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| Merryterry2000 2007-03-26, 1:25 pm |
| The soil on my tiny veg patch has become very acid through application
of garden compost over many years. The top surface has a green sheen
to it when dry which I assume to show an acid condition?
What do I do to quickly bring the condition to, say neutral?
I expect I will be told to add lime but how much to start with?
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| Merryterry2000 <terryjames@fsmail.net> writes
>The soil on my tiny veg patch has become very acid through application
>of garden compost over many years.
I'd be surprised if the application of good garden compost would have
that effect.
> The top surface has a green sheen
>to it when dry which I assume to show an acid condition?
>
>What do I do to quickly bring the condition to, say neutral?
>
>I expect I will be told to add lime but how much to start with?
>
--
Kay
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| Bob Hobden 2007-03-26, 1:25 pm |
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"Merryterry2000" wrote ...
> The soil on my tiny veg patch has become very acid through application
> of garden compost over many years. The top surface has a green sheen
> to it when dry which I assume to show an acid condition?
>
> What do I do to quickly bring the condition to, say neutral?
>
> I expect I will be told to add lime but how much to start with?
>
You will need to test the pH, kits are available and there are also
electronic testers at about £14. Of course there are professional ones at
silly prices too.
When you have tested it and got a pH reading then you will have some idea
how much lime to spread on it to bring it back to neutral, pH7 .
We use a 25Kg bag of lime every year on our brassica bed.
--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK
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"Merryterry2000" <terryjames@fsmail.net> wrote in message
news:1174919488.847111.40110@p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> The soil on my tiny veg patch has become very acid through application
> of garden compost over many years. The top surface has a green sheen
> to it when dry which I assume to show an acid condition?
>
> What do I do to quickly bring the condition to, say neutral?
>
> I expect I will be told to add lime but how much to start with?
For a more in depth idea
http://tinyurl.com/2gdzmt
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| Merryterry2000 wrote:
> The soil on my tiny veg patch has become very acid through application
> of garden compost over many years. The top surface has a green sheen
> to it when dry which I assume to show an acid condition?
>
> What do I do to quickly bring the condition to, say neutral?
>
> I expect I will be told to add lime but how much to start with?
>
This morning I gave mine 70g per sq.m of calcified seaweed
Raking it in afterwards.
It's better than lime.
Sam.
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| Janet Tweedy 2007-03-27, 9:25 am |
| In article <WH7vqKFut+BGFwpV@scarboro.demon.co.uk>, K
<k@scarboro.demon.co.uk> writes[color=darkred]
>Merryterry2000 <terryjames@fsmail.net> writes
>
>I'd be surprised if the application of good garden compost would have
>that effect.
>
Sounds to me like the soil has been damp and you can see the mould/algae
that grew where the water stood?
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk
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| La Puce 2007-03-27, 1:25 pm |
| On 26 Mar, 19:44, sam <s...@profets.ot> wrote:
> This morning I gave mine 70g per sq.m of calcified seaweed
> Raking it in afterwards.
> It's better than lime.
But it's not so good for the environment. Calcified seaweed might be
great as a fertilizer but it's damaging our oceans. Very unsustainable
and now banned by the soil association. An alternative would be Cal-
sea-feed - the same contents but made out of seaweed instead of the
calcareous (coral) marine algae.
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| Bob Hobden 2007-03-28, 1:25 pm |
|
"R" wrote in reply to
>
> "Merryterry2000" who asked...
>
> For a more in depth idea
> http://tinyurl.com/2gdzmt
From that site this is of interest...
http://www.aglime.org.uk/technical05.htm
you need to do some maths to get to the small amounts needed in the usual
garden/allotment.
To help I list a few conversions.. :-)
multiply the Hectares figures by 0.4047 to get acres.
1 acre is 4840 sq yards.
1 sq Rod/Pole/Perch is 30.25 sq yards.(normal measurements used for
allotments)
1 Tonne is 1,000 Kg.
Normal GC bag contains 25 Kg.
So our brassica plot has a pH of about 5.6 and is just under a quarter of
the 7.5 Rods we use for veg and is silt/clay type so according to my maths I
need 52 Kg of lime.
That site also suggests a 4 year cycle so our 4 year crop rotation will be
OK as the plots get limed every 4 years, hopefully it won't need as much in
subsequent applications.
--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK
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