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Old March 17, 2017   #31
Worth1
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If a person were to judge Oklahoma by way of I 40 it wouldn't be good.
Nothing like south eastern Oklahoma.
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Old April 6, 2017   #32
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I got my results back. My pH is 7.5, sulfur 142 which is very high, organic matter is high, nitrogen and potassium are low. So as was suggested I added gypsum and blood meal. I am confused why sulfur can be high and alkaline high. Isnt sulfur suggested to be added to alkaline soil?
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Old April 7, 2017   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbamWY View Post
I got my results back. My pH is 7.5, sulfur 142 which is very high, organic matter is high, nitrogen and potassium are low. So as was suggested I added gypsum and blood meal. I am confused why sulfur can be high and alkaline high. Isnt sulfur suggested to be added to alkaline soil?
Sulfur can be in different chemical composition. Some might not react with alkaline readily.
Did the lab say that Sulfur in your soil is too high ?
In my soil test it is even higher than yours and they did not mention anything about being too high.

Gypsum, is Calcium Sulfate (more S in it ??) , if i remember it correctly. But probably the "S" in gypsum can/will lower the pH.
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Old April 7, 2017   #34
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Gypsum is generally added to raise calcium and yes sulfur is used to lower the pH in soil.

I wonder how high your pH would have been if the sulfur had been lower? Maybe you should call the lab who tested your soil and discuss results for soils in your area to get some insight into your results. That is what I did and they were very helpful.

Last edited by brownrexx; April 7, 2017 at 10:04 AM.
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Old April 7, 2017   #35
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The sulfur may to bound to something else. For an example, with iron present, three sulfur atoms can bind to one carbon atom in FeMoco (Fe7MoS9C or Fe4S3 and MoFe3S3). Check this link out. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v526/n7571/full/nature15246.html
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Last edited by Dutch; April 7, 2017 at 11:17 AM. Reason: Added links
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Old April 7, 2017   #36
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6.1 ph sounds pretty good to me. last fall I did my test and it was 5.1. chunked down about 70# of lime and reread that thread after seeing this post. lots of good information was discussed then:

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...ight=soil+test
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Old April 7, 2017   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by My Foot Smells View Post
6.1 ph sounds pretty good to me. last fall I did my test and it was 5.1. chunked down about 70# of lime and reread that thread after seeing this post. lots of good information was discussed then:

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...ight=soil+test
My Foot Smells, the ph is 7.5. We have alkaline soils in the west. We do not add lime. It amazes me though that the Big Box stores based in other parts of the country carry it in our stores.
I think I can grow most things with the alkaline the way it is except maybe blueberries.
I added kelp meal and alfalfa meal last year but I don't think it lasted or not enough nitrogen to make a difference. My tomatoes just did not produce well last year at all.
Our property is challenging. My soil is clay in my back yard, sandy in the front, and when we were planting trees at the west side of our property the soil was orange due to iron. Also we have not dug up a single rock!
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Old April 7, 2017   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbamWY View Post
My Foot Smells, the ph is 7.5. We have alkaline soils in the west. We do not add lime. It amazes me though that the Big Box stores based in other parts of the country carry it in our stores.
I think I can grow most things with the alkaline the way it is except maybe blueberries.
I added kelp meal and alfalfa meal last year but I don't think it lasted or not enough nitrogen to make a difference. My tomatoes just did not produce well last year at all.
Our property is challenging. My soil is clay in my back yard, sandy in the front, and when we were planting trees at the west side of our property the soil was orange due to iron. Also we have not dug up a single rock!
Barb

7.5 does seem a little high. maybe we could swap a few truckloads to even things out

......but, I can tell a difference in the natural cover crop growth by adding the lime. before, the raised bed soil was patchy bald, but now it has more jump.

Last edited by My Foot Smells; April 7, 2017 at 01:09 PM. Reason: brain to hand disconnect word use
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Old April 7, 2017   #39
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This is why I like to use vinegar to acidity.
It isn't permanent like other things can be.
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Old April 7, 2017   #40
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Mark “AKmark” uses Phosphoric Acid to bring down the ph of his well water from 8.2 to 6.2. This is a link to his post #15. http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=42941
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Old April 7, 2017   #41
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just to add to confusion https://aglabs.com/accuracy-of-a-soil-test.html
Yes, Gypsum is 22% Ca and 17% Sulfur.
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Old April 11, 2017   #42
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7 is neutral, so I wouldn't consider 7.5 too high, except for very acid demanding plants, which won't be happy with 7 anyway. Very few things won't grow with 7.5
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