News Release

Tips on Adjusting Your Soil pH

Tim Reed, Franklin County Extension Coordinator

February 5, 2004

            Soil pH is its measure of relative acidity or alkalinity. A pH of 7 is considered neutral and indicates there is an equal balance of  H ⁺  and OH ^– ions in the soil.  Anything you do to the soil that increases the H⁺ concentration will make the soil more acidic (lower the pH) and if your activities reduce the H⁺ concentration you will make the soil more alkaline (raise the pH).  When you apply an ammonium based fertilizer to your lawn, garden or pasture such as ammonium nitrate additional hydrogen ions are released which increase acidity. Most but not all plants grow best when the soil pH ranges from 6 to 7. This article will discuss the preferred pH ranges of different plants and tell you how you can raise or lower your present soil pH to meet your plants’ needs.

            Plants which can grow well at a soil pH of 5 include blueberry, azalea, gardenia, camellia, blue hydrangea, petunia, pansy, viola, sasanqua, asian jasmine, wax myrtle, oleander,  willow, magnolia and dogwood. Plants which can do well to okay at a pH as low as 5.5 include dianthus, hibiscus, abelia, photinia, althea, flowering almond, forsythia, pyracantha, holly, spirea,  crapemyrtle, nandina, pine, junipers, redbud, river birch, oak, liriope, ferns, monkey grass, centipedegrass, grapes and strawberries. Plants that have an optimum pH range of approximately 6 to 6.5 include ageratum, delphinium, purslane, balsam, larkspur, torenia, dahlia, French marigold, African daisy, amaryllis, aster, Easter lilly, tulips, crabapple, maple, flowering cherry, vinca, apples pears, tall fescue, orchardgrass, corn, soybeans and cotton.  Some of the plants that do best at a pH range of 6 to 7 include African marigold, sunflower, verbena, iris, butterfly bush, four o’clock, salvia, gladiolus, hollyhock, euonymus, boxwood, Japanese yew,  ash, sycamore, tulip tree, elm, pecan, honeysuckle, ivy, bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and St. Augustinegrass.

            Normally, the soil pH is too low (too acidic) for the plant being grown and ground limestone (ag lime), poultry manure or wood ashes can be added to the soil to reduce the H⁺ concentration. Normally, it will take about 2 tons of ground limestone per acre to raise the pH of a sandy soil from 4.5 to 6 to a depth of 8 inches. It will take 3 tons per acre to do this for a loamy soil and 5 tons/acre for a clay soil.  A ton of ground limestone/acre is equivalent to 50 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. If you want to grow blueberries and you need to lower your soil pH, applying ammonium sulfate fertilizer will gradually do this. Another option for an immediate reduction in pH is to use aluminum sulfate.  Use 1.5 lbs. of aluminum sulfate/10 square feet of loamy soil to lower the pH from 6 to 5. Reduce the rate by one- third for sandy soils and increase the rate by one-half for clay soils.

BLUEBERRIES ARE EASY TO GROW

An Extension News Article

Provided by Doug Chapman,  Regional Extension Agent

February 21, 2006

           Many folks have shown an interest in blueberries in the last few years. Much of this interest has been generated by reports of the health benefits associated with the blueberry.  From a gardening standpoint, blueberries are fairly easy to grow. If you can grow azaleas, you can grow blueberries.  Depending on who’s counting, there are about 450 species of Vaccinium in the world. Most of these different blueberries grow in the Northern hemisphere and a number of them grow in North America. Man has used blueberry as a food source since before recorded history. In fact a good portion of the annual production in some areas still comes from berries harvested in the wild.

            Two species of lowbush blueberry, V. angustifolium and V. mytilloides are still harvested in the wild in the United States. These species are also cultivated in places like Maine and Michigan. The flavor of lowbush blueberries is said to be superb.  The Northern highbush blueberry, V. corymbosum, is the most commonly cultivated type of blueberry in the United States. A good portion of the production comes from the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest. Northern highbush will grow and produce on elevated sites as far south as Alabama. The most commonly planted blueberry in the Southeast is the rabbiteye, V. ashei. Like a lot of other fruits that grow well in the Deep South, the rabbiteye is a true Southern native. Vast areas of the Southern woodlands are covered by wild rabbiteye blueberries.

