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Mon, Mar 16, 09 at 19:02
| In my area, one of the major lawn fertilizer companies is offering a free soil PH test through taking the sample to a designated local garden center. There should be no conflict of interest if you should use this offer for the purpose of a Dahlia garden. ((To take a soil sample you want to take 3-5 small scoops (maybe more depending on the size of your area) of the soil you want to be tested.)) You may want to watch for a similar offer in your locale. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The Portland Dahlia Society allows members to borrow a very nice Ph meter to test their gardens. It cost about $125- and gives results in a few seconds. Members find that their soil does vary in Ph from location to location in their gardens. Here in Western Oregon our soils are generally a bit too acid and the addition of lime does wonders for dahlias. I have read that dahlias prefer acidity of about 6.5 but I have noticed that they do grow reasonably well at 6.0 and above. |
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| Well, the test itself was free, but came back with a pH reading of 8.5 - Yow! (This exercise is no longer free - I will be spending money on soil additives.) I find this interesting because Michigan soil is normally a bit acid and I amended with loads of Canadian peat about 18 mos. ago. I think I'll do an independent soil test myself (another outlay of $$$!). The Colorado Dahlia Society recommends Aluminum Sulfate (among other things) to lower soil pH and indicates how to apply it. Does anyone have experience doing this? Results? Thanks |
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