much shade from trees growing up and shading places they didn't use to? Long leggy growth could be plants reaching for sunlight.

Definitely cut back on the fertilizers, not only P but K looks high too. No more Epsom salts - IIRC, Ca is supposed to be several times the Mg level (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Yours are reversed. Make sure you use regular limestone and not dolomitic lime, which has Mg in it.

Lichens are harmless, so no worries there. I would encourage you to consider using an organic fertilizer.....even just mulching with compost regularly would suffice. There is far less of a concern that nutrient levels would exceed optimum with organics, they don't leach and they will improve soil conditions overall.

btw, Epsom salts as a good rose fertilizer or amendment is an old wives' tale, aka horticultural myth. The ONLY benefit derived from adding Epsom salts is if you have a magnesium deficiency, which you most certainly don't. It provides NO other benefit to the garden - doesn't make things grow better or flower heavier. There is no scientific evidence to support what is generally considered to be just anecdotal reporting.

toxcrusadr: If you read back you will see that I said "trees in our area are growing long and leggy". To clarify: This is a widespread phenomenon involving very large trees like eucalyptus and pines.

gardengal: I only mentioned the lichens because they are new the last few years.

I have been having my gardeners apply mulch to keep the weeds down ever since I removed the roses. In fact, I plan to vacuum it up with my shop vac to save it and reapply it after the lime is dug in. I plan to add bloodmeal for a Nitrogen source with the "Encap fast acting" lime.

Peggy