Safe substitute for Aluminum Sulphate????

[MontyJ]

That is a bit high for blueberries. Is 7.0 where it normally is, or after applying the al-su? I would switch to straight garden sulphur. You are going to battle the high pH forever. It's much easier to raise the pH than it is to lower it, and the affects last longer. What part of the country are you in? I wouldn't be surprised if your bedrock is primarily limestone.

 

[hoodat]

Monty,

It runs around 7.0ph. We add the aluminum sulphate every year to get it down to where it should be and by the next year it's back up.

Tony

IMHO The buffering effect of alkaline soil is very stubborn. It will always try to return to alkaline. Usually neutral is the best you can achieve long term. Most garden veggies will fortunately tolerate alkaline soil though so long as they have enough fertility in the soil to overcome the binding up of minerals. They sell kelating agents to help free up much of it and in soils with a high population of soil organisms they will do a lot of the freeing up of minerals. Nature has her ways and thriving plants mean thriving soil population and vice versa.

 

[mrcman]

Monty,

7.0 is where the ph is normally. We end up having to give a couple treatments to reduce it...this is done yearly. Next year it will return to the 7.0. We live in northwest Pa. The past two mornings we had killer frosts but our bushes were covered. We have to remain vigilant until the fruit is set if we want any blueberries from our bushes.

Tony

 

[Smart Red]

We used to use Aluminum Sulphate on the rhodies and blueberries, but stopped after reading that it can build up in the soil to dangerous levels. Now we add a bit of garden sulfur when needed although most of what we add is pine needles, peat moss, coffee grounds, and shredded oak leaf mulch. We've had the rhodies and blueberries growing in the turn-around for the past 20 years.

Peat moss is often considered a no-no because of the non-renewable way it is harvested, but we got a deal 15 years ago and DH came home with 200 big bales of the stuff at $.50 each when the going rate was closer to $8.00 a bale. We're still working on that.

 

[MontyJ]

Tony,

Take a look at this website. If you are north/northwest of the Pittsburgh Plateau, that would explain the alkalinity of your soil as compared to mine. I am on the Pittsburgh Plateau which runs more acidic.

 

[luis_pr]

For most of my hydrangeas/camellias/azaleas/hibiscus, I lower the soil pH using Garden Sulphur or Greensand. Both should do well with blueberries. On those hydrangeas that I am trying to turn the blooms purple or blue (and which are far away from the azaleas), I keep using a/s or Garden Sulphur.

 

[mrcman]

Monty,

That's a pretty cool website. Thanks

Tony


Luis,

A few people have mentioned garden sulphur, I think I need to look into it and see if our local garden supply has it. Thanks

Tony