Leave it alone. Compost buffers ph irregularities and youyd be surpised how
well plants adapt to variances. I garden in soil with a PH of 8-8.5 and grow
everything imaginable. I do use lots of compost to buffer the ph. Id love to
have the "problem" of a soil ph of 7.0 Muriatic acid sounds like way over
kill. Sulphur takes a long time to work (applied 150 lbs this spring). Try
using aluminum sulfate ( not Ammonium!). This will lower it quickly, but I
still think your compost is fine, remeber its also not stable...it is
decomposing. As a better solution, add peat. Peat is acidic.
>I have a couple of yards of compost from the last few
> years of composting my leaves. The two years ago pile
> now has a nice fine texture, and I decided, on a whim,
> to check its pH. I came up with a somewhat alkaline reading,
> say 7.0-7.5, which may be due to my use of a lot of leaves
> (e.g. of polar and elm) that some sources demean for their
> alkaline tendencies.
> I gather that this level of alkalinity is more than most
> veggies and small fruits want, especially in my context
> (high plains of Colorado) in which acid soil is not an
> issue. I'm wondering:
> 1) Is it reasonable to think that my compost might be
> alkaline enough to account for the poor performance
> my veggies have had in recent years (I typically
> plant my veggies in furrows with a few inches of
> my finished compost)?
> 2) If I want to acidify the compost, what might anyone
> recommend? Obviously, elemental sulfur is a common choice,
> as for blueberries, but I understand that many veggies
> taste better if grown in low sulfur soils, so I have been
> thinking to avoid that. I was thinking about
> dousing my compost pile with some HCl (muriatic acid)
> commonly available for masonry, scale removal, etc. at
> a level enough to bring the pH down to say 6.0 or so,
> but I wonder whether plants would be happy with the
> chloride that would contribute to the soil.
> As you can see, I'm not adverse to chemical solutions,
> although I would be interested in softer ways to acidify
> the compost as well. (Large supplies of oak leaves are
> not something I can get my hands on.) So, thoughts and
> suggestions would be welcome.
> Thanks,
> --
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=
> Mike Lacy, Ft Collins CO 80523
> Clean out the 'junk' to email me.
XML site map
> years of composting my leaves. The two years ago pile
> now has a nice fine texture, and I decided, on a whim,
> to check its pH. I came up with a somewhat alkaline reading,
> say 7.0-7.5, which may be due to my use of a lot of leaves
> (e.g. of polar and elm) that some sources demean for their
> alkaline tendencies.
> I gather that this level of alkalinity is more than most
> veggies and small fruits want, especially in my context
> (high plains of Colorado) in which acid soil is not an
> issue. I'm wondering:
> 1) Is it reasonable to think that my compost might be
> alkaline enough to account for the poor performance
> my veggies have had in recent years (I typically
> plant my veggies in furrows with a few inches of
> my finished compost)?
> 2) If I want to acidify the compost, what might anyone
> recommend? Obviously, elemental sulfur is a common choice,
> as for blueberries, but I understand that many veggies
> taste better if grown in low sulfur soils, so I have been
> thinking to avoid that. I was thinking about
> dousing my compost pile with some HCl (muriatic acid)
> commonly available for masonry, scale removal, etc. at
> a level enough to bring the pH down to say 6.0 or so,
> but I wonder whether plants would be happy with the
> chloride that would contribute to the soil.
> As you can see, I'm not adverse to chemical solutions,
> although I would be interested in softer ways to acidify
> the compost as well. (Large supplies of oak leaves are
> not something I can get my hands on.) So, thoughts and
> suggestions would be welcome.
> Thanks,
> --
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=
> Mike Lacy, Ft Collins CO 80523
> Clean out the 'junk' to email me.