Soil too alkaline

[creister]

If you use vinegar, make sure it is 5%. I like to use the apple cider vinegar the organic ones. Make sure the vinegar you use is made from grain alcohol and not petrolium distillate. Here in Texas, we mostly have alkaline soils and water so I like to use it as much as possible. I have also read it is a source of some trace minerals.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by zipcode

So how temporary is adding acid? And is adding a strong base also temporary effect?
I'm thinking here of wood ashes which contains KOH, which is a strong base but also a good fertilizer.

Using a mild acid like 5% acetic acid vinegar is a temporary fix at best. How temporary depends on the amount of excess carbonates are in the soil and the amount of vinegar used. One thing is for sure, it is a lot easier to raise the PH of the soil than to lower it so you have to be very careful at adding things that have a long term PH raising effect like lime or wood ashes.
A safe way to lower the PH of a soil over the long term is using elemental sulfur or a granular fertilizer made for acid loving plants like Espoma Holly-Tone which requires the action of sulfur eating bacteria that will oxidize the sulfur over time and release sulfuric acid into the soil. There is a caveat there though, you have to be careful in how much elemental sulfur you add the soil because sulfur can also kill other beneficial organisms particularly fungi. Yeast's and fungi themselves are useful in regulating soil PH because they help to acidify the soil around the roots which is where PH counts.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by creister

If you use vinegar, make sure it is 5%. I like to use the apple cider vinegar the organic ones. Make sure the vinegar you use is made from grain alcohol and not petrolium distillate. Here in Texas, we mostly have alkaline soils and water so I like to use it as much as possible. I have also read it is a source of some trace minerals.

I only use Apple cider vinegar. You can use the 10 percent but you will have to dilute it twice as much.

Worth

[KarenO]

A comprehensive soil test will tell you how much, by weight, of lime or sulphur or other recommended additives to add per square foot or yard or metre. No guessing required. It will also tell you if none is needed. The purpose of a soil test is to identify deficiencies and prescribe precise amounts of specific additives to correct them, often not all at once but yearly for several years. Again, such additives should be planned for fallow periods when nothing is growing, ideally several months prior to planting.
btw, Wood ashes would be a long term and strong alkalising agent and you will not be able to remove it once it's there. I would suggest against it but it is your garden.
KarenO

[creister]

I use the 10 percent vinegar to kill weeds, apple cider vinegar as a nutritional supplement.

[drew51]

Acetic acid also breaks down from bacterial activity, as does citric acid, another more expensive alternative. Bacteria work sulfur into sulfuric acid and that can permanently remove bicarbonates. Turns bicarb into gypsum which is neutral, and stable. In pots if you used to much sulfur, you can flush it out sulfuric acid by repeated water flushes. This has been used by friends growing blueberries in pots, and got it down too far, like the 3.5 range. It worked well flushing with water.
I grow blueberries and I use sulfuric acid in my water. I use battery acid, it's not pure sulfuric acid, so safer and easier to use. I forget the percentage? 33% or something like that? I use a ph meter to determine amount to use. It is safe and clean, often recommended for use by universities. Law regulates purity, any contaminates in it would mess batteries up big-time. Why one MUST use distilled water only in batteries.
I don't use perlite but diatomaceous earth of the right diameter (not food grade!), So I buy Optisorb brand oil absorbent (100% DE) and battery acid at O'Reilly's auto parts. Never thought I would do garden shopping at an auto parts store, but there you go!

[Worth1]

I have used 10% vinegar to remove the bluing from guns and also to remove rust from frying pans.

Once I accidentally used it to pickle some sausage.

Worth

[creister]

So did pickling the sausages eliminate the need for sauerkraut?

[drew51]

I pickled radishes this year, first time I pickled anything besides my brain. Came out good!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by creister

So did pickling the sausages eliminate the need for sauerkraut?

No but it eliminated the desire for vinegar for a while.

I think you could have put them in a time capsule for 100 years and they would have been ok to eat.

Worth

[Toddbz]

I used pure compost from my local dump for some container tomatoes & peppers. While holding WAY to much water (currently I'm watering 7 minutes/week), the ph is also just about 8. Interestingly enough, there's quite a bit of pine needles in the compost. So all the things that 'should' give me a lower ph, aren't.