Soil pH. I'm organic, do I care?

17 years ago

I know my soil pH is low (5.7). I live in MA, have a heavy clay soil and rhoddies and azeales thrive. Acid rain is a reality and the soil is tested.

I fear drastic pH swings effects on the microherd after lime addition. I work with cell cultures and they often die with a pH swing of 0.4 pH.

I believe that an organic program will buffer the soil and the miicroherd will feed my plants/grass.

Does anyone have links to pH effects on grass (organic please) or the use of lime and impacts of the microherd?

My grass does well, but would liming improve it? I will be adding fireplace ashes to certain areas of the lawn as a test.

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Comments (7)

hoorayfororganic
17 years ago
even if the microheard were to die from a pH swing, they'll thrive again in no time i would suspect.

organic matter introduced to the soil will indeed act as a buffer for the soil.

acid rain is a reality but its effect is minimal once you have sufficient organic matter.

no links but just my general knowledge on a soil science 101 level
fungus_among_us
17 years ago
I think that your best bet to adjust the soil pH without harming microorganisma would be to add compost to your existing lawn. Rake in a 1/4" top layer whenever possible to help neutralize pH. I suspect the it will improve the life of your soil too!
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dchall_san_antonio
17 years ago
grayentropy, I agree with you. Just feed organic fertilizer and your plants will do very well. Plants in an organic program seem to have a wider range of tolerance for variations in soil acidity and even air temperature.
greenjeans_il
17 years ago
I'll need to check but I think I recall in Jeff Lowenfelds book "Teaming With Microbes" he mentions that fungally dominant soils will have a lower pH and bacterial dominant will have a higher pH.

That being the case you may try swinging your pH by applying more bacterial friendly soil amendments. I know that most grains are fungi friendly so maybe try some light applications of mollases or sugar to see if it swings the pH.

I've always been a little curious about whether changing the amendments could swing the pH but with slightly alkaline soil and an acid loving turf I've always concentrated on developing fungi. As you may or may not know it's much hard to develop fungi in soil than it is bacteria. Bacteria can be grown almost by accident! I wonder if by exploding your bacteria populations if that will sway the acidity of your soil? Sounds like an experiment in the making!!
grayentropy
Original Author
17 years ago
Ok, Ashes, Sugar and then a control. I have an area of my lawn abuting the forest that gets full sun and appears to have substandard soil. I will continue to follow my organic program on all plots.

Ironically I was reading about sugar and lawncare last night. I'm leaning towards table sugar since I have it on hand but am also considering other sources such as corn syrup, maple syrup, etc. I will apply the material in early May. I doubt I will weigh anything but will provide estimates of coverage.
dchall_san_antonio
17 years ago
Molasses makes a good sugar to stimulate bacteria to reproduce. You can often find molasses sold by the pound at farm and ranch co-ops. I got my last gallon for about a dollar.
grayentropy
Original Author
17 years ago
Spray molasses at 3 oz/1000 ft^2 with a hose end sprayer?