How to Fix Soil That Is Too Alkaline
You will need the following items:
Gardening gloves
Old clothing
sphagnum peat
Rake or garden tiller
Long clothing
Granular sulfur
Garden spreader
Follow these steps to fix alkaline soil in a small garden:
Step 1:
Put on a pair of garden gloves. You may also want to dress in old clothing since you will most likely get a little dirty.
Step 2:
Spread a layer of sphagnum peat over the top of your garden soil. The University of Iowa recommends that the layer be between 1 and 2 inches thick.
Step 3:
Use a rake or garden tiller to mix the sphagnum peat 8 inches down in to your soil.
Follow these steps to fix alkaline soil that is in a large area:
Step 1:
Put on a pair of gloves and some long clothing.
Step 2:
Place .3 lb. of granular sulfur in a garden spreader for every 10 sq. ft. of space you need to cover. Do this if your pH level was an 8 or higher. Use .2lb. if your pH was 7.5, and .1 lb. if your pH level was 7.
Step 3:
Push the spreader across your soil to distribute the granular sulfur. Go either from west to east, or north to south so that you don't miss any spots.
Step 4:
Wait several weeks to allow the granular sulfur to reduce your pH level to a more acceptable one.
Tip:
Areas that experience a low rainfall often have alkaline soils. Using compost in these areas can help tremendously.
Warning:
Do not add limestone to your soil. That would make the soil even more alkaline.
References:
Iowa State University: How to Change Your Soil's pH
The Compost Gardener: Soil pH-Acid Soil or Alkaline Soil
Published by Alicia Bodine
I am a single stay at home mom of 2 girls. My youngest has Angelman Syndrome so I had to learn how to work from home. I enjoy writing and using the programs on my blog http://paidtowrite.blogspot.com. Fee... View profile
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- Sphagnum peat works in small gardens.
- Granular sulfur works on large areas.