It really isn't much. The top 6-12 inches of soil in 1000 sq feet weighs so much more than you think its nuts.

Sounds about right. Your pH is very low. Your top one foot of soil is 1000 cubic feet, which is about 50 tons of dirt. the pH of lime is near 10. If you wanted to take your pH to the point halfway between 10 and 5, 7.5, which is too high but still amenable to gardening, you would need equal amounts of dirt and lime, that is, 50 tons of lime (intimately mixed with the soil).

50 pounds will take you to about 6.0 (the wonders of the logarithmic scale), probably higher at the surface but lower a few inches below in the first year. Over the years, another 100 pounds or so may take you to 6.5 which is usually considered optimal. Keep in mind that different veggies need different amounts of lime. Asparagus, greens, cabbage need more, potatoes, squash, and tomatoes, less.

My pH is 5.5 and I use a trash can worth of wood ash every year, in about 1000 sq ft of beds.

Why not grow something that likes a low Ph soil instead?

Try potatoes or blueberries. Once you increase the Ph you can't go back.

You can always grow tomatoes or whatever in pots or buckets. Or another section of garden. But yea ALWAYS do a soil test before planting.

Has anyone mentioned to move the Ph that much will take months? The soil should be prepared the fall before planting. Did I mention potatoes or blueberries?

This is my 2nd year with the garden. I grew melons, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, onions, lettuce, eggplant, basil, parsley, peas last year. Everything grew like crazy except I didn't get many eggplant, i planted the onions too late, and SVB did in my squash. Everything else produced like crazy. I had 3 grocery bags busting at the seems full of just 1 serrano plant.

It was all dumb luck, I just turned over the grass, and stuck stuff in the ground. hardly watered, hardly fertilized. Anyway, the soil test showed my #'s as very good for most other elements/requirements. Good on organic matter, good minerals, etc.... Little low in Sulpher and Boron and Calcium... the calcium will get taken care of with the lime.

I'm growing blueberries somewhere else already, and I'm planting potatoes in bins (i'll use the dirt before i add lime).

Surely they didn't tell you to add all that lime at one time! The maximum amount for any one application is generally 50 pounds per 1000 square feet except in some commercial agricultural situations. That can be repeated every couple of months until the total amount is added. If possible, it should be tilled into the top 6 inches of soil.

Sandy

I have read and been told by experienced growers that lime is only needed every 3-4 years, not yearly. We have about a 1/2 acre garden and added about 160 lbs through it about 3 years ago.

If you had a test and it's 5.1, that amount of lime is about right. Many people add more or less because their soil is different. I would stir it into the top layers and water right away so it can get started. Last fall would have been better, but we can't go back. Good gardening luck in '09!

What is the expected pH after the liming? If you apply that much I'd recommend 1/2 now and the other half after another soil test in autumn. Even applying just 1/2 may tie up other nutrients during the growing season and it may reach its maxium effect 6 months from now - that's why it is usually applied in the autumn. I'm sure the lab's math is correct but adding 4 tons/acre at once may be over the line. Tom

Interesting that the lettuce grew well at 5.1. In my experience, it prefers a higher pH. The rest of your veggies, as I posted above, tends to be more tolerant of low pH. If things went well the first year, skagit's advice is probably best. 25 now and 25 in october. Mix well, wait for a few good showers. He is also right, do whatever you have to do in Fall.

You could also experiment with chard, cabbage, beets or onions. Those might grow less well, and that will give you a clue on how to manage lime in the future. White (Fordhook) Chard, in particular, tends to be smaller, somewhat paler in color, when grown in acid soils, with ribbed (as opposed to flat) stems (though I like its delicate flavor best, probably lower in oxalic acid). Regular Fordhook should be 18 inches or more, dark green, flat stems.

Thanks as always folks.

I've added a bunch of composted manure and leaf compost to make the soil better, and I have to till that in anyway.

I'll do half now, till it in this weekend, and do the other half in the fall after another soil test.

Sorry to tack on, but it also said to add (per 1000 sq feet) 1.5 pounds of nitrogen, and 0.5 lbs of phosphate. I'm trying to find a fertilizer that is 3-1-0 or has that ratio. So, 3-1-0, 6-2-0, 9-3-0, etc... but I can't seem to find any.

Just make your own with a box of bone meal and some urea. I think if you put half a ton of manure on the plot, the P will be taken care of, more or less (certainly more if it is chicken manure), and the N should be close too. If you plan on gardening for a few years, a bag of urea from a farm supply store will be a good investment.

I would start a large blueberry patch in your backyard. Sounds like they would thrive!

Hrm... I added a good amount - say... 4 or 5 big wheel barrows full of aged cow manure. I wonder if I need to add any additional nitrogen or phosphate?

You can compute that yourself. Google "nutrient content of manure". If you click on the USDA link, keep in mind that you have aged ("after losses") manure. Next year when you add yard clippings you can do the same.

Thank you!

My report said to add 1.5 pounds of nitrogen, and 0.5 lbs of phosphate per 1000 sq feet. So, for my garden, that works out to

.375 lb nitrogen
.125 lb phosphate

I'm going to guess I had about 400 pounds of manure. According to the USDA website:

4.30 lb/ton * 1/5 ton = .86lb nitrogen
1.65 lb/ton * 1/5 ton = .33lb phosphate

I added a bunch of lawn and leaf compost too. (This stuff was aged for about 15 years at my dad's house).

So, it looks like I should be good and I do not need to add any additional nitrogen.

The only confusing thing is that a lot of instructions say things like "Before planting, broadcast and turn under 1.2 pounds of 5-10-10 fertilizer (or equivalent) per 100 square feet of area." (that was for asparagus).

I'm going to assume since my nutrients are already likely at the recommended levels, I don't need to add anything extra as I plant things.

That's right. And you will never need to ask advice about it. Leaves are about 0.1/0.1/0.1 dry weight, cow manure is about 2/1/2, and grass clippings are similar to manure (but their dry weight is a lot less). Wood chips are 0/0.3/0.3. Aged manure nutrients should be available immediately (as good as 10/10/10). Less aged organic matter might take a while.