Outdoor soil mix

[miskatheseal 0]

soil will definetely be acidic if its peat. it will probably be very light and airy so it'll have good drainage and aeriation allready. maybe something to retain water would be a good idea for those dry spells so the mulch int a bad idea

thx munki

think il get a ph tester and find out wot its like then add lime to correct it

[expand 0]

for outdoor I use

sand

perlite

Bio root

NPK 30-10-20 and 5-40-30

someone use perlit and sand ?

[Guest Mr white]

Hi just a quick question, my plot is clay based and is on the high side of the ph scale. Will iron sulfate lower the ph in this lumpy clay? My thinking is that the rain will wash it through and not penetrate the lumps therefore not doing a insuficiant job in lowering ph levels equally. Thanks in advance of replys.

[iamafunkimunki 6,924]

Hi just a quick question, my plot is clay based and is on the high side of the ph scale. Will iron sulfate lower the ph in this lumpy clay? My thinking is that the rain will wash it through and not penetrate the lumps therefore not doing a insuficiant job in lowering ph levels equally. Thanks in advance of replys.

my garden centre stocks loads of gear like that. you want aluminium sulphate or sulpher. i think what you'll probably find is that you'll have no probs with it leaching away. it'll take time to completely dissolve plus every time it rains or gets watered in some way the water flow thro the soil will carry the sulpher to where ever it needs to be resulting in a pretty consistent change through the whole wolume of soil. where ever the water goes your roots will follow anyway. you want to be getting it in soon tho mate if you leave it too long your ph will be all over the place. also if you add some fertilizer when that breaks down your ph will lower some anyway. what is the ph?

[Guest Mr white]

my garden centre stocks loads of gear like that. you want aluminium sulphate or sulpher. i think what you'll probably find is that you'll have no probs with it leaching away. it'll take time to completely dissolve plus every time it rains or gets watered in some way the water flow thro the soil will carry the sulpher to where ever it needs to be resulting in a pretty consistent change through the whole wolume of soil. where ever the water goes your roots will follow anyway. you want to be getting it in soon tho mate if you leave it too long your ph will be all over the place. also if you add some fertilizer when that breaks down your ph will lower some anyway. what is the ph?

On one site the ph is one and a half to two pionts over. The other site I have yet to check. I need a new test kit as I've run out of solution. I'm using different sites this year which is a pitty as I'm sure there almost perfect. Iron sulphate acts quicker than sulfur which is why I used it last year I hope I can still get it as I had to search loads of different stores. I might get some peat moss as that apparently helps also, I really should have sorted this all out last year

[-G- 112]

usually powdered sulphur is available as well as the chips for lowering the pH. a good additive for clay soils is gypsum (calcium sulphate i think) which reduces clumping of the soil which is a great advantage for your plants. i hope peat moss is good, i have a huge bag of the stuff which has been lying around for ages which id like to get rid off.

[iamafunkimunki 6,924]

if its only a couple of points get some solid ferts in there and come planting time it'll be fine

[iamafunkimunki 6,924]

blood and bones a good all round solid fert. and yes it'll take your ph down when its breaking down. manure pellets are pretty light weight and a 15l tub would easy cover that area tho they aren't particularly good for flowering . 200/300 square feet you looking at a load of herb there maybe too much to process i'd reckon on about 200 grams per square metre for a average outdoor plant thats looked after nice. thats 2000+grams 70-100 odd oz is a lot for personal use. go steady mate

[iamafunkimunki 6,924]

i am not saying don't do it. just watch it. i to am scaling up my outdoor this year. i want to achieve around 30 /40 oz. its good that you do more to eliminate any possible chances of not getting a crop from loss due to thieves, police etc. but yours all being in one place that logic doesn't really apply.

[-G- 112]

Iv just started digging up my patch which turns out to be heavy clay and rather acidic. I tested the pH today with a kit i bought and it seems to be about 5.5-6.0.

soil pH - tap water pH

I read that if your soil is too acid then nutrients will not be available to the plants so i must get this sorted out. Can anyone direct me with how much lime to add? The stuff i bought is just labeled 'powdered limestone'

cheers

[iamafunkimunki 6,924]

are you planning to fertilise your soil prior to planting?

[-G- 112]

nah, i read fertilizers and lime dont go well together

[iamafunkimunki 6,924]

hmmm. well if you get some in now theres still time to let it weather for a month or so before you need to add the lime. in which case it would be fine. you may have read not to fertilise in the same year you lime. this is true for fresh fertilizers such as fresh steaming horse shite or summat to that effect. you still need to let rotted ferts break down for a little while but no where near a year.you'll just need to add a little more lime early july or summat to just bring it up slightly again. rule of thumb is a couple of pounds per square metre to raise by 1 full unit. clay soil is slow to react to lime so don't expect it to change within a week or owt pal

[-G- 112]

I have a large pile of grass/leaf compost thats been rotting for at least a year now which im tempted to add for a more wokable soil. however iv read that you want the carbon:nitrogen ratio to be balanced and from just green vegetation, you dont have much carbon in there, is this crucial? i also have a bag of peat i can add which will be good for water retention/aireation.

so for march im thinking to get this compost and peat mixed in and then come april, get pleanty of lime in there which will hopefully sort out my pH situation come early-mid may. does that sound about right?

[iamafunkimunki 6,924]

can't see it being a problem, organic matters a good soil improver regardless. sounds about right to me