Also, will the Epsoma brand soil acidifier help at all? https://www.espoma.com/product/soil-acidifier/

The pH testers you can buy at garden stores are junk. Don't waste your money.

AWMAN... I just got one and came home. Are they not accurate? What is the best way to test my soils pH?

Doesn't it take a while for the lime to lower the pH? I've heard around 2 weeks for it to finish reacting, although the time frame depends partly upon how ground up the lime is, the temperature, moisture, etc.

If you measure the pH tomorrow, I doubt you will get an accurate reading.

I also seriously doubt that you are going to end up with a usable mixture with that much lime. Even with pH being a logarithmic scale, I suspect that much lime is going to put you way above neutral.

On a more helpful note, I can give you a way to measure the pH of the water your soil holds, if you are interested. This more directly affects how well your plants will take up nutrients than your soil pH alone will. (Soil pH will heavily affect this measurement, but other things will affect it too).

I don't know how to directly measure soil pH though, I'm afraid. I agree that the soil pH testers are complete junk.

I tested the pH with the kit today and it seems pretty accurate- I'm in the 8 zone :^( I used a fast acting dolomithic lime. Would flushing with acidic water containing vinegar work? I don't know what to do with 30 gallons soil now LOL should I throw it out and start over?

I've ordered the Soul sulfur and ammonium sulfate. Wondering if flushing and mixing these in the soil will help at all... I guess the amount of high calcium might limit my ability to bring down the pH as well. Is Dolomithic lime continuous in raising pH when it reacts?

I guess time and money wise it would make more sense to start over... but I'm not sure where to put the soil. Is there protocol for this kind of stuff? Seeing as how you said it was unusable I'd be hesitant to throw it onto land. Any suggestions?

I'm afraid I don't know enough chemistry to know if you can flush away or "fix" the pH after adding that much lime. I don't think it will damage anything if you spread it out really thinly somewhere to get rid of it.

Thank you, illsstep. You are the voice of reason that I needed! I've been googling how to get this solved, but guess I was one of the only beginners who didn't double check their notes. I'll make sure to do that, perhaps in smaller quantities as the pots are so heavy right now haha.

I agree, starting over is probably the best.

Nothing to be embarrassed about, I'd say. Hopefully you have learned something and will change your technique for pouring + mixing.

I think you'd be fine spreading it on land, as the volume of lime is small in relation to the land, as opposed to in a pot.

Start over, and if the old potting mix is spread thinly and you don't already have limey AKA alkaline soil, it should be fine if you don't spread it on acid loving plants. So in my area with naturally acid soil, I would use it as a top dressing on the lawn or mix it into the veggie garden, both of which like less acid soil than what is naturally there. You don't say what your soil is like or where you are, so it is difficult to know if this will for sure be a good idea for you. Just don't put it around your camellias, rhododendrons, or other acid loving plants.

pH soil testing kits purchased at nurseries or garden centers are actually remarkable accurate - it is the probes or meters that are inaccurate. As long as you use distilled water with the test kits, you should get a very accurate reading. It's the nutrient testing kits that are a complete waste of money!!

I also agree that testing now wll be inconclusive as it does take time for the lime to fully react and alter pH. And I'd also agree that I doubt the soil mix is salvageable for this season. You can use it as Babs described above or dump in an out of the way area and treat with garden sulfur to neutralize the lime.