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nafex - [NAFEX] Pine Needle Myth

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  • From: Jim F <bonfire58_2000@yahoo.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Cc: jfruth@uslink.net
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Pine Needle Myth
  • Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 06:09:50 -0700 (PDT)

     From the responses, the pine needle myth is VERY wide-spread.  People who should know better are spreading it and old ideas die hard.
     There are three proven methods to acidify soil:  Aluminum Sulfate will do it in a quick, temporary, fix and elemental Sulfur will do it slow and permanently.  There is one hitch in chemical acidifying though.  Most soils have a buffering quality that tends to hold the pH where it is.  Adding acidifiers may have no effect, at first but persistance in adding it will, eventually, pay off................providing we don't get impatient.  If too much acidifier is adder to the soil, the buffering quality may be over-come with enough acidifier to lower the pH past the desired point.  If that happens, the soil might become too acidic for that which we wish to plant; it is best to add acidifiers slowly.  It is also best to prepare the soil before, perhaps years before, we plant acid-loving plant.
     A safe recipe for acidifying soil, using elemental Sulfur, is (The following numbers are not, obviously, proportional because the pH scale is exponential, not mathematically simple.:  To lower pH by 0.5, add 2/3 pint/100 sq. ft. for sand soil and 2 pints/100 sq. ft. for loam.  To lower the pH by 1.0, 1-1/3 pints for sand & 4 pints for for loam.  To lower by 1.5, 2 pints for sand & 5½ pints for loam.  To lower by 2.0, 2½ for sand & 8 for loam.  To lower by 2,5, 3 pints for sand & 10 pints for loam.  To achieve the best results, use powdered sulfur rather than the pelleted form.  NOTE: Soil pH changes are brought about by bacterial action and bacteria need some form of humus to do their work best.
     The third method to acidify soil is to use peat moss.  Be cautious, though, because most of the peat moss that is commercially available has been pH balanced - this product probably won't acidify soil.  If pH balanced peat moss is all that is available, we can remove the pH adjusting chemical (usually lime or gypsum) by inserting a water hose at the top of the bag to drain out of holes in the bag's bottom.  When acidifying peat moss with water, the hose needs to run a great long time because the pH balancing chemicals are almost insoluble and require vast quantities of water to leach them out.  As for how much peat moss to add to soil to acidify it, this is impossible to say because of the great range of pH of peat moss. 
Jim Fruth
Pequot Lakes, MN     


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