            Along the Gulf Coast, many acres are being planted to Southern highbush blueberries. This is a hybrid, primarily between Northern highbush and V. darrowi, as well as other species. The Southern highbush was bred to incorporate the superior fruit characteristics of the Northern highbush with the heat tolerance and low chilling requirement of the other species. The Southern highbush is a very temperamental plant and needs special care and attention to grow. Some growers actually plant them on raised beds of pure organic matter and irrigate them. This special attention results in a high quality berry that can be grown father south and harvested a little earlier than rabbiteye.

            Regardless of the species, one thing all blueberries have in common is a love of organic matter. When planting blueberries, it is important to incorporate some organic matter into the planting hole. This can be peat moss, compost or fine pine bark. After planting, it is a good idea to mulch the plants. Container grown blueberries can be planted locally from October through March. Bare root blueberries have the best chance of living when planted from December through February.

            Fertilizing blueberries is a little tricky. They can not tolerate the nitrate form of nitrogen, therefore many of the commonly available fertilizers are not suitable. Ammonium forms of nitrogen such as urea or ammonium sulfate are better. There is no substitute for a soil test for determining the other elements that are needed. Also, blueberries need to be grown on acidic soil. In reality, you are far more likely to kill blueberry plants with fertilizer than with anything else.

            Once the plants are in the ground, it would be a good idea to prevent them from fruiting for the first couple of years by pulling the young fruit off. That way, all of the energy the plant makes goes into establishment rather than producing a fruit crop.

            Another thing to be aware of is that blueberries usually bloom very early in the spring and are subject to late spring frosts. Newer cultivars of rabbiteye blueberry such as Alapaha, Ochlockonee, Vernon and DeSoto bloom a little later than older cultivars such as Tiftblue, Climax and Premier.

LEAF DISPOSAL OPTIONS

An Extension News Article

Provided by Tim Reed, Franklin County Extension Coordinator

December 13, 2005

            Leaves tend to be one of those things in our landscape that we “love and hate” depending on the time of the year.  In the hot summer, they are our best friend.  In the late fall, they become our enemy.  By figuring out how they can also be our friend after they fall, one of life’s yearly challenges can even become very beneficial to us.

            The chore of raking leaves, while not being much fun, is still something most people must do each fall.   We rake them, bag them and send them off to the landfill. This is still a viable option. However, remember that in the City of Russellville you can pile your leaves up next to the road and call the city street department (332-8750) and they will come and vacuum up the leaves. The hose on the vacuum will extend 6 feet. Another option for disposing of leaves in Russellville is to burn them if you live more than 500 feet from the nearest residence. Before you start any fires you must first call the Russellville Fire Department (332-8761) and get permission to burn the leaves.

           Sometimes when we have dry and / or windy conditions the Russellville fire department  may tell you that you can’t burn them until later. Sometimes when dry conditions are widespread the governor’s office will issue a “No Burn Order” that you want to be sure to obey. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) also requires that a pile of leaves must be at least 500 feet away from the nearest neighbor’s house before they can be burned anywhere in Alabama.. ADEM regulations require that leaf burning starts no earlier than 8 a.m. and that no additional leaves be added to the burning pile after 3 p.m. ADEM has this regulation to help insure that all fires are out by dark.  Burning should always be your last resort of leaf disposal in town and in the country because of the risk of an escaping fire and the health problems it will probably cause some of your neighbors who get sinus headaches and allergy problems when they smell smoke.

            Now that we have been told that this bulky waste along with other landscape debris makes up 40% of what goes into our landfills, we have found alternative methods for leaf disposal. The first one that comes to mind is composting.  Leaves alone are difficult to decompose but by mixing them with a few grass clippings, decomposed manure, or generous amounts of fertilizer, the leaves can be reduced to nature’s gold for your gardening needs.  If you have the space and time, stock piled leaves will rot on their own.  If you use this method, have patience, as the breakdown takes quite awhile.

            Another option for leaf disposal is to use the leaves as mulching material.  Instead of buying bag after bag of mulch, let Mother Nature help you save some money. The best way to collect leaves is by using the lawn mower bagging attachment.  Collecting the leaves with the mower helps to shred leaves and greatly reduces the bulk.  Once collected, the leaves can be spread around the bases of young trees or shrubs or used to cover bare soil areas in the flower garden.  The leaf layer will provide additional organic matter as they decompose and help conserve moisture and control weed growth.  Leaves do break down quickly as a mulch layer, which means you will need to add material a little more often.