Soil PH

[RxPain-]

Recently planted a willow tree and 2 cherry blossoms and entire lawn is bermuda. I've not had soil tested for pH but all 3 need slightly acidic soil (according to google). Is it a bad idea to sprinkle sulfur on the trees or could it do as much harm as it could do good?

 

[DirtMechanic]

No (sprinkle) and yes. You need to understand 2 things. 1, sulphur makes sulphuric acid over time, and 2 that soil density is directly related to the quantity of acid you end up with at the end. My clay can handle 2x what a sandy loam can handle. There is a calculator I have used, here: https://garden.org/nga/calculators/index.php?type=sulfur

Now seriously, what will sulphur do that composted cow manure like black kow could not do better? Even aluminum sulphate has a lot of potassium. Spill those beans on this project because quarantine minds want to know! You need a stick pH meter for soil. Bypass those wonky distilled water test kits.

 

[oneeye]

If you want to lower the pH of your soil after a soil test just use peat moss. I lowered mine from 7.8 to 6.5 pH using plain ole Canadian peat moss. If you have a lime based soil, nothing will keep the pH down for over a season anyway. The difference between Sulphur and peat is Sulphur has a pH of 2.7 when wet, and peat is 4.4 pH when wet.

I have never had any luck using pH meters with a probe you stick in the soil, and I have tried many too. I have use probes and sent the sample to be tested at TX A&M, and probe pH meters were always off. The best way I test my pH is using a liquid pH tester. I just run some distilled water through the soil, catch it, and test it with 98% accuracy. . I can use my liquid tester on any soils indoor or outdoors anytime of the year.

 

[Meadowlark]

Same here on ph meters...pretty much worthless.

 

[oneeye]

Liquid pH meters work with almost perfect accuracy when done correctly. Greenhouses and other commercial growers will agree that liquid pH meters are the only way to know what pH they have.

 

[Meadowlark]

I got started on liquid to measure the ph in my ponds....and never looked back at those flimsy, inaccurate meters.

 

[DirtMechanic]

If you want to lower the pH of your soil after a soil test just use peat moss. I lowered mine from 7.8 to 6.5 pH using plain ole Canadian peat moss. If you have a lime based soil, nothing will keep the pH down for over a season anyway. The difference between Sulphur and peat is Sulphur has a pH of 2.7 when wet, and peat is 4.4 pH when wet.

I have never had any luck using pH meters with a probe you stick in the soil, and I have tried many too. I have use probes and sent the sample to be tested at TX A&M, and probe pH meters were always off. The best way I test my pH is using a liquid pH tester. I just run some distilled water through the soil, catch it, and test it with 98% accuracy. . I can use my liquid tester on any soils indoor or outdoors anytime of the year.

Since the pH of distilled water is 6, how is that accuracy possible running water through what amounts to coffee grounds vs a method of using a stick meter the day after a rain so that the soil is not muck nor dry? Is the meter calibrated? I have two of the reference solutions, but found the hydro guys use it more successfully than myself or the dirt guys.