Lowering pH... in the Strawberry Lovers group

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Lowering pH...

The_Sassy_Sower
52 plants 7b

Okay…I have 6 Alpine strawberries, still in their nursery pots. I will be planting them out into containers that measure about 1.5 cubic feet – one per container.

I have blended soil per recommendations from A&M. The blend is 1 part topsoil (purchased in a bag), 1 part peat, 2 parts sand. I just have about 15 gallons blended up so far – that’s the size of the tub that I had available. It looks like enough to do 2 and maybe part of a third container. I have additional components to blend more.

I tested my blend and it is very alkaline, 8 in fact. So, I will get some sulphur to lower the pH while I am out today. The strawberries are wanting to get planted and I am eager to get them going on their propagation duties!

Does anyone (looks in hotwired’s direction) care to make a recommendation as to how much sulphur is needed? I have no idea if I will need tablespoons, cups, or bags to remedy my situation.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Trae

strawberry container sulphur ph acid

1 thumbs up!
Posted about 2 years ago
hotwired

71 plants 5b

Eight is way too high. Use “90% Sulfur” or “Fast-Acting Sulfur”, not “Aluminum Sulfate” which is for Hydrangeas. Your Target is 4.8 to 5.2 Ph.

For Pots, I’d consider using “fast acting Sulfur” such as “Encap LLC 10615-12 2.5lb Sulfur Plus AST”. It sells for about $4.00 per 2.5 pound bag and covers about 1250 sq ft. You can start out by mixing in about 1/2 cup, wetting it down, and then testing it after 12 hours. You need to move the Ph by 3.0 points. If the 1/2 cup moved it 1 point, then you,d need to add 2 more half cups. I would think that its better to add it slowly and test to be sure.

For Beds, I use 90% sulfur and use 2 pounds per 100 square foot to change Ph by 1 point at a depth of up of 3". You want to change the Ph by 3 points for 15 gallons, therefore…. 100 Sq Ft @ 3" deep = 25 cubic feet, 15 Gallons = 2 Cubic Feet, 2/25 = 8%, 2 pounds x 8% = 2.56 ounces. 2.56 oz x 3 points = 7.75 ounces. For 15 gallons, you’ll need 7.75 ounces or a little less than a half pound of 90% sulfur (slow acting).
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Posted about 2 years ago | Last edited about 2 years ago
The_Sassy_Sower

52 plants 7b

Okay, I found a 25# bag of “dusting, wettable sulphur”, 90% sulphur and 10% inert ingredients for $17. It is labeled as being an insecticide and fungicide. That is the only sulphur that the local feed store knows anything about. Is this the right stuff?

This is the stuff that my grammy used to dust our arms and legs to keep the mosquitoes and chiggers away when we played outside.

A super big thank you for figuring the math for me! I love math but, square foot to cubic foot, to gallons wasn’t computing over here :)
1 thumbs up!
Posted about 2 years ago
hotwired

71 plants 5b

If you haven’t bought it yet, I’d really think about going with fast-acting for pots. Sorry it took 2 days to answer, but had a bit of surgery and they wouldn’t let me have my laptop in recovery.
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Posted about 2 years ago
The_Sassy_Sower

52 plants 7b

No worries…how you doing over there post surgery?

I did some ‘surfing’ and decided to go with it. I added the dusting sulphur to my soil blend and potted them up yesterday morning. I ran out of capsules in my test kit and no more in stock – I think I lowered the pH about 2 points. I have a digital meter on the way (eBay loves me). I may have to re-pot but, had to get them out of their nursery pots – couldn’t keep them watered well without the pots sitting in water all day. Several of the ‘crowns’ broke apart into multiple plants so, I potted them up separately. The 6 original plants that I purchased are now 18. All but 2 looked rather perky on the evening rounds today. So, we’ll see…

Thanks for your help…take care of yourself!
0 thumbs up!
Posted about 2 years ago
hotwired

71 plants 5b

I’m doing OK, Thanks. It’s pretty hard to kill a strawberry plant. When you buy bare-roots in the spring, they were harvested in the Fall, then moistened, vacuum sealed, and kept refrigerated at 38F all winter. They wet them down and repackage them to ship in the Spring.
0 thumbs up!
Posted about 2 years ago
GreenGuy

190 plants 8b
Once you get your pH lowered with fast acting sulfur or humic acid, it can then be kept closer to the proper pH by:
- using an acidifying fertilizer when fertilizing,
- acidifying the water used to water plants with vinegar, or stale coffee (not practical for huge plantings but works ok in small berry patches)
- regularly mulching with acidifying mulches such as pine needles, juniper needles, oak leaf compost, coffee grounds, etc.
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Posted 4 months ago | Last edited 4 months ago
hotwired

71 plants 5b

Actually I do alternate feedings with Jack’s Classic Acid Special 17-6-6. That really help maintain the Ph.
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Posted 4 months ago