I personnely use 10-10-10 fertilizer and dehydrated lime, Always had good luck with that, Oh I should mention every other year I put manure on in the fall and plow it.

Mikie, the dehydrated lime jimmy56 mentioned, would make your ph of 8 (already high) even higher, so not good advice for your soil. The sulphate part in your soil additives is good for lowering the PH. You likely know all this, or you would have not mentioned adding anything with "sulfate" in the name. I would guess shade if you are literally in the back "woods". But I tend to think you mean a full sun area in the "sticks" away from an area where many houses are. I am no expert but if you can access bunny poo, it is a good manure, with high NPK plus micronutrients. Some peeps use rabbit food pellets as a soil additive. Any free manure you can get is great, but let it rot over a year before planting. Rabbit poo is said to be a cool manure. I guess by that discription you can plant in soil where it is added, but root crops (carrots, beets) should be planted next year. These are things I've read that make sense to me, and I believe are good pointers. To each there own though.

I should've mentioned that sulfur lowers ph, Gypsum is my Calcium rich additive, it has sulfur in it. My Ph is 7 and 7.3. It doesn't acidify right away, it breaks down into sulfuric acid. My dad used to add lime for the lawn each yr. Now my lawn is surrounded by many plants where he added lime year after year in the past. Peat moss is acidic and may help if added, but it cost money, and a large area may be expensive. Peat moss is said to be in limited quantities, non-renewable resource. Adding shredded fall leaves should help acidify, oak leaves, oak bark mulch all have tannic acid in them. If you want fast results some sulfuric acid after a year in the soil, should lower the PH. Many veggies can grow in neutral PH 7.0. If you use compost with fall leaves, oak leaves, the compost should help lower the PH. Using compost should help add neutrients. I add bone meal, blood meal, veggie scraps. Are you sending these soil samples to Penn state or using a home kit? Your back-woods yard likely had forest growing there not TOO long ago. All the composting leaf cover from years ago. I am imagining a rich plot of land. Unless it was farmland many years after that woods was cleared.

Mikie, Actually the advise poaky gave about lime isn't all true, There is different types of lime, Garden lime helps to neutralize the soil and sweetened it which helps the plants grow, I have been doing it that way for 40 years, If lime would raise the PH too high my garden would be way over the limit and nothing would grow, Just my 2 cents worth.

"Garden lime helps to neutralize the soil and sweetened it which helps the plants grow, I have been doing it that way for 40 years, If lime would raise the PH too high my garden would be way over the limit and nothing would grow."

First - All lime changes the ph. For example It will slowly bring the pH up from 6 to 7 (7 is neutral) so it is true lime neutralizes. However if you keep adding lots of lime it will increase it to 7.5, 8........ What is true is that Not all lime changes the pH quickly. And some lime has magnesium and other ingriendents.

If the pH of soil is too high or too low, then your plants will not take up certain elements of the fertilizers. The nurtients will sit in the soil or wash away.
Go to the link below and look at how nitrogen decreases as the pH gets more acidic. (chart) That that means you can put fertilizer down which may be high in N, but the plant wont take it up becasue the soil is too acidic. So in the case above--- master blend 4-18-38 if your pH is that high, you may be putting p=18, or k=38 in your soil that may never get taken up by the plant. You are wasting your $$ if you dont know the pH.

There is a very good discussion in the container garden forum on fertilizer. And how we as gardeners add too much. If you are interrested check it out it is very interesting.
Before I would start any garden I would first check the pH of the soil, and the level of nutrients ( as described in the link) then only add the fertilizer you need.

I am a big fan of compost ! And then some organic fertilizers as needed. And lime only if you need to change the pH. I have been gardening for 30 yrs and have only added lime once.

I am not sure what it means to "sweaten the soil"?

It is possible that your soil is naturally a little acidic, and you have been adding a small quantity of lime each year to the top of the soil. The amount may not be changing the pH all that much.

If you check the pH of the soil you may be surprised.

Read the link. It is very good. Get you soil checked, and go to you county extension office for help. They are experts and the cost is free!

Enjoy your garden

Here is a link that might be useful: look at the chart

It just might pay for you to watch the movie ( back to eden )
It's on youtube and has it's own web site..could fit your needs to a T.
Be prepared though, tis 1-1/2 hours

Actually your suppose to put the lime on in the fall as it takes several months to work, But I put mine on around March with no problem.