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Old May 15, 2013   #31
RebelRidin
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Maryland's Eastern Shore
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Default Adjusting soil pH with Espoma 30% sulphur product

This, IMHO, is a pretty good page on adjusting soil pH.

http://www.grow-it-organically.com/c...g-soil-ph.html

From thier table for a LOAM soil, to adjust soil from pH 7.5 to 6.5 to a depth of 6 inches with sulphur (that is what the Espoma product has in it) you need 2.4 lbs of elemental sulphur per 100 square feet. Now you don't actually have pH 7.5 but you are close. You also don't need to get down to 6.5 exactly either. You also don't want to try and adjust soil pH all at once. It can get a person into trouble.

If I wanted to adjust the pH of my LOAM soil with sulphur, I would knock that 2.4 lbs back to 2 lbs and spread it out over at least two applications 8 weeks apart. So here is what I would do with that Espoma 30% product.


2 lb sulphur/0.3 lbs sulphur/lb product= 6.67 lb product per 100 square feet.

6.67 lb product per 100 square feet / 2 applications = 3.3 lbs product per 100 square feet of bed for each of two applications

I broadcast it evenly and work it into the top 6 to 8 inches of soil. Then this fall I will get another soil test.

If I have a SANDY soil in that same state I use only two-thirds as much = 0.66 * 3.3 lbs = 2.2 lbs product per 100 square feet of bed for each of two applications

If I have a CLAY soil I use half-again as much = 1.5 * 3.3 lbs = 5 lbs product per 100 square feet of bed for each of two applications


Again, only you can decide what you want to do. Before you do that I recommend a good read of that above link or one of the many articles on the subject that can be found at many university ag extension sites.

Good luck

PS: I am doing this very thing to my beds this year as the soil mix I filled them with tested at pH 7.3. I believe the 1/3 mushroom compost in the mix was what caused the higher pH in my case.
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Last edited by RebelRidin; May 15, 2013 at 05:10 PM. Reason: Noted use on my beds
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