Soil pH
We have a variety of natural soil textures in Northeast Ohio. I have a heavy clay soil at my home in Lakewood, and there is a nice sandy soil where I work at Cleveland Botanical Garden. But sometimes after a construction project, soil is brought in that varies in texture from the natural soils. That is the case with the Gateway Garden in front of the Garden. Construction crews hauled away the natural sandy soil when they excavated and brought back a high pH (8.0) clay soil as fill. There are also new concrete drives and walks that leach calcium and lime into the soil. So, right off the bat, some of the acid lovers that were planted in this garden showed stress. My current game plan is to use a low pH organic fertilizer in the garden and especially around the acid lovers. The garden takes about 80 yards of mulch each spring, so I am looking for a good source of low pH mulch that will help neutralize the pH as it breaks down each year. Pine mulch seems to be my best bet so far since suppliers are telling me it has a pH of around 4.5. Two other acidifiers that I am going to try are sulfur and cottonseed meal. I am interested to hear what kind of success others have had with these techniques in their own gardens.
Posted by Bob Rensel
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